City of Canada Bay

This article is about the local government area. For the suburb, see Canada Bay, New South Wales. For the bay, see Canada Bay.

City of Canada Bay New South Wales
Location in Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates	33°51′S 151°09′E
Population	89,177 (2021 census) 91,385 (2023 estimate)
• Density	4,585/km2 (11,880/sq mi)
Established	1 December 2000
Area	19.93 km2 (7.7 sq mi)
Mayor	Michael Megna
Council seat	Drummoyne
Region	Inner West
State electorate(s)	Drummoyne Strathfield Auburn
Federal division(s)	Reid
Website	City of Canada Bay
LGAs around City of Canada Bay: Ryde Ryde Hunter's Hill City of Parramatta City of Canada Bay Inner West Strathfield Burwood Inner West

City of Canada Bay sign, Concord Road, North Strathfield

The City of Canada Bay is a local government area in the Inner West region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city was formed on 1 December 2000, following the merger of Concord and Drummoyne councils. The city covers an area of 19.82 square kilometres (7.65 sq mi) and as at the 2021 census had a resident population of 89,177. The city is ultimately named after Canada Bay, a bay and suburb along the Parramatta River.

Councillor Michael Megna was appointed to be mayor on 25 January 2024, and the deputy mayor is Joseph Cordaro.

Location and topography

The City of Canada Bay is located in the northern part of the Inner West region of Sydney. To the north it is bounded by the Parramatta River, and to the south by Parramatta Road. In the east and west, it is bounded by two large bays: Iron Cove in the east, and Homebush Bay in the west. At its centre is a third large bay, Hen and Chicken Bay. (The eponymous Canada Bay is an inlet of the larger Hen and Chicken Bay.) As a result, the area is largely in the form of two peninsulas, linked by a narrow strip of land at its centre, which is the location of the eponymous suburb of Canada Bay. As a result of its geographical layout, many of the suburbs in the City of Canada Bay enjoy water frontages onto one of the bays of Parramatta River.

Suburbs and localities in the local government area

Suburbs in the City of Canada Bay are:

• Abbotsford
• Breakfast Point
• Cabarita
• Canada Bay
• Chiswick
• Concord
• Concord West
• Drummoyne
• Five Dock
• Liberty Grove
• Mortlake
• North Strathfield
• Rhodes
• Rodd Point
• Russell Lea
• Strathfield (minor, with most of the suburb within Strathfield and other parts in Burwood)
• Wareemba

Some of the localities in the City of Canada Bay are:

• Birkenhead Point
• Concord Repatriation General Hospital
• Concord Oval

Demographics

At the 2021 census there were approximately 89,177 people in the Canada Bay Local Government Area; of these 48.2 per cent identified as male and 51.8 per cent identified as female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.6 per cent of the population. The median age of people in the City of Canada Bay was 39 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 15.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 17.0 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 49.9 per cent were married and 10.3 per cent were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the City of Canada Bay between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 10.73 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 15.24 per cent. At the 2016 Census, the population in the City of Canada Bay increased by 16.17 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same period, being 8.8 per cent, population growth in Canada Bay Local Government Area was nearly double the national average.

The median weekly income for residents within the City of Canada Bay was higher than the national average, this upwards trend could also be seen across family and personal incomes.

Selected historical Census data for Canada Bay Local Government Area
Census year			2001	2006	2011	2016	2021
Population		Estimated residents on census night	59,371	65,742	75,763	88,015	89,177
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			28th	27th
		% of New South Wales population			1.10%	1.17%	1.10%
		% of Australian population	0.32%	0.33%	0.35%	0.38%	0.35%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English			16.5%	15.4%	19.0%
		Australian			16.3%	13.8%	17.6%
		Chinese			9.1%	13.3%	16.2%
		Italian			12.8%	12.6%	15.2%
		Irish			7.5%	7.1%	8.6%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Mandarin	1.7%	2.7%	5.1%	9.8%	8.6%
		Italian	12.2%	10.1%	8.8%	7.1%	6.0%
		Korean	n/c	2.2%	3.1%	4.0%	3.2%
		Cantonese	2.7%	3.3%	3.7%	3.9%	3.9%
		Greek	3.3%	2.9%	2.8%	2.2%	2.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	43.4%	41.7%	39.2%	33.9%	33.7%
		No religion, so described	11.1%	13.4%	18.6%	27.7%	31.5%
		Not stated	n/c	n/c	n/c	8.7%	5.3%
		Anglican	15.8%	13.4%	11.2%	7.9%	6.4%
		Eastern Orthodox	5.1%	5.1%	7.2%	4.2%	4.4%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		$664	$782	$882	$1,107
		% of Australian median income		142.5%	135.5%	133.2%	137.5%
Family income		Median weekly family income		$1,510	$2,152	$2,361	$2,870
		% of Australian median income		147.0%	145.3%	136.2%	135.3%
Household income		Median weekly household income		$1,773	$1,817	$2,061	$2,371
		% of Australian median income		151.4%	147.2%	143.3%	135.7%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type		Separate house		51.2%	45.5%	38.6%	37.0%
		Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse		10.6%	12.0%	9.3%	9.6%
		Flat or apartment		37.6%	41.8%	50.7%	52.2%

Council

Current composition and election method

Canada Bay City Council is composed of nine councillors, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor has been directly elected since 2004 while the eight other Councillors are elected proportionally as one ward. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024.

Michael Megna was appointed Mayor of the City of Canada Bay by the NSW Governor on 25 January 2024, following his nomination by fellow Councillors in December 2023.

Party		Councillors
	Liberal	5
	Labor	3
	Greens	1
	Total	9

The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election, is:

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Michael Megna	Liberal	Mayor 2024–present
	Charles Jago	Greens
	Andrew Ferguson	Labor
	Anthony Bazouni	Liberal
	Hugo Robinson	Liberal
	Maria Cirillo	Labor
	Sylvia Lee	Liberal
	David Mansford	Labor
	Mastourah Meuross	Liberal

Mayors

Main article: List of mayors of Canada Bay

Election results

2024

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Outer Sydney § Canada Bay results.[edit]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Canada Bay

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Greens	1. Charles Jago (elected 1) 2. Tailoi Ling 3. Neil Smith 4. Pauline Tyrrell 5. Tony Adams	7,836	16.39	+6.59
	Labor	1. Andrew Ferguson (elected 2) 2. Maria Cirillo (elected 5) 3. David Mansford (elected 7) 4. Vivek Goyal 5. Kathryn Zerk 6. Jessica Handley 7. Xiaojun Li	18,018	37.70	+8.4
	Liberal	1. Michael Megna 2. Anthony Bazouni (elected 3) 3. Hugo Robinson (elected 4) 4. Eunbong (Sylvia) Lee (elected 6) 5. Mastourah Meuross (elected 8) 6. Chris Burt 7. Samantha Andreacchio	21,647	45.29	+15.49
	Libertarian	Kurt Pudniks	295	0.62	+0.62
Total formal votes			47,796	94.86	−0.54
Informal votes			2,592	5.14	+0.54
Turnout			50,388	85.04	−0.56

2021

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Outer Sydney § Canada Bay.[edit]

Elected councillor		Party
	Michael Megna	Liberal
	Stephanie Di Pasqua	Liberal
	Anthony Bazouni	Liberal
	Julia Little	Labor
	Andrew Ferguson	Labor
	Joseph Cordaro	OLC
	Carmela Ruggeri	OLC
	Charles Jago	Greens

2021 New South Wales local elections: Canada Bay

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal		14,126	29.8	−8.8
	Labor		13,917	29.3	−6.1
	Our Local Community		12,867	27.1	+27.1
	Greens		4,653	9.8	−1.5
	Independent		1,909	4.0	−4.2
Total formal votes			47,472	95.4
Informal votes			2,312	4.6
Turnout			49,784	85.6
Party total seats				Seats	±
	Liberal			3
	Labor			2	1
	Our Local Community			2	2
	Greens			1
	Independent			0	1

2017

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2017 New South Wales local elections § Canada Bay.[edit]

Elected councillor		Party
	Michael Megna	Liberal
	Julia Little	Labor
	Charles Jago	Greens
	Stephanie Di Pasqua	Liberal
	Andrew Ferguson	Labor
	Nicholas Yap	Liberal
	Marian Parnaby	Labor
	Daniela Ramondino	Independent (Group C)

2017 New South Wales local elections: Canada Bay

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal		16,756	38.6	−5.9
	Labor		15,383	35.4	−8.1
	Greens		49,11	11.3	+0.8
	Independent (Group C)		3,565	8.2	+8.2
	Independent (Group B)		2,697	6.2	+6.2
	Independent	Max Gergis	140	0.3	+0.3
Total formal votes			43,452	93.79
Informal votes			2,878	6.21
Turnout			46,330	80.67

History

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Canada Bay merge with adjoining councils. The government proposed a merger of the Burwood, Canada Bay, and Strathfield Councils to form a new council with an area of 41 square kilometres (16 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 163,000. In May 2016 Strathfield Council challenged the proposed merger between Strathfield, Burwood and Canada Bay and commenced proceedings in the New South Wales Land and Environment Court. After the Court heard that there were legal flaws in the report from the state government-appointed delegate who examined the proposal for merging the councils, the NSW Government withdrew from the case and the merger proposal stalled. In July 2017, the Berejiklian government decided to abandon the forced merger of the Strathfield, Burwood and Canada Bay local government areas, along with several other proposed forced mergers.

See also

• List of local government areas of New South Wales
• City of Canada Bay Museum

External links

• City of Canada Bay website
• Suburbs of Canada Bay
• Archived site with a brief history of the area
• Canada in Australia: Canadian Department of Foreign and International Affairs