town, seat of Parry Sound district, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, at the mouth of the Seguin River, 120 miles (190 km) north of Toronto. Named in honour of the Arctic explorer Sir William Parry, the town was founded in the mid-19th century by W.H. Beatty, a British land surveyor. Its deepwater harbour on landlocked Parry Sound and its position on two transcontinental railroads and the Trans-Canada Highway have fostered the town's development as a merchandising, distributing, and shipping centre for the surrounding lumbering and mining region. A gateway to the Thirty Thousand Islands of Georgian Bay, Parry Sound is a popular summer resort. In 1980 the township of McDougall was merged with Parry Sound. Inc. 1888. Pop. (2006) 5,818.