Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Ontario shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Ontario offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Ontario at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Ontario? Wrong! If the Ontario is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Ontario then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Ontario? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Ontario and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Ontario wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Ontario then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Ontario site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Ontario, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Ontario, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
{{Infobox Province or territory of Canada| Name = Ontario| AlternateName =| Fullname = Province of Ontario| EntityAdjective = Provincial| Flag = Flag of Ontario.svg|100px| CoatOfArms = Ontario arms.svg|100px| Map = Ontario-map.png| Label_map = no| Motto =
Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (
Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains)] (
de facto)]| Tree =
Eastern White Pine| Capital = [Toronto| PremierParty = [Ontario Liberal Party| Viceroy =
David C. Onley [List of L Postal Codes of Canada List of M Postal Codes of Canada List of N Postal Codes of Canada List of P Postal Codes of Canada| AreaRank = 4th| area_footnotes =| TotalArea_km2 = 1076395| LandArea_km2 = 917741| WaterArea_km2 = 158654| PercentWater = 14.8| PopulationRank = 1st| Population = 12,803,861 (est.)| PopulationYear = 2007| DensityRank = 3rd| Density_km2 = 13.9| GDP_year = 2006| GDP_total = C$556.3 billion Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory| GDP_rank = 1st| GDP_per_capita = C$43,847| GDP_per_capita_rank = 6th| AdmittanceOrder = 1st| AdmittanceDate = July 1, 1867-5 & -6| HouseSeats = 106| SenateSeats = 24| ISOCode = CA-ON| Website = www.ontario.ca-->
Ontario () is a [province located in the
Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after
Quebec, (Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are larger but are not provinces) in total area. Ontario is bordered by the provinces of Manitoba to the west,
Quebec to the east, and the
United States states of
Michigan, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. Most of Ontario's borders with the United States are natural, starting at the
Lake of the Woods and continuing through the four
Great Lakes:
Lake Superior, Lake Huron (which includes Georgian Bay),
Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario (for which the province is named), then along the Saint Lawrence River near Cornwall, Ontario. Ontario is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes.
The capital of Ontario is
Toronto, the largest city in Canada.
Ottawa, the capital of
Canada, is located in Ontario as well. The Canada 2006 Census counted 12,160,282 residents in Ontario, which accounted for 38.5% of the national population.
The province takes its name from
Lake Ontario, which is thought to be derived from
ontarí:io, a Huron language word meaning "great lake", or possibly
skanadario which means "beautiful water" in Iroquoian languages. Along with
New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia and Quebec, Ontario is one of the four original provinces of
Canada when the nation was formed on July 1,
1867 by the
British North America Act.
Ontario is Canada's leading manufacturing province accounting for 52 per cent of the total national manufacturing shipments in 2004.
Geography
The province consists of three main geographical regions:
- The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and the central portions which covers over half the land area in the province, though mostly infertile land, it is rich in minerals and studded with lakes and rivers; sub-regions are Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario.
- The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the extreme north and northeast, mainly swampy and sparsely forested; and
- The temperate, and therefore most populous region, fertile Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Valley in the south where agriculture and industry are concentrated. Southern Ontario is further sub-divided into four regions; Southwestern Ontario (parts of which formerly referred to as Western Ontario), Golden Horseshoe, Central Ontario (although not actually the province's geographic centre) and Eastern Ontario.
.
Despite the absence of any mountainous terrain in the province, there are large areas of uplands, particularly within the Canadian Shield which traverses the province from northwest to southeast and also above the Niagara Escarpment which crosses the south. The highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 m
above mean sea level located in Northeastern Ontario.
The Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern section, its northern extent is part of the
Greater Toronto Area at the western end of
Lake Ontario. The most well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the much more extensive Niagara Escarpment. The
Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the
Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay, Ontario in
Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 85% of the surface area of the province; conversely Southern Ontario contains 94% of the population (see article Geography of Canada).
Point Pelee National Park is a peninsula in southwestern Ontario (near Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan) that extends into Lake Erie and is the southernmost extent of Canada's mainland.
Pelee, Ontario and Middle Island (Ontario) in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the northern border of
California.
Demographics
of Ontario in 2001.
Population of Ontario since 1851
{| class="wikitable"!Year!Population!Five-year% change!Ten-year% change!Rank amongprovinces|-|1851 ||952,004 || n/a || 208.8 || 1|-|1861 ||1,396,091 ||n/a ||46.6 ||1|-|1871 ||1,620,851 ||n/a ||16.1 ||1|-|1881 ||1,926,922 ||n/a ||18.9 ||1|-|1891 ||2,114,321 ||n/a ||9.7 ||1|-|1901 ||2,182,947 ||n/a ||3.2 ||1|-|1911 ||2,527,292 ||n/a ||15.8 ||1|-|1921 ||2,933,662 ||n/a ||16.1 ||1|-|1931 ||3,431,683 ||n/a ||17.0 ||1|-|1941 ||3,787,655 ||n/a ||10.3 ||1|-|1951 ||4,597,542 ||n/a ||21.4 ||1|-|1956 ||5,404,933 ||17.6 ||n/a ||1|-|1961 ||6,236,092 ||15.4 ||35.6 ||1|-|1966 ||6,960,870 ||11.6 ||28.8 ||1|-http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ontario&action=edit§ion=3|1971 ||7,703,105 ||10.7 ||23.5 ||1|-|1976 ||8,264,465 ||7.3 ||18.7 ||1|-|1981 ||8,625,107 ||4.4 ||12.0 ||1|-|1986 ||9,101,695 ||5.5 ||10.1 ||1|-|1991 ||10,084,885 ||10.8 ||16.9 ||1|-|1996 ||10,753,573 ||6.6 ||18.1 ||1|-|2001 ||11,410,046 ||6.1 ||13.1 ||1|-|2006* ||12,160,282 ||6.6 ||13.1 ||1|}
*2006 Census.Source: Statistics Canada
Ethnic groups
{| class="wikitable"!Ethnic!Responses!%|-|
Total population ||
11,285,545 ||100|-|Canadian ] ||2,711,485 ||24|-|
Scottish-Canadian ||1,843,110 ||16.3|-|Irish-Canadian ||1,761,280 ||15.6|-|
French-Canadian ||1,235,765 ||10.9|-|
German-Canadian ||965,510 ||8.6|-|
Italian-Canadian ||781,345 ||6.9|-|Chinese Canadian ||518,550 ||4.6|-|
Dutch Canadian ||436,035 ||3.9|-|Indo-Canadian ||413,415 ||3.7|-|
Polish-Canadian ||386,050 ||3.4|-|Ukrainian-Canadian ||290,925 ||2.6|-|First Nations ||248,940 ||2.2|-|Portuguese-Canadian ||248,265 ||2.2|-|
Jewish-Canadian ||196,260 ||1.7|-|Jamaican Canadian ||180,810 ||1.6|-|Filipino Canadian ||165,025 ||1.5|-|Welsh Canadian ||142,740 ||1.3|-|
Hungarian-Canadian ||128,575 ||1.1|-|
Greek-Canadian ||120,635 ||1.0|-|Russian Canadian ||106,710 ||0.9|-|Spanish-Canadian ||103,110 ||0.9|-|American Canadian ||86,855 ||0.8|-|British, not included elsewhere ||76,415 ||0.7|-|
Vietnamese Canadian ||67,450 ||0.6|-|Finnish-Canadian ||64,105 ||0.6|-|
Croatian-Canadian ||62,325 ||0.6|-|
Métis ] ||40,580 ||0.39|-|Yugoslav-Canadian ||37,650 ||0.36|-|
Bosnian-Canadian ||8,600 ||0.08|}
The information regarding ethnicities below is from the
Canada 2001 Census.The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian"). Groups with greater than 200,000 responses are included. The majority of Ontarians are of British (English, Scottish, Welsh) and Irish ancestry.
The major religious groups in Ontario, as of 2001, are:
{| class="wikitable"!Religion!People!%|-|
Total ||
11,285,535 ||
100|-|Protestant ||3,935,745 ||34.9|-|Catholic ||3,911,760 ||34.7|-|No Religion ||1,841,290 ||16.3|-|Muslim ||352,530 ||3.1|-|Other Christians ||301,935 ||2.7|-|Christian Orthodox ||264,055 ||2.3|-|Hindu ||217,555 ||1.9|-|Jewish ||190,795 ||1.7|-|Buddhist ||128,320 ||1.1|-|Sikh ||104,785 ||0.9|-|Eastern Religions ||17,780 ||0.2|-|Other Religions ||18,985 ||0.2|}
Source: Statistics Canada ] or other White people. Slightly less than five percent of the population of Ontario is Franco-Ontarian, that is those whose native tongue is French, although those with French ancestry account for 11% of the population.
Immigration to Canada is a huge population growth force in Ontario as it has been over the last two centuries, in relation to natural increase or inter-provincial migration. More recent sources of immigrants with already large or growing communities in Ontario include
Caribbeans (
Jamaicans,Trindadians,
Guyanaese ),
South Asians (for example, Pakistanis, Indians,
Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans), East Asians (mostly
Han Chinese and Philippines), Central America/South Americans,
Eastern Europeans such as
Russians and Bosnians, and groups from
Iran,
Somalia and Western Africa. Most groups have settled in the Greater Toronto area. A smaller number have settled in other cities such as London, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario,
Hamilton, Ontario,
Windsor, Ontario, and Ottawa.
Largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) by population
Statistics Canada's measure of a "metro area", the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) roughly bundles together population figures from the core municipality with those from "commuter" municipalities. (See also: Golden Horseshoe and
Windsor-Detroit.)
{] CMA (Region of Peel, Region of York, City of Pickering)|5,813,149|4,682,897|-|
Ottawa CMA (Clarence-Rockland, Russell Township)*
|1,130,761*
|1,067,800*
|-
|[Hamilton, Ontario CMA (Burlington, Grimsby)
|692,911
|662,401
|-
|[London, Ontario CMA (St. Thomas, Strathroy-Caradoc)
|457,720
|435,60
|-
|[Kitchener, Ontario CMA (Cambridge, Waterloo)
|451,235
|414,284
|-
|[St. Catharines–Niagara CMA (Niagara Falls, Welland)
|390,317
|377,009
|-
|[Oshawa CMA (Whitby, Clarington)
|330,594
|296,298
|-
|[Windsor, Ontario CMA (Lakeshore, LaSalle)
|323,342
|307,877
|-
|[Barrie, Ontario CA (Innisfil, Springwater)
|177,061
|148,480
|-
|[Greater Sudbury CMA (Whitefish Lake & Wanapitei Reserves)
|158,258
|155,601
|-
|[Kingston, Ontario CMA
|152,358
|146,838
|}
*Parts of Quebec (including Gatineau) are included in the Ottawa CMA. The entire population of the Ottawa CMA, in both provinces, is shown. Clarence-Rockland and Russell Township are not the second and third largest municipalities in the entire CMA, they are the largest municipalities in the Ontario section of the CMA.
Ten largest municipalities by population
{| class="wikitable sortable"|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"!Municipality!2006!2001!1996|-|
Toronto (provincial capital)] (national capital)| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|
Mississauga, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|
Hamilton, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|Brampton, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|London, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|Markham, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|Vaughan, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|Windsor, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|Kitchener, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|}
Climate
on Lake Ontario.Ontario has three main climatic regions. Most of Southwestern Ontario, plus the lower parts of the
Golden Horseshoe, has a moderate humid continental climate (
Koppen climate classification Dfa), similar to that of the inland
Mid-Atlantic States and the lower Great Lakes portion of the U.S. Midwest. The region has hot, humid summers and cold winters. It is considered a temperate climate when compared with most of Canada. In the summer, the air masses often come out of the southern United States, as the stronger the Bermuda High Pressure ridges into the North American continent, the more warm, humid air is drawn northward from the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout the year, but especially in the fall and winter, temperatures are moderated somewhat by the lower Great Lakes, making it considerably milder than the rest of the provinces and allowing for a longer growing season than areas at similar latitudes in the continent's interior. Both spring and fall are generally pleasantly mild, with cool nights. Annual precipitation ranges from 750 mm (30 inches) to 1000 mm (40 inches) and is well distributed throughout the year with a summer peak. Most of this region lies in the lee of the Great Lakes and receive less snow than any other part of Ontario..The more northern and windward parts of Southern Ontario, plus all of Central and Eastern Ontario and the southern parts of Northern Ontario, have a more severe humid continental climate (Koppen
Dfb). This region has warm to hot summers (although somewhat shorter than in Southwestern Ontario) with cold and somewhat longer winters and a shorter growing season. The southern parts of this region lie at the windward side of the lakes, primarily Lake Huron. The Great Lakes also have a moderating effect for shoreline areas. However, the open lakes frequently result in
lake effect snow squalls on the eastern and southern shores of the lakes, that affect much of the Georgian Bay shoreline including Killarney, Ontario,
Parry Sound District, Ontario,
Muskoka District Municipality, Ontario and Simcoe County, Ontario; the Lake Huron shore from east of
Sarnia, Ontario northward to the Bruce Peninsula, sometimes reaching London, Ontario. Wind-whipped snow squalls or lake effect snow can affect areas as far as 100 kilometres (62 miles) or greater from the shore, but the heaviest snows usually occur within 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the shoreline. Some snowbelt areas receive an annual average of well over 300 cm (120 inches) of snow annually.
The northernmost parts of Ontario - primarily north of 50°N - have a
subarctic climate (Koppen
Dfc) with long, very cold winters and short, warm summers and dramatic temperature changes from time to time. In the summer, hot weather occasionally reaches even the northernmost parts of Ontario, although humidity is generally lower than in the south. With no major mountain ranges blocking Arctic air masses, winters are generally very cold, especially in the far north and northwest where temperatures below -40 °C (-40 °F) are not uncommon. The snow stays on the ground much longer in the region as opposed to any other regions of Ontario; it is not uncommon to see snow on the ground from October to May here.
Severe
thunderstorms peak in frequency in June and July in most of the province, although in Southern Ontario they can occur at any time from March to November due to the collision of colder, Arctic air and warm, often moist Gulf air. In summer they form from convective heating. These storms tend to be more isolated in nature than those associated with frontal activity. Derecho-type thunderstorms can also occur in summer, often nocturnally, bringing severe straight-line winds over wide areas. These storms usually develop along stationary frontal boundaries during hot weather periods and most areas of the province can be struck. Only the Hudson/James Bay Lowlands region rarely experience one. The regions most prone to severe weather are Southwestern and Central Ontario, due to the effect of the localized Lake Breeze Front.
London, Ontario has the most lightning strikes per year in Canada, and is also one of the most active areas in the country for storms.
Tornadoes are common throughout the province, especially in the southwestern/south-central parts, although they are rarely destructive (the vast majority are classified as
F0 or
F1 on the
Fujita Scale). In Northern Ontario, some tornadoes go undetected by ground spotters due to the sparse population; they are often discovered after the fact by aircraft pilots, who observe from the air the sections of destroyed forest left by them.
Economy
, in
London, Ontario, is the tallest office tower in Ontario outside of the Greater Toronto Area. in Toronto has the highest public observation level on Earth.Ontario's rivers, including its share of the Niagara River, make it rich in hydroelectric energy. Since the privatization of Ontario Hydro which began in 1999,
Ontario Power Generation runs 85% of electricity generated in the province, of which 41% is nuclear, 30% is hydroelectric and 29% is fossil fuel derived. OPG is not however responsible for the transmission of power, which is under the control of
Hydro One. Despite its diverse range of power options, problems related to increasing consumption, lack of energy efficiency and aging nuclear reactors, Ontario has been forced in recent years to purchase power from its neighbours, Quebec and
Michigan to supplement its power needs during peak consumption periods.
An abundance of natural resources, excellent transportation links to the American heartland and the inland Great Lakes making ocean access possible via ship containers, have all contributed to making manufacturing the principal industry, found mainly in the Golden Horseshoe region which is the largest industrialized area in Canada. Important products include motor vehicles, iron,
steel, food, electrical appliances, machinery, chemicals, and paper. Ontario surpassed Michigan in automobile production, assembling 2.696 million vehicles in 2004 (see
Canada-United States Automotive Agreement).
However, as a result of steeply declining sales, on November 21,
2005,
General Motors Corporation announced massive layoffs at production facilities across North America including two large GM plants in
Oshawa and a drive train facility in
St. Catharines, Ontario which by 2008 will result in 8,000 job losses in Ontario alone. Subsequently in
January 23,
2006 money losing
Ford Motor Company announced between 25,000 and 30,000 layoffs phased until 2012, Ontario was spared the worst, but job losses were announced for the St. Thomas, Ontario facility and the
Windsor, Ontario casting plant. However, these losses will be offset by Ford's recent announcement of a hybrid vehicle facility slated to begin production in 2007 at its Oakville, Ontario plant and GM's re-introduction of the Camaro which will be produced in Oshawa.
Toyota also announced plans to build a new plant in Woodstock, Ontario by 2008, and Honda also has plans to add an engine plant at its facility in Alliston, Ontario.
: Ontario's capital city and Canada's largest metropolis. is a major tourist attraction in Ontario as well as a huge supplier of clean
hydroelectric energy for the province.Toronto, the capital of Ontario, is the centre of Canada's financial services and banking industry. Suburban cities in the Greater Toronto Area like Brampton, Ontario,
Mississauga and
Vaughan, Ontario are large product distribution centres, in addition to having manufacturing industries. The information technology sector is also important, particularly in Markham, Ontario,
Waterloo, Ontario and
Ottawa.
Hamilton, Ontario is the largest steel manufacturing city in Canada and Sarnia, Ontario is a centre for petrochemical production. Construction employs at least 7% of the work force, but due to undocumented workers, the figure is likely over 10%. This sector has thrived over the last ten years due to steadily increasing new house and condominium construction combined with low mortgage rates and climbing prices, particularly in the Greater Toronto area.
Mining and the forest products industry, notably
pulp and paper industry in Canada, are vital to the economy of
Northern Ontario. More than any other region, tourism contributes heavily to the economy of Central Ontario, peaking during the summer months owing to the abundance of fresh water recreation and wilderness found there in reasonable proximity to the major urban centres. At other times of the year,
hunting,
skiing and
snowmobiling are among the out of high-season draws. This region has some of the most vibrant fall colour displays anywhere on the continent and tours directed at overseas visitors are organized to see them. Tourism also plays a key role in border cities with large casinos, among them Windsor, Ontario, Rama, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, Ontario which attract many US visitors.
Further economic information on the provincial economy can be found at Ontario Facts.
Transportation
Historically, the province has used two major east-west routes, both starting from
Montreal in the neighbouring province of
Quebec. The northerly route, which was pioneered by early French-speaking fur traders, travels northwest from Montreal along the
Ottawa River, then continues westward towards Manitoba. Major cities on or near the route include Ottawa,
North Bay, Ontario, Sudbury, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and
Thunder Bay, Ontario. The much more heavily travelled southerly route, which was driven by growth in predominantly English-speaking settlements originated by the United Empire Loyalists and later other
European ethnic groups immigrants, travels southwest from Montreal along the St. Lawrence River,
Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie before entering the
United States in
Michigan. Major cities on or near the route include Kingston, Ontario, Oshawa, Ontario, Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario, London, Ontario, Sarnia, Ontario, and
Windsor, Ontario. Most of Ontario's major transportation infrastructure is oriented east-west and roughly follows one of these two original routes.
Road transportation
, running 817.9 km east/northeast from Windsor to the Quebec border is one of the busiest highways in the world..400-Series Highways make up the primary vehicular network in the south of province and they connect to numerous border crossings with the US, the busiest being the
Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and
Ambassador Bridge (via
Highway 401) and the
Blue Water Bridge (via Highway 402 (Ontario)). The primary highway along the southern route is
Highway 401 (Ontario), one of the world's busiest highways {{cite web| url = http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3459| title = GTA Economy Dinged by Every Crash on the 401 - North America's Busiest Freeway| author = Brian Gray| publisher =
Toronto Sun, transcribed at Urban Planet]| accessdate = 2007-03-18| quote = The "phenomenal" number of vehicles on Hwy. 401 as it cuts through Toronto makes it the busiest freeway in North America...--> and the backbone of Ontario's road network, tourism, and economy, while the primary highway across the northern route is
Highway 417 (Ontario) /
Highway 17 (Ontario), part of the
Trans-Canada Highway.
Highway 400 (Ontario)/Highway 69 (Ontario) connects Toronto to Northern Ontario. Other List of Ontario provincial highways and regional roads inter-connect the remainder of the province.
Water transportation
The St. Lawrence Seaway, which extends across most of the southern portion of the province and connects to the
Atlantic Ocean, is the primary water transportation route for cargo, particularly iron ore and grain. In the past, the Great Lakes and
St. Lawrence River were also a major passenger transportation route, but over the past half century they have been nearly totally supplanted by vehicle, rail, and air travel. There was previously a ferry connecting Toronto with Rochester, New York.
Rail transportation
, Ottawa's
light rail train system (LRT).Via Rail operates the inter-regional passenger train service on the
Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. In addition
Amtrak rail connects Ontario with key New York cities including Buffalo, NY,
Albany, NY, and New York City, NY.
Ontario Northland provides rail service to destinations as far north as Moosonee, Ontario near
James Bay, connecting them with the south.
Freight train is dominated by the founding cross-country Canadian National Railway and
CP Rail rail companies, which during the 1990s sold many
Short-line railroad from their vast network to private companies operating mostly in the south. Regional
Commuter rail is limited to the provincially owned
GO Transit, which serves a train/bus network spanning the
Golden Horseshoe region, its hub in Toronto. The
Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto operates the province's only subway and streetcar system, one of the busiest in North America. Outside of Toronto, the O-Train Light rail line operates in
Ottawa with ongoing expansion of the current line and proposals for additional lines.
Air transportation
Lester B. Pearson International Airport is the Canada's busiest airport and the world's 29th busiest, handling over 30 million passengers per year. Other important airports include Ottawa International Airport and John C. Munro International Airport in Hamilton, which is an important courier and freight aviation centre. Toronto/Pearson and Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier form two of the three points in Air Canada's Rapidair triangle, Canada's busiest set of air routes (the third point is
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport). WestJet also operates many flights in the triangle. A third and new airline, Porter Airlines will be joining in the triangle making
Toronto City Centre Airport their hub beginning late 2006 to early 2007.
Most Ontario cities have regional airports, many of which have scheduled commuter flights from Air Canada Jazz or smaller airlines and charter companies — flights from the larger cities such as Thunder Bay, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario,
Sudbury, Ontario, North Bay, Ontario, Timmins, Ontario,
Windsor, Ontario,
London, Ontario, and Kingston, Ontario feed directly into Toronto Pearson.
Bearskin Airlines also runs flights along the northerly east-west route, connecting Ottawa, North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and Thunder Bay directly without requiring connections at Toronto Pearson.
Isolated towns and settlements in the northern areas of the province rely partly or entirely on general aviation for travel, goods, and even ambulance services, since much of the far northern area of the province cannot be reached by road or rail.
Professional sports
Agriculture
Once the dominant industry,
agriculture occupies a small percentage of the population. The number of farms has decreased from 68,633 in 1991 to 59,728 in 2001, but farms have increased in average size and many are becoming more mechanized . Cattle, small grains and
dairy were the common types of farms in the 2001 census. The fruit, grape and vegetable growing industry is located primarily on the Niagara Peninsula and along Lake Erie, where tobacco farms are also situated. Tobacco production has decreased leading to an increase in some other new crop alternatives gaining popularity, such as
Hazelnuts and
Ginseng. The Ontario origins of
Massey-Ferguson Ltd., once one of the largest farm implement manufacturing in the world, indicate the importance agriculture once had to the Canadian economy (see Geography of Canada for more detail).
History
Pre-1867
Before the arrival of the Europeans, the region was inhabited both by Algonquian (
Ojibwa, Cree and Algonquin) and Iroquoian (Iroquois and Huron) tribes. The French explorer Étienne Brûlé explored part of the area in 1610-12. The English explorer
Henry Hudson sailed into Hudson Bay in 1611 and claimed the area for
England, but
Samuel de Champlain reached Lake Huron in 1615 and
France missionaries began to establish posts along the Great Lakes. French settlement was hampered by their hostilities with the Iroquois, who would ally themselves with the British.
The British established trading posts on Hudson Bay in the late 17th century and began a struggle for domination of Ontario. The Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the
Seven Years' War by awarding nearly all of French colonization of the Americas (
New France) to Britain. The region was annexed to Quebec in 1774. From 1783 to 1796, the United Kingdom granted United Empire Loyalists leaving the United States following the
American Revolution 200 acres (0.8 km²) of land and other items with which to rebuild their lives.. This measure substantially increased the population of Canada west of the St. Lawrence-Ottawa River confluence during this period, a fact recognized by the Constitutional Act of 1791, which split Quebec into
The Canadas: Upper Canada southwest of the St. Lawrence-Ottawa River confluence, and
Lower Canada east of it.
John Graves Simcoe was appointed Upper Canada's first Lieutenant-Governor in 1793.
American troops in the War of 1812 invaded Upper Canada across the Niagara River and the Detroit River but were successfully defeated and pushed back by British regulars, Canadian militias, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas warriors. The Americans gained control of
Lake Erie and
Lake Ontario, however, and during the Battle of York occupied the York, Upper Canada (later named
Toronto) in 1813. Not able to hold the town, the departing soldiers burned it to the ground.
After the War of 1812, relative stability allowed for increasing numbers of immigrants to arrive from Britain and Ireland rather than from the United States. As was the case in the previous decades, this delibrate immigration shift was encouranged by the colonial leaders. Despite affordable and often free land, many arriving newcomers from Europe (mostly from Britain and Ireland) found frontier life with the harsh climate difficult, and some of those with the means eventually returned home or went south. However, population growth far exceeded emigration in the decades that would follow. Still, a mostly agrarian-based society, canal projects and a new network of plank roads spurred greater trade within the colony and with the United States, thereby improving relations over time.
Meanwhile, Ontario's numerous waterways aided travel and transportation into the interior and supplied water power for development. As the population increased, so did the industries and transportation networks, which in turn led to further development. By the end of the century, Ontario vied with Quebec as the nation's leader in terms of growth in population, industry, arts and communications. Virtual Vault, an online exhibition of Canadian historical art at Library and Archives Canada
Many in the colony, however, began to chafe against the aristocratic
Family Compact that governed while benefitting economically from the regions resources, and who did not allow elected bodies the power to effect change (much as the
Château Clique ruled Lower Canada). This resentment spurred republican ideals and sowed the seeds for early Canadian nationalism. Accordingly, rebellion in favour of responsible government rose in both regions;
Louis-Joseph Papineau led the Lower Canada Rebellion and
William Lyon Mackenzie led the
Upper Canada Rebellion. For more on the rebellions of 1837, see History of Canada.
Although both rebellions were put down in short order, the British government sent John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham to investigate the causes of the unrest. He recommended that self-government be granted and that Lower and Upper Canada be re-joined in an attempt to assimilate the
French Canadians. Accordingly, the two colonies were merged into the Province of Canada by the
Act of Union (1840), with the capital at Kingston, and Upper Canada becoming known as Canada West. Parliamentary self-government was granted in 1848. Due to heavy waves of immigration in the 1840s, the population of Canada West more than doubled by 1851 over the previous decade, and as a result for the first time the English-speaking population of Canada West surpassed the French-speaking population of Canada East, tilting the representative balance of power.
An economic boom in the 1850s coincided with railway expansion across the province further increasing the economic strength of Central Canada.
A political stalemate between the French- and English-speaking legislators, as well as fear of aggression from the United States during the
American Civil War, led the political elite to hold a series of conferences in the 1860s to effect a broader federal union of all British North American colonies. The
British North America Act took effect on
July 1, 1867, establishing the Dominion of Canada, initially with four provinces:
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. The Province of Canada was divided at this point into Ontario and Quebec so that each linguistic group would have its own province. Both Quebec and Ontario were required by section 93 of the BNA Act to safeguard existing educational rights and privileges of the Protestant and Catholic minorities. Thus, separate Catholic schools and school boards were permitted in Ontario. However, neither province had a constitutional requirement to protect its French- or English-speaking minority. Toronto was formally established as Ontario's provincial capital at this time.
From 1867 to 1896
Once constituted as a province, Ontario proceeded to assert its economic and legislative power. In 1872, the lawyer
Oliver Mowat became premier, and remained as premier until 1896. He fought for provincial rights, weakening the power of the federal government in provincial matters, usually through well-argued appeals to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. His battles with the federal government greatly decentralized Canada, giving the provinces far more power than
John A. Macdonald had intended. He consolidated and expanded Ontario's educational and provincial institutions, created districts in Northern Ontario, and fought tenaciously to ensure that those parts of Northwestern Ontario not historically part of
Upper Canada (the vast areas north and west of the
Lake Superior-Hudson Bay watershed, known as the
District of Keewatin) would become part of Ontario, a victory embodied in the
Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889. He also presided over the emergence of the province into the economic powerhouse of Canada. Mowat was the creator of what is often called
Empire Ontario.
Beginning with Sir John A. Macdonald's the National Policy (1879) and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1875-1885) through Northern Ontario and the
Prairies to British Columbia, Ontario manufacturing and industry flourished. However, population increase slowed after a large recession hit the province in 1893, thus slowing growth drastically but only for a few short years. Many newly arrived immigrants and others moved west along the railroad to the Canadian Prairies and
British Columbia.
From 1896 to the present
Mineral exploitation accelerated in the late 19th century, leading to the rise of important mining centres in the northeast like Greater Sudbury,
Cobalt, Ontario and Timmins, Ontario. The province harnessed its water power to generate
hydro-electric power, and created the state-controlled
Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, later Ontario Hydro. The availability of cheap electric power further facilitated the development of industry. The Ford Motor Company of Canada was established in 1904.
General Motors Corporation of Canada Ltd. was formed in 1918. The motor vehicle industry would go on to become the most lucrative industry for the Ontario economy.
In July 1912, the Conservative government of Sir James P. Whitney issued
Regulation 17 which severely limited the availability of French-language schooling to the province's French-speaking minority. French-Canadians reacted with outrage, journalist Henri Bourassa denouncing the "Prussians of Ontario". It was eventually repealed in 1927.
Influenced by events in the United States, the government of Sir
William Howard Hearst introduced prohibition of alcoholic drinks in 1916 with the passing of the Ontario Temperance Act. However, residents could distill and retain their own personal supply and liquor producers could continue distillation and export for sale, which allowed Ontario to become a hotbed for the illegal smuggling of liquor into the United States, which was under complete prohibition. Prohibition came to an end in 1927 with the establishment of the
Liquor Control Board of Ontario by the government of
George Howard Ferguson. The sale and consumption of liquor, wine, and beer are still controlled by some of the most extreme laws in North America to ensure that strict community standards and revenue generation from the alcohol retail monopoly are upheld. In April 2007, Ontario Minister of Provincial Parliament
Kim Craitor suggested that local brewers should be able to sell their beer in local corner stores, however, the motion was quickly rejected by Premier
Dalton McGuinty.
The post-World War II period was one of exceptional prosperity and growth. Ontario, and the
Greater Toronto Area in particular, have been the recipients of most immigration to Canada, largely immigrants from war-torn Europe in the 1950s and 1960s and after changes in federal immigration law, a massive influx of non-Europeans since the 1970s. From a largely Ethnicity British province, Ontario has rapidly become very culturally diverse.
The nationalist movement in Quebec, particularly after the election of the
Parti Québécois in 1976, contributed to driving many businesses and English-speaking people out of Quebec to Ontario, and as a result
Toronto surpassed
Montreal as the largest city and economic centre of Canada. Depressed economic conditions in the
Atlantic Canada have also resulted in de-population of those provinces in the 20th century, with heavy migration into Ontario.
Ontario has no official language, but English is considered the
de facto language. Numerous French language services are available under the French Language Services Act of 1990 in designated areas where sizable
francophone populations exist.
Government
The
British North America Act 1867 section 69 stipulated "There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting of the Lieutenant-Governor (Canada) and of One House, styled the Legislative Assembly of Ontario." The assembly has 107 seats representing Riding (division)s elected in a
first-past-the-post system across the province. The legislative buildings at
Queen's Park (Toronto) in
Toronto are the seat of government. Following the Westminster system, the leader of the party currently holding the most seats in the assembly is known as the "Premier of Ontario" (Executive Council Act R.S.O. 1990). The Premier chooses the cabinet or
Executive Council of Ontario whose members are deemed "ministers of the Crown." Although the
Legislative Assembly Act (R.S.O. 1990) refers to
members of the assembly, the legislators are now commonly called MPPs (
Members of the Provincial Parliament) in English and
députés de l'Assemblée législative in French, but they have also been called MLAs (
Members of the Legislative Assembly), and both are acceptable. The title of
Prime Minister of Ontario, while permissible in English and correct in French (
le Premier ministre), is generally avoided in favour of "Premier" to avoid confusion with the Prime Minister of Canada.
Politics
Ontario has traditionally operated under a three-party system. In the last few decades the liberal
Ontario Liberal Party, conservative Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and social-democratic Ontario New Democratic Party have all ruled the province at different times.
Currently Ontario is under a Liberal government headed by Premier Dalton McGuinty.
Federally, Ontario is known as being the province that offers the strongest support for the Liberal Party of Canada. The majority of the party's present 106 seats in the
Canadian House of Commons represent Ontario ridings. As the province has the most seats of any province in Canada, earning support from Ontario voters is considered a crucial matter for any party hoping to win a
Canadian federal election.
Territorial evolution 1788-1899
Land was not legally subdivided into administrative units until a treaty had been concluded with the native peoples ceding the land (see
Royal Proclamation of 1763). In 1788, while part of the
Province of Quebec (1763-1791), southern Ontario was divided into four
districts: Western District, Upper Canada,
Eastern District, Upper Canada, Midland District, Upper Canada, and Home District.
In 1792, the four districts were renamed: Hesse became the
Western District, Lunenburg became the
Eastern District, Mecklenburg became the
Midland District, and Nassau became the
Home District. Counties were created within the districts.
By 1798, there were eight districts: Eastern, Home, Johnstown District, Ontario, London District, Ontario, Midland,
Newcastle District, Ontario, Niagara District, Ontario, and Western.
By 1826, there were eleven districts:
Bathurst District, Ontario, Eastern, Gore District, Ontario, Home, Johnstown, London, Midland, Newcastle, Niagara, Ottawa District, Ontario, and Western.
By 1838, there were twenty districts: Bathurst,
Brock District, Ontario,
Colbourne District, Ontario, Dalhousie District, Ontario, Eastern, Gore, Home, Huron District, Ontario, Johnstown, London, Midland, Newcastle, Niagara, Ottawa, Prince Edward District, Ontario, Simcoe District, Ontario,
Talbot District, Ontario,
Victoria District, Ontario,
Wellington District, Ontario, and Western.
In 1849, the districts of southern Ontario were abolished by the
Province of Canada and county governments took over certain municipal responsibilities. The
Province of Canada also began creating
districts in sparsely populated
Northern Ontario with the establishment of Algoma District, Ontario and Nipissing District, Ontario in 1858.
The northern and western boundar
{{Infobox Province or territory of Canada| Name = Ontario| AlternateName =| Fullname = Province of Ontario| EntityAdjective = Provincial| Flag = Flag of Ontario.svg|100px| CoatOfArms = Ontario arms.svg|100px| Map = Ontario-map.png| Label_map = no| Motto =
Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (
Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains)] (
de facto)]| Tree =
Eastern White Pine| Capital = [Toronto| PremierParty = [Ontario Liberal Party| Viceroy =
David C. Onley [List of L Postal Codes of Canada List of M Postal Codes of Canada List of N Postal Codes of Canada
List of P Postal Codes of Canada| AreaRank = 4th| area_footnotes =| TotalArea_km2 = 1076395| LandArea_km2 = 917741| WaterArea_km2 = 158654| PercentWater = 14.8| PopulationRank = 1st| Population = 12,803,861 (est.)| PopulationYear = 2007| DensityRank = 3rd| Density_km2 = 13.9| GDP_year = 2006| GDP_total = C$556.3 billion Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory| GDP_rank = 1st| GDP_per_capita = C$43,847| GDP_per_capita_rank = 6th| AdmittanceOrder = 1st| AdmittanceDate = July 1, 1867-5 & -6| HouseSeats = 106| SenateSeats = 24| ISOCode = CA-ON| Website = www.ontario.ca-->
Ontario () is a [province located in the Central Canada part of
Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after
Quebec, (Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are larger but are not provinces) in total area. Ontario is bordered by the provinces of Manitoba to the west,
Quebec to the east, and the United States states of
Michigan,
New York,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. Most of Ontario's borders with the United States are natural, starting at the Lake of the Woods and continuing through the four
Great Lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Huron (which includes Georgian Bay),
Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario (for which the province is named), then along the Saint Lawrence River near
Cornwall, Ontario. Ontario is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes.
The capital of Ontario is Toronto, the largest city in Canada.
Ottawa, the capital of
Canada, is located in Ontario as well. The
Canada 2006 Census counted 12,160,282 residents in Ontario, which accounted for 38.5% of the national population.
The province takes its name from
Lake Ontario, which is thought to be derived from
ontarí:io, a Huron language word meaning "great lake", or possibly
skanadario which means "beautiful water" in Iroquoian languages. Along with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and
Quebec, Ontario is one of the four original provinces of Canada when the nation was formed on
July 1,
1867 by the British North America Act.
Ontario is Canada's leading manufacturing province accounting for 52 per cent of the total national manufacturing shipments in 2004.
Geography
The province consists of three main geographical regions:
- The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and the central portions which covers over half the land area in the province, though mostly infertile land, it is rich in minerals and studded with lakes and rivers; sub-regions are Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario.
- The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the extreme north and northeast, mainly swampy and sparsely forested; and
- The temperate, and therefore most populous region, fertile Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Valley in the south where agriculture and industry are concentrated. Southern Ontario is further sub-divided into four regions; Southwestern Ontario (parts of which formerly referred to as Western Ontario), Golden Horseshoe, Central Ontario (although not actually the province's geographic centre) and Eastern Ontario.
.
Despite the absence of any mountainous terrain in the province, there are large areas of uplands, particularly within the Canadian Shield which traverses the province from northwest to southeast and also above the Niagara Escarpment which crosses the south. The highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 m
above mean sea level located in Northeastern Ontario.
The
Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern section, its northern extent is part of the
Greater Toronto Area at the western end of
Lake Ontario. The most well-known geographic feature is
Niagara Falls, part of the much more extensive Niagara Escarpment. The
Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the
Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay, Ontario in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 85% of the surface area of the province; conversely Southern Ontario contains 94% of the population (see article
Geography of Canada).
Point Pelee National Park is a peninsula in southwestern Ontario (near
Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan) that extends into Lake Erie and is the southernmost extent of Canada's mainland.
Pelee, Ontario and
Middle Island (Ontario) in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the northern border of
California.
Demographics
of Ontario in 2001.
Population of Ontario since 1851
{| class="wikitable"!Year!Population!Five-year% change!Ten-year% change!Rank amongprovinces|-|1851 ||952,004 || n/a || 208.8 || 1|-|1861 ||1,396,091 ||n/a ||46.6 ||1|-|1871 ||1,620,851 ||n/a ||16.1 ||1|-|1881 ||1,926,922 ||n/a ||18.9 ||1|-|1891 ||2,114,321 ||n/a ||9.7 ||1|-|1901 ||2,182,947 ||n/a ||3.2 ||1|-|1911 ||2,527,292 ||n/a ||15.8 ||1|-|1921 ||2,933,662 ||n/a ||16.1 ||1|-|1931 ||3,431,683 ||n/a ||17.0 ||1|-|1941 ||3,787,655 ||n/a ||10.3 ||1|-|1951 ||4,597,542 ||n/a ||21.4 ||1|-|1956 ||5,404,933 ||17.6 ||n/a ||1|-|1961 ||6,236,092 ||15.4 ||35.6 ||1|-|1966 ||6,960,870 ||11.6 ||28.8 ||1|-http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ontario&action=edit§ion=3|1971 ||7,703,105 ||10.7 ||23.5 ||1|-|1976 ||8,264,465 ||7.3 ||18.7 ||1|-|1981 ||8,625,107 ||4.4 ||12.0 ||1|-|1986 ||9,101,695 ||5.5 ||10.1 ||1|-|1991 ||10,084,885 ||10.8 ||16.9 ||1|-|1996 ||10,753,573 ||6.6 ||18.1 ||1|-|2001 ||11,410,046 ||6.1 ||13.1 ||1|-|2006* ||12,160,282 ||6.6 ||13.1 ||1|}
*2006 Census.Source: Statistics Canada
Ethnic groups
{| class="wikitable"!Ethnic!Responses!%|-|
Total population ||
11,285,545 ||100|-|
Canadian ] ||2,711,485 ||24|-|
Scottish-Canadian ||1,843,110 ||16.3|-|
Irish-Canadian ||1,761,280 ||15.6|-|
French-Canadian ||1,235,765 ||10.9|-|
German-Canadian ||965,510 ||8.6|-|
Italian-Canadian ||781,345 ||6.9|-|
Chinese Canadian ||518,550 ||4.6|-|
Dutch Canadian ||436,035 ||3.9|-|Indo-Canadian ||413,415 ||3.7|-|Polish-Canadian ||386,050 ||3.4|-|Ukrainian-Canadian ||290,925 ||2.6|-|
First Nations ||248,940 ||2.2|-|Portuguese-Canadian ||248,265 ||2.2|-|
Jewish-Canadian ||196,260 ||1.7|-|Jamaican Canadian ||180,810 ||1.6|-|Filipino Canadian ||165,025 ||1.5|-|
Welsh Canadian ||142,740 ||1.3|-|Hungarian-Canadian ||128,575 ||1.1|-|
Greek-Canadian ||120,635 ||1.0|-|
Russian Canadian ||106,710 ||0.9|-|Spanish-Canadian ||103,110 ||0.9|-|American Canadian ||86,855 ||0.8|-|British, not included elsewhere ||76,415 ||0.7|-|
Vietnamese Canadian ||67,450 ||0.6|-|
Finnish-Canadian ||64,105 ||0.6|-|
Croatian-Canadian ||62,325 ||0.6|-|
Métis ] ||40,580 ||0.39|-|
Yugoslav-Canadian ||37,650 ||0.36|-|Bosnian-Canadian ||8,600 ||0.08|}
The information regarding ethnicities below is from the Canada 2001 Census.The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian"). Groups with greater than 200,000 responses are included. The majority of Ontarians are of British (English, Scottish, Welsh) and Irish ancestry.
The major religious groups in Ontario, as of 2001, are:
{| class="wikitable"!Religion!People!%|-|
Total ||
11,285,535 ||
100|-|Protestant ||3,935,745 ||34.9|-|Catholic ||3,911,760 ||34.7|-|No Religion ||1,841,290 ||16.3|-|Muslim ||352,530 ||3.1|-|Other Christians ||301,935 ||2.7|-|Christian Orthodox ||264,055 ||2.3|-|Hindu ||217,555 ||1.9|-|Jewish ||190,795 ||1.7|-|Buddhist ||128,320 ||1.1|-|Sikh ||104,785 ||0.9|-|Eastern Religions ||17,780 ||0.2|-|Other Religions ||18,985 ||0.2|}
Source:
Statistics Canada ] or other White people. Slightly less than five percent of the population of Ontario is Franco-Ontarian, that is those whose native tongue is French, although those with French ancestry account for 11% of the population.
Immigration to Canada is a huge population growth force in Ontario as it has been over the last two centuries, in relation to natural increase or inter-provincial migration. More recent sources of immigrants with already large or growing communities in Ontario include Caribbeans (Jamaicans,Trindadians,
Guyanaese ),
South Asians (for example,
Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans), East Asians (mostly Han Chinese and
Philippines), Central America/South Americans, Eastern Europeans such as Russians and Bosnians, and groups from
Iran, Somalia and
Western Africa. Most groups have settled in the Greater Toronto area. A smaller number have settled in other cities such as
London, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario,
Hamilton, Ontario,
Windsor, Ontario, and
Ottawa.
Largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) by population
Statistics Canada's measure of a "metro area", the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) roughly bundles together population figures from the core municipality with those from "commuter" municipalities. (See also:
Golden Horseshoe and
Windsor-Detroit.)
{] CMA (Region of Peel, Region of York, City of Pickering)|5,813,149|4,682,897|-|
Ottawa CMA (Clarence-Rockland, Russell Township)*
|1,130,761*
|1,067,800*
|-
|[Hamilton, Ontario CMA (Burlington, Grimsby)
|692,911
|662,401
|-
|[London, Ontario CMA (St. Thomas, Strathroy-Caradoc)
|457,720
|435,60
|-
|[Kitchener, Ontario CMA (Cambridge, Waterloo)
|451,235
|414,284
|-
|[St. Catharines–Niagara CMA (Niagara Falls, Welland)
|390,317
|377,009
|-
|[Oshawa CMA (Whitby, Clarington)
|330,594
|296,298
|-
|[Windsor, Ontario CMA (Lakeshore, LaSalle)
|323,342
|307,877
|-
|[Barrie, Ontario CA (Innisfil, Springwater)
|177,061
|148,480
|-
|[Greater Sudbury CMA (Whitefish Lake & Wanapitei Reserves)
|158,258
|155,601
|-
|[Kingston, Ontario CMA
|152,358
|146,838
|}
*Parts of Quebec (including Gatineau) are included in the Ottawa CMA. The entire population of the Ottawa CMA, in both provinces, is shown. Clarence-Rockland and Russell Township are not the second and third largest municipalities in the entire CMA, they are the largest municipalities in the Ontario section of the CMA.
Ten largest municipalities by population
{| class="wikitable sortable"|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"!Municipality!2006!2001!1996|-|Toronto (provincial capital)] (national capital)| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|Mississauga, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|
Hamilton, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|Brampton, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|London, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|
Markham, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|
Vaughan, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|
Windsor, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|Kitchener, Ontario| style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" || style="text-align: right;" ||-|}
Climate
on Lake Ontario.Ontario has three main climatic regions. Most of Southwestern Ontario, plus the lower parts of the Golden Horseshoe, has a moderate humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification
Dfa), similar to that of the inland Mid-Atlantic States and the lower Great Lakes portion of the U.S. Midwest. The region has hot, humid summers and cold winters. It is considered a temperate climate when compared with most of Canada. In the summer, the air masses often come out of the southern United States, as the stronger the Bermuda High Pressure ridges into the North American continent, the more warm, humid air is drawn northward from the
Gulf of Mexico. Throughout the year, but especially in the fall and winter, temperatures are moderated somewhat by the lower Great Lakes, making it considerably milder than the rest of the provinces and allowing for a longer growing season than areas at similar latitudes in the continent's interior. Both spring and fall are generally pleasantly mild, with cool nights. Annual precipitation ranges from 750 mm (30 inches) to 1000 mm (40 inches) and is well distributed throughout the year with a summer peak. Most of this region lies in the lee of the Great Lakes and receive less snow than any other part of Ontario..The more northern and windward parts of Southern Ontario, plus all of Central and Eastern Ontario and the southern parts of Northern Ontario, have a more severe humid continental climate (Koppen
Dfb). This region has warm to hot summers (although somewhat shorter than in Southwestern Ontario) with cold and somewhat longer winters and a shorter growing season. The southern parts of this region lie at the windward side of the lakes, primarily
Lake Huron. The Great Lakes also have a moderating effect for shoreline areas. However, the open lakes frequently result in
lake effect snow squalls on the eastern and southern shores of the lakes, that affect much of the Georgian Bay shoreline including
Killarney, Ontario, Parry Sound District, Ontario, Muskoka District Municipality, Ontario and
Simcoe County, Ontario; the Lake Huron shore from east of
Sarnia, Ontario northward to the Bruce Peninsula, sometimes reaching
London, Ontario. Wind-whipped snow squalls or lake effect snow can affect areas as far as 100 kilometres (62 miles) or greater from the shore, but the heaviest snows usually occur within 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the shoreline. Some snowbelt areas receive an annual average of well over 300 cm (120 inches) of snow annually.
The northernmost parts of Ontario - primarily north of 50°N - have a subarctic climate (Koppen
Dfc) with long, very cold winters and short, warm summers and dramatic temperature changes from time to time. In the summer, hot weather occasionally reaches even the northernmost parts of Ontario, although humidity is generally lower than in the south. With no major mountain ranges blocking Arctic air masses, winters are generally very cold, especially in the far north and northwest where temperatures below -40 °C (-40 °F) are not uncommon. The snow stays on the ground much longer in the region as opposed to any other regions of Ontario; it is not uncommon to see snow on the ground from October to May here.
Severe thunderstorms peak in frequency in June and July in most of the province, although in Southern Ontario they can occur at any time from March to November due to the collision of colder, Arctic air and warm, often moist Gulf air. In summer they form from convective heating. These storms tend to be more isolated in nature than those associated with frontal activity.
Derecho-type thunderstorms can also occur in summer, often nocturnally, bringing severe straight-line winds over wide areas. These storms usually develop along stationary frontal boundaries during hot weather periods and most areas of the province can be struck. Only the Hudson/James Bay Lowlands region rarely experience one. The regions most prone to severe weather are Southwestern and Central Ontario, due to the effect of the localized
Lake Breeze Front. London, Ontario has the most lightning strikes per year in Canada, and is also one of the most active areas in the country for storms.
Tornadoes are common throughout the province, especially in the southwestern/south-central parts, although they are rarely destructive (the vast majority are classified as
F0 or
F1 on the Fujita Scale). In Northern Ontario, some tornadoes go undetected by ground spotters due to the sparse population; they are often discovered after the fact by aircraft pilots, who observe from the air the sections of destroyed forest left by them.
Economy
, in
London, Ontario, is the tallest office tower in Ontario outside of the Greater Toronto Area. in
Toronto has the highest public observation level on Earth.Ontario's rivers, including its share of the Niagara River, make it rich in
hydroelectric energy. Since the privatization of Ontario Hydro which began in 1999,
Ontario Power Generation runs 85% of electricity generated in the province, of which 41% is nuclear, 30% is hydroelectric and 29% is fossil fuel derived. OPG is not however responsible for the transmission of power, which is under the control of Hydro One. Despite its diverse range of power options, problems related to increasing consumption, lack of energy efficiency and aging nuclear reactors, Ontario has been forced in recent years to purchase power from its neighbours,
Quebec and
Michigan to supplement its power needs during peak consumption periods.
An abundance of natural resources, excellent transportation links to the American heartland and the inland Great Lakes making ocean access possible via ship containers, have all contributed to making manufacturing the principal
industry, found mainly in the Golden Horseshoe region which is the largest industrialized area in Canada. Important products include motor vehicles,
iron,
steel, food, electrical appliances, machinery,
chemicals, and
paper. Ontario surpassed Michigan in
automobile production, assembling 2.696 million vehicles in 2004 (see Canada-United States Automotive Agreement).
However, as a result of steeply declining sales, on November 21, 2005,
General Motors Corporation announced massive layoffs at production facilities across North America including two large GM plants in Oshawa and a drive train facility in
St. Catharines, Ontario which by 2008 will result in 8,000 job losses in Ontario alone. Subsequently in
January 23, 2006 money losing Ford Motor Company announced between 25,000 and 30,000 layoffs phased until 2012, Ontario was spared the worst, but job losses were announced for the St. Thomas, Ontario facility and the Windsor, Ontario casting plant. However, these losses will be offset by Ford's recent announcement of a hybrid vehicle facility slated to begin production in 2007 at its
Oakville, Ontario plant and GM's re-introduction of the Camaro which will be produced in Oshawa. Toyota also announced plans to build a new plant in Woodstock, Ontario by 2008, and
Honda also has plans to add an engine plant at its facility in
Alliston, Ontario.
: Ontario's capital city and Canada's largest metropolis. is a major tourist attraction in Ontario as well as a huge supplier of clean
hydroelectric energy for the province.Toronto, the capital of Ontario, is the centre of Canada's financial services and banking industry. Suburban cities in the Greater Toronto Area like Brampton, Ontario, Mississauga and
Vaughan, Ontario are large product distribution centres, in addition to having manufacturing industries. The information technology sector is also important, particularly in Markham, Ontario, Waterloo, Ontario and Ottawa.
Hamilton, Ontario is the largest steel manufacturing city in Canada and
Sarnia, Ontario is a centre for petrochemical production. Construction employs at least 7% of the work force, but due to undocumented workers, the figure is likely over 10%. This sector has thrived over the last ten years due to steadily increasing new house and condominium construction combined with low mortgage rates and climbing prices, particularly in the Greater Toronto area.
Mining and the forest products industry, notably
pulp and paper industry in Canada, are vital to the economy of Northern Ontario. More than any other region, tourism contributes heavily to the economy of
Central Ontario, peaking during the summer months owing to the abundance of fresh water recreation and wilderness found there in reasonable proximity to the major urban centres. At other times of the year,
hunting,
skiing and
snowmobiling are among the out of high-season draws. This region has some of the most vibrant fall colour displays anywhere on the continent and tours directed at overseas visitors are organized to see them. Tourism also plays a key role in border cities with large casinos, among them
Windsor, Ontario,
Rama, Ontario, and
Niagara Falls, Ontario which attract many US visitors.
Further economic information on the provincial economy can be found at Ontario Facts.
Transportation
Historically, the province has used two major east-west routes, both starting from Montreal in the neighbouring province of
Quebec. The northerly route, which was pioneered by early French-speaking fur traders, travels northwest from Montreal along the Ottawa River, then continues westward towards
Manitoba. Major cities on or near the route include
Ottawa, North Bay, Ontario, Sudbury, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Thunder Bay, Ontario. The much more heavily travelled southerly route, which was driven by growth in predominantly English-speaking settlements originated by the
United Empire Loyalists and later other
European ethnic groups immigrants, travels southwest from Montreal along the St. Lawrence River,
Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie before entering the United States in
Michigan. Major cities on or near the route include
Kingston, Ontario,
Oshawa, Ontario,
Toronto,
Mississauga, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario, London, Ontario, Sarnia, Ontario, and Windsor, Ontario. Most of Ontario's major transportation infrastructure is oriented east-west and roughly follows one of these two original routes.
Road transportation
, running 817.9 km east/northeast from Windsor to the Quebec border is one of the busiest highways in the world..400-Series Highways make up the primary vehicular network in the south of province and they connect to numerous border crossings with the US, the busiest being the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and Ambassador Bridge (via
Highway 401) and the
Blue Water Bridge (via Highway 402 (Ontario)). The primary highway along the southern route is
Highway 401 (Ontario), one of the world's busiest highways {{cite web| url = http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3459| title = GTA Economy Dinged by Every Crash on the 401 - North America's Busiest Freeway| author = Brian Gray| publisher =
Toronto Sun, transcribed at Urban Planet]| accessdate = 2007-03-18| quote = The "phenomenal" number of vehicles on Hwy. 401 as it cuts through Toronto makes it the busiest freeway in North America...--> and the backbone of Ontario's road network, tourism, and economy, while the primary highway across the northern route is
Highway 417 (Ontario) /
Highway 17 (Ontario), part of the
Trans-Canada Highway.
Highway 400 (Ontario)/Highway 69 (Ontario) connects Toronto to Northern Ontario. Other
List of Ontario provincial highways and regional roads inter-connect the remainder of the province.
Water transportation
The St. Lawrence Seaway, which extends across most of the southern portion of the province and connects to the Atlantic Ocean, is the primary water transportation route for cargo, particularly iron ore and grain. In the past, the
Great Lakes and
St. Lawrence River were also a major passenger transportation route, but over the past half century they have been nearly totally supplanted by vehicle, rail, and air travel. There was previously a ferry connecting Toronto with Rochester, New York.
Rail transportation
, Ottawa's light rail train system (LRT).Via Rail operates the inter-regional passenger train service on the
Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. In addition Amtrak rail connects Ontario with key New York cities including Buffalo, NY,
Albany, NY, and New York City, NY.
Ontario Northland provides rail service to destinations as far north as
Moosonee, Ontario near James Bay, connecting them with the south. Freight train is dominated by the founding cross-country Canadian National Railway and CP Rail rail companies, which during the 1990s sold many Short-line railroad from their vast network to private companies operating mostly in the south. Regional
Commuter rail is limited to the provincially owned GO Transit, which serves a train/bus network spanning the Golden Horseshoe region, its hub in Toronto. The
Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto operates the province's only subway and streetcar system, one of the busiest in North America. Outside of Toronto, the O-Train Light rail line operates in
Ottawa with ongoing expansion of the current line and proposals for additional lines.
Air transportation
Lester B. Pearson International Airport is the
Canada's busiest airport and the world's 29th busiest, handling over 30 million passengers per year. Other important airports include
Ottawa International Airport and John C. Munro International Airport in Hamilton, which is an important courier and freight aviation centre. Toronto/Pearson and Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier form two of the three points in
Air Canada's Rapidair triangle, Canada's busiest set of air routes (the third point is
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport). WestJet also operates many flights in the triangle. A third and new airline, Porter Airlines will be joining in the triangle making
Toronto City Centre Airport their hub beginning late 2006 to early 2007.
Most Ontario cities have regional airports, many of which have scheduled commuter flights from
Air Canada Jazz or smaller airlines and charter companies — flights from the larger cities such as
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sudbury, Ontario, North Bay, Ontario, Timmins, Ontario,
Windsor, Ontario, London, Ontario, and Kingston, Ontario feed directly into Toronto Pearson. Bearskin Airlines also runs flights along the northerly east-west route, connecting Ottawa, North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and Thunder Bay directly without requiring connections at Toronto Pearson.
Isolated towns and settlements in the northern areas of the province rely partly or entirely on
general aviation for travel, goods, and even ambulance services, since much of the far northern area of the province cannot be reached by road or rail.
Professional sports
Agriculture
Once the dominant industry, agriculture occupies a small percentage of the population. The number of farms has decreased from 68,633 in 1991 to 59,728 in 2001, but farms have increased in average size and many are becoming more mechanized . Cattle, small grains and dairy were the common types of farms in the 2001 census. The fruit, grape and vegetable growing industry is located primarily on the Niagara Peninsula and along Lake Erie, where tobacco farms are also situated. Tobacco production has decreased leading to an increase in some other new crop alternatives gaining popularity, such as
Hazelnuts and Ginseng. The Ontario origins of Massey-Ferguson Ltd., once one of the largest farm implement
manufacturing in the world, indicate the importance agriculture once had to the Canadian economy (see
Geography of Canada for more detail).
History
Pre-1867
Before the arrival of the Europeans, the region was inhabited both by
Algonquian (Ojibwa, Cree and Algonquin) and
Iroquoian (Iroquois and Huron) tribes. The French explorer
Étienne Brûlé explored part of the area in 1610-12. The English explorer
Henry Hudson sailed into Hudson Bay in 1611 and claimed the area for England, but
Samuel de Champlain reached Lake Huron in 1615 and France missionaries began to establish posts along the Great Lakes. French settlement was hampered by their hostilities with the Iroquois, who would ally themselves with the British.
The British established trading posts on Hudson Bay in the late 17th century and began a struggle for domination of Ontario. The Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the
Seven Years' War by awarding nearly all of French colonization of the Americas (New France) to Britain. The region was annexed to Quebec in 1774. From 1783 to 1796, the United Kingdom granted United Empire Loyalists leaving the United States following the American Revolution 200 acres (0.8 km²) of land and other items with which to rebuild their lives.. This measure substantially increased the population of Canada west of the St. Lawrence-Ottawa River confluence during this period, a fact recognized by the Constitutional Act of 1791, which split Quebec into The Canadas: Upper Canada southwest of the St. Lawrence-Ottawa River confluence, and
Lower Canada east of it. John Graves Simcoe was appointed Upper Canada's first Lieutenant-Governor in 1793.
American troops in the
War of 1812 invaded Upper Canada across the Niagara River and the
Detroit River but were successfully defeated and pushed back by British regulars, Canadian militias, and
Indigenous peoples of the Americas warriors. The Americans gained control of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, however, and during the
Battle of York occupied the
York, Upper Canada (later named Toronto) in 1813. Not able to hold the town, the departing soldiers burned it to the ground.
After the War of 1812, relative stability allowed for increasing numbers of immigrants to arrive from Britain and Ireland rather than from the United States. As was the case in the previous decades, this delibrate immigration shift was encouranged by the colonial leaders. Despite affordable and often free land, many arriving newcomers from Europe (mostly from Britain and Ireland) found frontier life with the harsh climate difficult, and some of those with the means eventually returned home or went south. However, population growth far exceeded emigration in the decades that would follow. Still, a mostly agrarian-based society, canal projects and a new network of plank roads spurred greater trade within the colony and with the United States, thereby improving relations over time.
Meanwhile, Ontario's numerous waterways aided travel and transportation into the interior and supplied water power for development. As the population increased, so did the industries and transportation networks, which in turn led to further development. By the end of the century, Ontario vied with Quebec as the nation's leader in terms of growth in population, industry, arts and communications. Virtual Vault, an online exhibition of Canadian historical art at Library and Archives Canada
Many in the colony, however, began to chafe against the aristocratic
Family Compact that governed while benefitting economically from the regions resources, and who did not allow elected bodies the power to effect change (much as the
Château Clique ruled Lower Canada). This resentment spurred republican ideals and sowed the seeds for early Canadian nationalism. Accordingly, rebellion in favour of
responsible government rose in both regions; Louis-Joseph Papineau led the Lower Canada Rebellion and William Lyon Mackenzie led the Upper Canada Rebellion. For more on the rebellions of 1837, see
History of Canada.
Although both rebellions were put down in short order, the British government sent John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham to investigate the causes of the unrest. He recommended that self-government be granted and that Lower and Upper Canada be re-joined in an attempt to assimilate the French Canadians. Accordingly, the two colonies were merged into the
Province of Canada by the
Act of Union (1840), with the capital at Kingston, and Upper Canada becoming known as
Canada West.
Parliamentary
self-government was granted in 1848. Due to heavy waves of immigration in the 1840s, the population of Canada West more than doubled by 1851 over the previous decade, and as a result for the first time the English-speaking population of Canada West surpassed the French-speaking population of Canada East, tilting the representative balance of power.
An economic boom in the 1850s coincided with railway expansion across the province further increasing the economic strength of Central Canada.
A political stalemate between the French- and English-speaking legislators, as well as fear of aggression from the United States during the American Civil War, led the political elite to hold a series of conferences in the 1860s to effect a broader federal union of all British North American colonies. The
British North America Act took effect on July 1, 1867, establishing the Dominion of Canada, initially with four provinces:
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. The Province of Canada was divided at this point into Ontario and Quebec so that each linguistic group would have its own province. Both Quebec and Ontario were required by section 93 of the BNA Act to safeguard existing educational rights and privileges of the Protestant and Catholic minorities. Thus, separate Catholic schools and school boards were permitted in Ontario. However, neither province had a constitutional requirement to protect its French- or English-speaking minority. Toronto was formally established as Ontario's provincial capital at this time.
From 1867 to 1896
Once constituted as a province, Ontario proceeded to assert its economic and legislative power. In 1872, the lawyer
Oliver Mowat became premier, and remained as premier until 1896. He fought for provincial rights, weakening the power of the federal government in provincial matters, usually through well-argued appeals to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. His battles with the federal government greatly decentralized Canada, giving the provinces far more power than John A. Macdonald had intended. He consolidated and expanded Ontario's educational and provincial institutions, created districts in Northern Ontario, and fought tenaciously to ensure that those parts of
Northwestern Ontario not historically part of
Upper Canada (the vast areas north and west of the
Lake Superior-Hudson Bay watershed, known as the
District of Keewatin) would become part of Ontario, a victory embodied in the
Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889. He also presided over the emergence of the province into the economic powerhouse of Canada. Mowat was the creator of what is often called
Empire Ontario.
Beginning with Sir John A. Macdonald's the National Policy (1879) and the construction of the
Canadian Pacific Railway (1875-1885) through
Northern Ontario and the
Prairies to British Columbia, Ontario manufacturing and industry flourished. However, population increase slowed after a large recession hit the province in 1893, thus slowing growth drastically but only for a few short years. Many newly arrived immigrants and others moved west along the railroad to the Canadian Prairies and British Columbia.
From 1896 to the present
Mineral exploitation accelerated in the late 19th century, leading to the rise of important mining centres in the northeast like
Greater Sudbury, Cobalt, Ontario and Timmins, Ontario. The province harnessed its water power to generate hydro-electric power, and created the state-controlled
Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, later Ontario Hydro. The availability of cheap electric power further facilitated the development of industry. The Ford Motor Company of Canada was established in 1904.
General Motors Corporation of Canada Ltd. was formed in 1918. The motor vehicle industry would go on to become the most lucrative industry for the Ontario economy.
In July 1912, the Conservative government of Sir James P. Whitney issued
Regulation 17 which severely limited the availability of French-language schooling to the province's French-speaking minority. French-Canadians reacted with outrage, journalist
Henri Bourassa denouncing the "Prussians of Ontario". It was eventually repealed in 1927.
Influenced by events in the United States, the government of Sir William Howard Hearst introduced
prohibition of alcoholic drinks in 1916 with the passing of the Ontario Temperance Act. However, residents could distill and retain their own personal supply and liquor producers could continue distillation and export for sale, which allowed Ontario to become a hotbed for the illegal smuggling of liquor into the United States, which was under complete prohibition. Prohibition came to an end in 1927 with the establishment of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario by the government of
George Howard Ferguson. The sale and consumption of liquor, wine, and beer are still controlled by some of the most extreme laws in North America to ensure that strict community standards and revenue generation from the alcohol retail monopoly are upheld. In April 2007, Ontario Minister of Provincial Parliament Kim Craitor suggested that local brewers should be able to sell their beer in local corner stores, however, the motion was quickly rejected by Premier Dalton McGuinty.
The post-
World War II period was one of exceptional prosperity and growth. Ontario, and the Greater Toronto Area in particular, have been the recipients of most immigration to Canada, largely immigrants from war-torn Europe in the 1950s and 1960s and after changes in federal
immigration law, a massive influx of non-Europeans since the 1970s. From a largely
Ethnicity British province, Ontario has rapidly become very culturally diverse.
The nationalist movement in Quebec, particularly after the election of the
Parti Québécois in 1976, contributed to driving many businesses and English-speaking people out of Quebec to Ontario, and as a result Toronto surpassed Montreal as the largest city and economic centre of Canada. Depressed economic conditions in the Atlantic Canada have also resulted in de-population of those provinces in the 20th century, with heavy migration into Ontario.
Ontario has no official language, but English is considered the
de facto language. Numerous French language services are available under the
French Language Services Act of 1990 in designated areas where sizable francophone populations exist.
Government
The
British North America Act 1867 section 69 stipulated "There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting of the Lieutenant-Governor (Canada) and of One House, styled the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario." The assembly has 107 seats representing Riding (division)s elected in a first-past-the-post system across the province. The legislative buildings at Queen's Park (Toronto) in
Toronto are the seat of government. Following the
Westminster system, the leader of the party currently holding the most seats in the assembly is known as the "Premier of Ontario" (Executive Council Act R.S.O. 1990). The Premier chooses the cabinet or
Executive Council of Ontario whose members are deemed "ministers of the Crown." Although the
Legislative Assembly Act (R.S.O. 1990) refers to
members of the assembly, the legislators are now commonly called MPPs (
Members of the Provincial Parliament) in English and
députés de l'Assemblée législative in French, but they have also been called MLAs (
Members of the Legislative Assembly), and both are acceptable. The title of
Prime Minister of Ontario, while permissible in English and correct in French (
le Premier ministre), is generally avoided in favour of "Premier" to avoid confusion with the Prime Minister of Canada.
Politics
Ontario has traditionally operated under a three-party system. In the last few decades the liberal Ontario Liberal Party, conservative
Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and social-democratic Ontario New Democratic Party have all ruled the province at different times.
Currently Ontario is under a Liberal government headed by Premier
Dalton McGuinty.
Federally, Ontario is known as being the province that offers the strongest support for the
Liberal Party of Canada. The majority of the party's present 106 seats in the Canadian House of Commons represent Ontario ridings. As the province has the most seats of any province in Canada, earning support from Ontario voters is considered a crucial matter for any party hoping to win a
Canadian federal election.
Territorial evolution 1788-1899
Land was not legally subdivided into administrative units until a treaty had been concluded with the native peoples ceding the land (see Royal Proclamation of 1763). In 1788, while part of the
Province of Quebec (1763-1791), southern Ontario was divided into four
districts:
Western District, Upper Canada, Eastern District, Upper Canada,
Midland District, Upper Canada, and Home District.
In 1792, the four districts were renamed: Hesse became the
Western District, Lunenburg became the
Eastern District, Mecklenburg became the
Midland District, and Nassau became the
Home District. Counties were created within the districts.
By 1798, there were eight districts: Eastern, Home, Johnstown District, Ontario,
London District, Ontario, Midland,
Newcastle District, Ontario,
Niagara District, Ontario, and Western.
By 1826, there were eleven districts:
Bathurst District, Ontario, Eastern, Gore District, Ontario, Home, Johnstown, London, Midland, Newcastle, Niagara, Ottawa District, Ontario, and Western.
By 1838, there were twenty districts: Bathurst,
Brock District, Ontario, Colbourne District, Ontario, Dalhousie District, Ontario, Eastern, Gore, Home, Huron District, Ontario, Johnstown, London, Midland, Newcastle, Niagara, Ottawa, Prince Edward District, Ontario, Simcoe District, Ontario, Talbot District, Ontario,
Victoria District, Ontario, Wellington District, Ontario, and Western.
In 1849, the districts of southern Ontario were abolished by the
Province of Canada and county governments took over certain municipal responsibilities. The Province of Canada also began creating
districts in sparsely populated
Northern Ontario with the establishment of
Algoma District, Ontario and
Nipissing District, Ontario in 1858.
The northern and western boundar
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