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From 1848 to 2001 it had a town charter. On January 1, 2001, the former Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, which contained Dundas in addition to other towns such as Ancaster, was formally amalgamated into the City of Hamilton. This act garnered considerable controversy amongst Dundas residents.
Dundas contains the Dundas Valley Conservation Area . It is host to the Dundas Cactus Festival, held annually in August.
Dundas lies inside the electoral riding of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale.
Amalgamation with Hamilton has been proposed on a number of different occasions throughout the history of Dundas, particularly in the 1970s at the time of the formation of the city of Cambridge from a number of smaller towns.
In 1995, the issue was resurrected when a Progressive Conservative provincial government under Mike Harris was elected with a stated platform (the Common Sense Revolution) of cost-cutting and reduction of bureaucratic waste.
Several proposals for amalgamation were made during the first Harris government, but no formal steps were taken towards amalgamation. Nevertheless a "Dundas Forever" campaign was launched within the town, which took out newspaper ads and distributed signs and bumper stickers promoting the continuation of Dundas' town status. Some cynical observers suggested that the residents of the suburbs were being self-serving, as their present status entitled them to many of the benefits of Hamilton while avoiding the negatives (chiefly high property taxes).
During the 1999 provincial election, the amalgamation question became a significant election issue. Toni Skarica, the Progressive Conservative M.P. for Wentworth North , a riding made up largely of the suburban towns in which amalgamation was an issue, explicitly promised that amalgamation would not happen if he were re-elected, despite apparently contrary statements from his government.
In early 2000, the results of a citizen-organized poll on amalgamation were published. The poll claimed a 30% turnout of eligible voters, and a 90% vote against amalgamation. In February, the Harris government announced that Dundas, Ancaster, and part of Flamborough would be amalgamated into the City of Hamilton. Shortly afterward, Skarica resigned his parliamentary seat in protest in late February, 2000This page is about the year 2000. See 2000 AD for the UK comic book, Number 2000 for other uses. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar), and also the International Year for a Culture of Peace''. Events Y2K passes without the seri.
In the summer of 2000, a by-election was held in the new riding of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot. The PCs attempted to counter the anger at amalgamation by running a star local candidate, Priscilla de VilliersPriscilla de Villiers is a Canadian activist. She was the founder and president of CAVEAT, an organization advocating governmental policy on crime. Originally from South Africa, de Villiers was the mother of Nina de Villiers, who was murdered on August 9,, but the election went to Ted McMeekinTed McMeekin is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot for the Ontario Liberal Party. McMeekin holds a Master's Degree in social wo, a LiberalThe Ontario Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the Ontario general election, 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada. and the former mayor of FlamboroughThe Town of Flamborough was created in 1974 as a second-tier municipality of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth. Its constituent parts were formerly East Flamborough, West Flamborough and Beverly Townships of Wentworth County, and the Town of, who made his displeasure at amalgamation very evident.