Townsend is a planned community in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada, that was founded in 1970 with the expectation it would house the developing industrial region to the south around Nanticoke.

While there used to be some commercial activity (variety store, hairdressing salon, and other numerous small businesses), the community now consists of almost purely residential and government-use property.

However, workers moving into the area that became employed at the newly constructed Stelco, Texaco, and Ontario Hydro plants to the south mainly elected to locate to more established communities with commercial centres like Jarvis, Simcoe and beyond.

A nursing home was built during the glory days of Townsend in addition to a recreational centre, a church, and a water tower.

No plans to appease[clarification needed] the urban factory shift worker were made; the completed neighbourhood would have looked like a California suburb despite not having the year-round warm climate of Southern California nor the relatively mild winters particularly found in the San Francisco area.