Named after a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Robert Peel, Peel County was created in 1851. The Region of Peel was created in 1974 by the Ontario government in an effort to regionalize this area as well as the other quickly developing counties that surround Toronto. Today, the Region of Peel has over 1.3 million residents and over 88,000 businesses in its three municipalities, those of Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga. It is the second largest municipality in Ontario and much of its growth has been fueled by a dramatic increase in immigration to this area over the past few decades.