Part 1: Introducing Ward 12
Welcome to Ward 12
Cedric writes
Welcome back to the 14 Wards of London, Ontario! We are continuing our journey through London’s wards in this summer series. From the north end, we make our way to the south end and we welcome you to Ward 12.
The districts within Ward 12 include Highland, White Oaks, Westminster, Longwoods, and Tempo, and the ward generally centers on White Oaks.
You may be familiar with this ward if you’ve gone shopping at White Oaks Mall, and a lot of the other big box shopping centres along Wellington Road like Wellington Commons. If you needed hiking stuff at MEC, you’ve been in Ward 12. If you work at a garage or an office or a factory along Exeter Road (which some older constituents would call “the 135”), you’re working in Ward 12.
I have been a part of one of three generations of my family who have lived in the ward at some point since 1975, and have family members who live in Ward 12 to this day. It feels like home to me, not just because of the familial connections, but frankly, I run into a lot of people who look like me.
This brings me to the demographics of the area. Ward 12 is one of London’s most ethnically diverse. Within this constituency, the Longwoods district has London’s highest proportion of visible minorities at over 57%, and is the only district south of Oxford Street that is a minority-majority district. Highland and White Oaks are the southern ends of a part of London where the proportion of Indigenous people is greater than the citywide average.
Whenever I would make summertime bike trips to Port Stanley, Ward 12 (in both its current and upcoming boundaries) was on the road to the beach. There is an intricate path system throughout White Oaks, including a tunnel under Bradley Avenue. It was in this area that I learned to be confident on a bicycle. Since I was a teenager, I have come to count on Upper Queen Street, Nixon Avenue, and Ernest Avenue to get to the south end from elsewhere in London. That will likely change when the multi-use path along Wellington Road is completed. Transit will be transformed in the area when the larger and related Wellington Gateway project is completed.
This ward will certainly be less rural than before, and more suburban. It’s not just the fact that Ward 14 will be taking part of the territory of Ward 12, but subdivisions in the Longwoods area are filling in quickly. You have London’s older outer suburbs like Lockwood Park and White Oaks, and newer subdivisions like Copperfield and Middleton. On both sides of Southdale, and on both sides of Bradley, I have always wanted to know how do the people of London’s oldest suburbs and the newest suburbs live together?
That’s our challenge this summer: the story of London Ontario in 14 wards. Join us. We’re going by bike and by car, and we’re inviting Londoners into the conversation.
Cedric says:
Welcome back to a coverage of another ward in our city. As your city editor, I know Ward 12 very well, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it! We are between two Ws: Wharncliffe and Wellington, and then in the south end of the ward, Wonderland and Wellington.
Mike says:
I think we’ve cracked it! We may have found the Essence of London, Ontario and it’s in the south of the city. I’m only half-joking: Ward 12 is a working city in smaller form, with all the London issues and, in large part, something like the lifestyle people might want. I really enjoyed this ward visit.
Every week, we’re having a chat in the ward itself. Here’s our Ward 12 conversation where we are on Bradley Avenue, one of London’s hardest-working roads. We gathered in front of the South London Community Pool, a community hub for many Londoners.
Ward 12: The Basics
Ward 12 - Highland, Westminster, Longwoods, White Oaks, Tempo
Population - 35,529
Cedric writes
Ward 12 has always been the ward with Highland and White Oaks and all the rural areas south of that. It was created in 2006 from the former Ward 6. Until this upcoming election, Ward 12 bordered the Township of Southwold.
For the first time ever, Ward 12 will no longer touch the city limits. As Ward 14 will take in everything south of Highway 401, Ward 12’s new southern boundary will become the 401.
Part 2: Around the ward
Highland
Cedric writes
Highland, the name explains it all. The north end of the ward has a lot of valleys and peaks. It’s impossible to predict what is coming up or down the hill along places like Commissioners Road, Upper Queen Street, Wellington Road, and Wharncliffe Road. One of the great views of London is at Wharncliffe and Commissioners, near the old “Winery Hill”, where you can look northbound into what is another ward. That view reminds me of those photos of Breezewood, Pennsylvania, with all the large signs and the wide road.
Wharncliffe Road South, located along the west edge of Ward 12, has been an important road over the last century, not just because it is an arterial. For three-quarters of a century, until 1998, it was signed as Highways 2 and 4, between downtown London and Lambeth. It may explain why the road is lined with businesses containing those big ticket purchases. There are many car dealerships, used car lots, furniture stores, and other places where you can get household goods.
This district is also home to the century-old golf course known as Highland Country Club. Many of the street names in the Cleardale neighbourhood, south of the club, are golf-themed. You can’t watch people playing a round of golf, but you can live on Golfview Crescent.
Westminster
Cedric writes
There is a small portion of this district within Ward 12. Meg Drive continues through Exeter Road and enters an industrial subdivision. It was only about a decade ago that many of the lots here were vacant. This was where I first learned to drive, as there was very little car and truck traffic. Further east along Exeter Road, is the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, a maximum-security provincial jail1.
Longwoods
Cedric writes
Prior to 1993, Wharncliffe would reach Southdale and disappear into Westminster to become Longwoods Road. Likewise, Homeview Road would leave London to become White Oak Road. If you’re as young as I am, you may have heard from people, time and time again, that they remember when this area was all farmers fields. Today, there are several subdivisions that many Londoners call home.
The transit situation is not great here. The district is bounded by part of a large one-way loop of Route 12, and the peak hours-only Route 28. It feels related to the time that I drove through the Middleton subdivision to get a look of the area, and it was tough to drive through because of all the cars parked on both sides of the road. One can only wonder, if transit was funded better and planned proactively, could there have been less cars on the road here?
There is the potential to be an arts district, but that’s up to the community to decide. I say this because if you look at a map of the area, there are several streets named after arts and cultural icons in London and Canada. David Milne, Paul Peel, Emily Carr, Paul Kane, George Heriot, and Roy McDonald lend their names to streets in the district. Imagine giant murals reproducing the works of these artists, or their faces, or public art works that are tributes to them.
The current Bradley Avenue extension is also under construction. When completed, there will be a continuous roadway from Westchester Bourne in the east to Wonderland Road South in the west.
Many proponents of that roadwork believe that it will relieve pressure from Southdale Road West. As a cyclist, I understand it. Exeter Road and Southdale in this ward are presently terrible facilities for cyclists. Exeter Road has no bike lanes and very little sidewalks, which is likely a function of the road being a former provincial highway, and Southdale Road has painted bike lanes east of Wonderland Road, which disappear at Wharncliffe. Bradley Avenue will be constructed with a multi-use pathway, which makes cycling safer.
White Oaks
Cedric writes
The story of White Oaks must be first told with the original Whiteoaks. In 1929, Mazo de la Roche published a book named The Whiteoaks of Jalna. The second novel in a series of 16 tells of an estate known as Jalna whose inhabitants are of the Whiteoaks family. When the novel was adapted for a CBC television mini-series in 1971, it also lent its name to the ring road that encircles the neighbourhood which is in proximity to White Oak Road. Other characters’ names from this novel also appear in the neighbourhood. Do Alayne, Finch, Ernest, Muriel, and Renny ring a bell?
The top three countries of birth of non-Canadians in White Oaks are Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, each of which border each other. A “Little Lebanon” has started to take shape in the area, but specifically, it can be considered a “Little Mdoukha”. Many White Oaks residents of Lebanese descent have ties to Mdoukha, a city in the Bezaa Governorate in Lebanon. To that end, a Londoner named Ab Chahbar (not to be confused with the former city councillor) is the mayor of Mdoukha. In 2017, the City of London ceremonially designated Ernest Avenue around Bradley Avenue as Mdoukha Avenue. In Mdoukha, there is a reciprocally-named “London Ontario Road”. If London is still interested in sister city relationships, now is the time for the Forest City to make it official with Mdoukha.
The north end of this district is where I first lived as a baby. Just a few blocks away, on the north side of Southdale, is a standalone street grid with history upon history. I remember observing it quite a lot on drives with my family as a kid, and noticed how the grid stood out from other curvilinear streets in the area. About 80 years ago, the federal government helped facilitate the construction of houses to accommodate veterans of the Second World War who were returning to Canada. The subdivision, named Southdale, contained streets that were named after politicians and generals who led the Allied powers in the war effort. But residents, who were veterans, found the names a bit too patronizing. Residents of Southdale came up with their own names, but the municipalities of Westminster and London (the latter annexed the area in 1961), refused to recognize the community renaming. Only in 1964 did a court recognize the renamed streets like Easy Street and Eden Avenue.
Tempo
Cedric writes
Part of Tempo comprises the new south end of Ward 12. It lies between both of the provincial freeways that run through London, the 401 and the 402. Westminster Drive is home to Crinklaw Maple Farm, which has been pumping out maple syrup from the trees on their farm for nearly two centuries. If you open a history book on the area, there’s a non-zero chance that you’ll find the name Crinklaw.
At the very southern tip of the new Ward 12, Wonderland Road once ended as a quiet cul-de-sac, continuing as a rural road south of Highway 401 from Morrison Road. The two Wonderlands were joined up in 2015 with an interchange opening at the same time. I remember cycling along this part of Wonderland Road in 2011, thinking, “this is it, huh”?
In order to continue along Wonderland, you would have to take Scotland Drive over Highway 401 to an access road named Morrison Road. Turning left would return you to Scotland Drive. Turning right would take you back to Wonderland. Some days, I would cycle along Wonderland to get into Elgin County, and other times I’d use White Oak Road. Cycling along this part of Wonderland made me feel like I was part of a secret club. With more and more cars on the road, not anymore.
Part 3: Politics of Ward 12
2014 results
2018 results
2022 results
Mike writes
Oh, it is such a difficult task to talk about a political race when its outcome looks so likely to everyone.
So, with respect to excellent candidates Alexander Main and Ribal Zebian, we have to allow heavy incumbent advantage for Councillor Elizabeth Peloza, who is finishing out a successful second term as an effective ward councillor and, as Budget Chair, leading member of City Council. She can point to recent successes such as that conversation about driving schools disrupting a neighbourhood, and of course it’s well-known she’s fighting cancer; here’s an appearance on CTV back in March. It’s hard to see how the challengers can beat this incumbent, though they have their own interesting stories, Main as a local businessman and Zebian as a student and engineer; here’s Upworthy, aggregating local reporting about Zebian’s modular house project, which looks really cool. Main also ran in this ward last time, coming third, and is a former mayoral candidate. Ward 12 was previously served for five consecutive terms by Harold Usher.
A full list of Ward candidates is maintained by the City Clerk’s Office here. And you can find a guide to every ward in our MEGAPOST here.
Part 4: In the news
Mike writes
This is fairly simple because, as a strong working model of the London experience, Ward 12 has perhaps less conflict than many wards.
There is a local traffic problem, among others, of course, often around that busy Exeter Road intersection near the highway. Here’s a CTV news report of one crash, as an example of the kind of thing that happens round there, and is worth watching out for.
There was also that driving schools situation, as noted above. Here’s another CBC story with context there.
White Oaks Mall does generate news alongside economic activity sometimes. The big story lately has been the pending arrival of IKEA, and here’s Retail Insider with that.
Finally, this ward happens to contain Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre, and here’s recent CBC reporting about inmates being improperly released.
Ward 12 has a lot of people just living their lives, day-to-day. I bet there are more stories in there, and we could point out some infill developments, perhaps construction problems, too, but overall the tales of Ward 12, which probably don’t have too much conflict, aren’t told loudly.
Part 5: And there’s more…
Our restaurant pick
Twin Dem Kitchen is located at 1286 Jalna Boulevard. I have many Jamaican family members, so naturally, this one is a family favourite, and I savour each bite. Twin Dem Kitchen also makes appearances at festivals in downtown London so always be on the lookout to eat their food. Like I previously mentioned in a few other ward profiles, the best eats are in suburban strip plazas.
The unmissable landmarks
Highland Country Club
This is London’s most central golf course, given that it is near the geographic centre of London. It opened in 1922, and the course touts that it was designed by the legendary golf course architect Stanley Thompson, and keeps Thompson in mind throughout the evolution of the golf course throughout the last century.
I remember passing by this place a lot on drives when I was a kid. There was an old street sign that came off of Commissioners Road that read “Rudy Street”. About 20 years ago the street was renamed Highland Heights. The address number of the golf club became 1922, to symbolize when the golf course was opened, making 279 Commissioners Road East a thing of the past.
Highland Country Club also offers curling, with a curling rink opening in 1959. Another Easter egg is that there is a lot along Highland Heights that has the address number of 1959.
White Oaks Mall
White Oaks Mall was opened in 1973, and is the major shopping mall in the south end. The main entrance, facing Wellington Road, once boasted multiple metal sculptures that were designed by Jeffrey Rubinoff, son of the mall’s developer David Rubinoff.
Like with Masonville, which we covered a few weeks ago, the mall has adapted to the ever-changing taste of consumers over the last 50 years. The latest overhaul for this mall, is the closure of Hudson’s Bay Company. White Oaks Mall has made a few announcements about what will be entering the space in the future. IKEA is the most notable and despite a smaller than usual space for this one, it will be London’s first permanent store and the first since January 2020 to have goods available for sale.
Westdell bought the mall in 2023, with plans to construct several high rises on the parking lots in the decades to come.
That’s Ward 12
And that’s how we see it. We did more shopping, we had to get a few spices from Festival Food Mart, we met my cousins, and we offer you this guide to what it’s all about.
The Cedric/Mike teamup will continue all summer! We have three more wards to go in this series:
Ward 10 - September 1
Ward 3 - September 8
Ward 13 - September 15
You can follow along here at London Ontario Online News, where there’s new content every day and we live here, too.
We’d love you to stay engaged and in touch. You can send us any topics you’d like us to discuss, or questions, or most anything else. Thank you - see you soon!
Full disclosure: Cedric Richards is employed by the Government of Ontario.