What is Muskoka?

We cottaged 50 years in Muskoka. Moving to South eastern Ontario in 2010.

The famous Bala Falls

Numerous city folks refer to us as if we were a town, and this demands clarification. There is only one Muskoka, it is not: 'The Muskokas'. 

Muskoka is could be named for Mesqua Ukie, the Ojibwa leader associated with the area during the 1800's. It was then the hunting grounds of a band led by Chief Yellowhead or Mesqua Ukie.  There is a Yellowhead institute. 

About Chief Yellowhead William Yellowhead (1760-1865), known as Misko Aki or “Red Earth”, was an Anishinaabe leader in what is now Southern Ontario. His traditional territory stretched from East Toronto, through Lake Simcoe, and to hunting grounds in Muskoka, Ontario (the township is named after Yellowhead).  

Yellowhead led his people through some of the most oppressive periods of British colonization. This included being at the first reserve experiment in Canada and subject to numerous fraudulent land surrenders.

It is a region, and includes the Township of Muskoka Lakes. 

  The District Municipality of Muskoka was established in 1971. We have 57, 563 residents (StatCan, 2006), with that 20, 658 summer homes, increasing our population to about 130,000 in the summer. From its glory days of logging precious little remains. Most buildings were made of wood in the early years (late 1800s) and most have burned at least once since those wood stove days.

The District Corporation forms the upper tier of a two-tier system of local government. This tier system confuses many who live in a city, as they are more familiar with the political process involving the usual three: Municipality (town, village, city) | Province | Federal Governments.


Each layer of government has different responsibilities. This extra layer is disconcerting as various stakeholders want to have input. 


Values clash in many provinces  between residents, large landowners, First Nations, seasonal tourists, hunters, business owners, Cottager or Ratepayer Associations, and it is important that we respect the needs of all to preserve our beautiful place. 


Levels of Canadian Government, a learning activity I created with students:

Bala Market

The District is responsible for local work such as signage, water and sewer, garbage collection, local planning, economic development, community service, lake and forest health through by-laws. 

The Muskoka Ratepayers Association tells us that 50% of our property taxes go to the District, while the townships work with 14% of our taxes.



The individuals towns are looking at fire and first responders, parks,  arenas, trails, cemeteries, zoning by-laws, building permits and inspections, libraries, by-law enforcement and public docks.

The following six Area Municipalities comprise the lower tier in Muskoka:

• Town of Bracebridge
• Township of Georgian Bay
• Town of Gravenhurst
• Town of Huntsville
• Township of Lake of Bays
• Township of Muskoka Lakes 

• The basis of the Muskoka economy is tourism with over 11,000 people employed in the Tourism and Service sector. This represents 43% of the labour force. 
• In 2001, over 1.7 million tourists came to enjoy the lake-based environment in Muskoka and spent over $1.25 million.
  There are over 120 resort facilities in Muskoka, all centred on our local lakes and rivers. 
• A study of second homes in Muskoka was conducted in 2004 by the District Municipality of Muskoka. 

Muskoka, Ontario, Canada

History of Muskoka

The history of the development of our area is quite an interesting one. I have found several sources, including books specifically about Muskoka. Wahta Mohawks in Bala, (originally the Gibson reserve, 1881) published a book based on the memories of Protestant aboriginal people sent away from Oka & Kanesetake communities in Quebec: "A History of the Wahta Mohawk Community" It is a difficult story of Catholic/Protestant conflict over land. There were no roads between the reservation and the town, and getting supplies was difficult.

James Bartleman's Raisin Wine describes the hardship of living on this land in his Port Carling chronicle. These lands were prime locations for aboriginal peoples, the original land settlers: Algonquin and Hurons. They learned to settle and grew the three sisters (corn, squash & beans), and could cut a decent life out of the woods. Once white settlers arrived, however, and began to worm them out of their previous territory, things began to go wrong. It describes the poverty, racism, living and working conditions, and living off the land in winter.

Overseas, you see, there were those that encouraged immigration to Canada. The Free Grants and Homestead Act of 1868 promised 100 - 200 acres if settlers cleared the land and farmed. This story is well-told in the DVD about Susannah Moodie and Catherine Parr, Sisters of the Wilderness, by CBC. Ontario territory, formerly loved by many Native bands, welcomed these ignorant white settlers and prevented them from starving in the harsh winters. Unfortunately this land, with its bogs and shallow soils on Precambrian Shield, were less than adequate for such types of farming. Before the railway transportation was a difficult issue. Steamships brought tourists for the summer. With only seasonal employment life was difficult as white people encroached on their territory.

Eventually, the lumber industry and the raping of the huge pines off the land, meant more work. Local residents learned to exploit and create a living by meeting the needs of summer visitors, many of whom remained oblivious to the dignity of the full-timers. The very rich bought and sold land and made a profit exploiting prospective new and current land owners, desperate to seek solace in the peace, quiet and tranquility of Muskoka. They built large resorts, many of which burned down and had to be rebuilt. With their arrival, however, they reinforced racism, intolerance of Catholics, Jews, the poor, and the economic differences between 'locals', as we are so often named, and summer residents.

The quiet of the land, disrupted by transportation technology: motor boats evolved from the canoe, to the sleek, mahogony Ditchburn boats, boats with disappearing propellors (Dippies),
and now the incredibly large, powerful, noisy boats and PWCs of the new millenium.