Ontario

The province of Ontario is located in east-central Canada. Ontario is bordered by the provinces of Quebec to the east and Manitoba to the west. Hudson Bay and James Bay lie on the province's northern border, with the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway on the southern border.

One of the Canadian Dominion's four original provinces, Ontario is the country's second-largest province in area but first in population, wealth, and influence. Ontario is home to more than 38 percent of the nation's population (based on 2015 estimates), the nation's economic powerhouse city of Toronto, and the national political capital city of Ottawa. Its great influence has earned it the nickname the Empire Province.

General Information

Name: The name Ontario is derived from the Iroquois word kanadario or onitariio, meaning "sparkling lake." This is not the same word from which the country's name is taken. The name Canada is derived from kanata, the Iroquois term for "village."

Provincial Symbols

• Bird: Common Loon (Gavia immer)
• Flower: White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
• Tree: Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus Linnaeus)
• Motto: Ut incepit Fidelis sic permanent (Latin, "Loyal she began, loyal she remains")

Capital: Toronto, the largest city in Canada, is also the capital of Ontario. Set on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario, it was already a large city of fifty thousand at the time the province joined the Canadian Dominion in 1867. In 2015, the total population of its metropolitan area was just over six million. As New York is to the United States, Toronto is to Canada—it is the country's financial hub, a major cultural center, and a leading tourist destination.

People & Culture

Population: In 1791, when Ontario was still known as Upper Canada, there were about ten thousand European settlers in the area. Most of them were British loyalists who had fled to the north when it became clear the American Revolution would succeed. They displaced what had been estimated in 1763 as a population of over twenty thousand First Nations inhabitants.

British influence continued to grow during the early nineteenth century, as more English, Irish, and Scottish settlers came to join their former countrymen. From about 70,000 in 1806, the population more than doubled to 150,000 by 1824.

After the construction of rail links to the Atlantic and the formation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867, Ontario's population soared to well over one million. Of an estimated 1.6 million residents in 1871, 34 percent were Irish, 26 percent English, 22 percent Scottish or Welsh, and 12 percent German. Ontario dominated the new nation with 44 percent of Canada's population.

A second wave of European immigration came at the turn of the twentieth century, propelled by new industry to the south and newly discovered mines in northern Ontario. These new immigrants were typically from Northern Europe, but also from Russia, Italy and the Ukraine.

By 1921, with the province's population nearing three million, the industrial character of the area was firmly established and Toronto accounted for nearly 18 percent of the total population. This trend accelerated after World War II. By the twenty-first century, 82 percent of Ontario's total population lived in urban areas.

According to 2021 estimates, the total population of the province is 14,826,276. Toronto's metropolitan area has the largest population, with an estimated 6,417,516 in 2016, followed by Ottawa-Gatineau (1,323,783), Hamilton (747,545), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (523,894), and London (494,069). These large cities are all clustered near the province's southeastern border with the United States.

Southern Ontario is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the world, and nearly half of Toronto's population was foreign-born as of the 2011 National Household Survey. Many immigrants have come from the Caribbean, Latin America, and Asia, spurred in part by emigration from Hong Kong preceding its political transfer to the People's Republic of China in 1997.

As of the 2016 census, 2,692,665 of Ontario's 3,885,585 visible minorities live in Toronto. The province's largest minority groups are South Asians (1,150,415), Chinese people (754,550), Black people (627,715), and Filipinos (311,675). Chinese is the second most common language in the province, followed closely by French.

Native People: Ontario is home to a small proportion of Aboriginal people, accounting for about 3 percent of the population as of the 2016 census. About 60 percent of the Aboriginal population was First Nations (North American Indian). Most are either Algonquian-speaking people (the Cree, for example), or Iroquoian-speaking people (Mohawk and other Six Nations tribes). Approximately 32 percent was Métis, of combined French and First Nations ancestry.

Arts and Entertainment: Toronto is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Ontario Museum, which is known for its extensive collection of Chinese art. The Art Gallery of Ontario boasts a collection of twenty-five thousand pieces, including the world's largest collection of Henry Moore sculpture.

The National Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company share the new state-of-the-art two-thousand-seat Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, which opened in 2006. Festivals such as German Oktoberfest and West Indian Caribana reflect Toronto's diversity.

Ottawa also has a vibrant array of cultural offerings, including the National Museum of Science and Technology, the National Gallery of Canada, and the National Arts Centre, which bills itself as "the only multidisciplinary, bilingual performing arts centre in North America."

Cultural attractions in other cities include the Science North museum in Sudbury; summer festivals, such as the Shaw Festival, staged in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Shakespearean Festival in Stratford in Western Ontario; and the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, featuring modern First Nations artwork.

Famous artists and entertainers from Ontario include the late concert pianist Glenn Gould, as well as actor-comedians Dan Aykroyd and Jim Carrey and singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette.

Environment & Geography

Ontario's 1,068,580 square kilometers (412,580 square miles) include 250,000 lakes and over 95,000 kilometers (59,030 miles) of rivers. The combined 177,398 square kilometers (68,490 square miles) of inland water account for one-sixth of the province's total area. The province is larger than France and Spain combined, with a maximum length and width of about 1,690 kilometers (1,050 miles).

Topography: The province is divided into three general regions. The southern lowlands area, about 10 percent of the total area of the province, dips to 46 meters (150 feet) above sea level and features gently rolling plains. Early settlers cleared stands of pine trees in order to work the fertile soil left behind by glaciers about ten thousand years ago.

Many small lakes are found in this area, including Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau, and Lake Joseph. Short rivers drain into the Great Lakes or St. Lawrence Seaway to the south, while the Niagara River drops over the falls on its route between Lakes Erie and Ontario. The surrounding Great Lakes provide drinking water for millions of Canadians.

The area running north and west from Ottawa is generally considered Northern Ontario. It rests on the rocky Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, typically about 300 to 450 meters (1,000 to 1,500 feet) above sea level. Ishpatina Ridge, the province's highest point at 693 meters (2,275 feet), is found in this region. To the east at Hudson and James Bays, the elevation dips to sea level.

Natural Resources: Northern Ontario was stripped of its most fertile soil by the glaciers, but it is still able to support dense forest of various types of spruce, pine, tamarack, birch, and balsam. Forest covers about 66 percent of Ontario's total land area. The central area of the province also includes substantial mineral reserves.

Rivers to the south in the region, including the Ottawa, drain to the Great Lakes. Northern rivers, including the Albany, Attawapiskat, Severn, and Winisk, drain east into Hudson Bay. Many parts of the region do not drain well and create swamps and muskegs, regions of soil composed of plant matter than does not fully decay due to cold and wet conditions. In the 1870s, a locomotive completely sank into a muskeg region in northern Ontario. Such areas were then labeled impenetrable by heavy equipment, slowing initial attempts at logging and mining in the northern part of the province.

Many large lakes lie in western Ontario, including Abitibi, Lac Seul, Lake of the Woods (at the town of Kenora), Nipigon, Nipissing, and Simcoe. Bruce Peninsula separates Lake Huron from Georgian Bay to its east.

Climate: Climate in the province varies by proximity to the Great Lakes. At Hudson Bay on Lake Superior, snowfall is similar to that in Ottawa at 218 centimeters (86 inches), but temperatures are lower, with January averaging −15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit).

The southern region is the most temperate, aided by the moderating effects of the Great Lakes. Toronto receives about 79 centimeters (31 inches) of precipitation per year. Ottawa, at the northern edge of this region, receives 94.4 centimeters (37 inches) of precipitation.

In July, temperatures near the lakes average 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit). In January, temperatures fall to about −6.3 degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit) in Toronto. Ottawa averages only −11 degrees Celsius (13 degrees Fahrenheit) in January.

To the province's far north lies the third type of ecosystem, a narrow stretch of arctic tundra that runs along Hudson Bay. In this region, there may only be five to six weeks each year that are free of frost. Permafrost lies beneath the surface and prevents the growth of trees and other large plants.

The extreme low reading recorded in Ontario was −58 degrees Celsius (−72.9 degrees Fahrenheit) at Iroquois Falls. However, the largest snowfall readings typically occur in regions to the east of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, where lake-effect snows produce annual snowfall totals of about 317 centimeters (125 inches).

National Parks: The province is home to five national parks: the Thousand Island National Park, Point Pelée National Park, Georgian Bay Islands National Park, Pukaskwa National Park (at Lake Superior), and Bruce Peninsula National Park.

It is also home to more than 250 provincial parks, the first and most famous being Algonquin Provincial Park, established in 1893. It is a favorite for canoeing, as is Quetico Provincial Park, a region of seemingly unending lakes that lies just north of Minnesota east of Lake of the Woods. Others include Winisk Wild River and Polar Bear Provincial Parks, both near Hudson Bay.

Animals: Animal life in Ontario varies by latitude, from polar bears and caribou in the far north, to whales and seals in Hudson Bay, to common deer, skunks, squirrels, and rabbits in the south.

The mid-section of the province was at one time frequented by trappers seeking beaver, marten, mink, fox, wolverine, and raccoon. The common loon's distinct call can be heard on most of the province's lakes, along with the voices of duck, goose, and heron. Common freshwater fish include trout, pickerel, pike, and bass.

Economy

In total, Ontario accounted for about 38.7 percent of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017.

Including government, the service sector leads Ontario's economy, providing around 79 percent of jobs in 2013 and contributing 77.4 percent to the province's 2014 GDP. Another significant part of the provincial economy is manufacturing, accounting for about 12 percent of GDP in 2019. The province's chemical industry generated $8.6 billion in 2019.

The leading product is transportation equipment. This is due to the industrial area's proximity to Detroit, Michigan, the traditional center of the US auto industry. In 2021, nearly 82 percent of all Canadian automotive industry workers were employed in Ontario. Two of the largest employers in the Toronto metropolitan region are General Motors and BMW Canada. A bit further to the southeast is the city of Windsor. It is linked to Detroit by both bridge and tunnel. It is known as Canada's Automotive Capital.

The Ottawa area is known for the production of electronic equipment, which in 2017 accounted for about 3.9 percent of the province's exports. To the northwest, the Thunder Bay area is the processing area for pulp from the forestry industry.

Sudbury is the province's mining center. Of the more than two dozen minerals extracted in Ontario, nickel, gold, copper, and zinc are the most valuable mined materials. Ontario also boasts a large output of cement, made from sedimentary deposits in southern regions.

Agriculture: Agriculture in Ontario is minimal in comparison to services and manufacturing but still leads all Canadian provinces in annual output: the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs reported total receipts of more than $13 billion in 2016. Leading crops include nursery products and vegetables such as potatoes, in addition to tobacco, corn, soybeans, and fruits (apples, cherries, grapes, peaches, etc.)

Beef cattle are common among farms in the Lake Huron and Georgian Bay region, accounting for 15.3 percent of cash receipts for Canadian beef cattle in 2014. Dairy farms, typically in the London and Bruce Peninsula regions, accounted for 32.2 percent of cash receipts for Canadian dairy products that year.

Tourism: Tourism is a multi-billion-dollar industry in Ontario. Millions of visitors frequent the cultural attractions of Toronto and Ottawa, as well as the region's national and provincial parks. Sport fishing, rafting, canoeing and camping bring many visitors to central and western regions of the province.

Transportation: The St. Lawrence Seaway connects Toronto to the Atlantic Ocean and extends to Thunder Bay on Lake Superior, one of Canada's largest ports. Hamilton, at the western tip of Lake Ontario, and Sarnia, at the southern tip of Lake Huron, are other significant ports. Toronto-Pearson International Airport is Canada's largest and busiest.

The importance of the railroad in Canada is symbolized by Toronto's CN Tower. At 553 meters (1,815 feet), it is among the world's tallest freestanding towers and was built by railroad company Canadian National in 1976. Major oil and natural gas pipelines run through the province's western wilderness areas, and the Trans-Canada Highway runs from Ottawa through the center of the province.

Government & History

Government: Ontario's parliamentary system is limited to a unicameral (single house) legislative assembly, whose 107 members generally serve four-year terms. It is led symbolically by the lieutenant governor but in fact by a premier who is the leader of the majority elected political party.

The premier appoints ministers from the legislature to form the Executive Council. These ministers act as the cabinet and administrators for various departments, including energy, justice, education, health, and transportation.

In the bicameral Canadian Parliament that meets in the huge gothic stone "blocks" (buildings) on Ottawa's Parliament Hill, Ontario is represented by 21 appointed senators and 105 elected representatives to the House of Commons.

The judiciary is led by the Court of Appeal for Ontario. The twenty-seven justices are appointed for life by the federal government, as are members of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice. There is also a provincial court division called the Ontario Court of Justice.

There are twenty-seven counties in Ontario, but they only exist in southern Ontario and are further consolidated into regional municipalities. Northern Ontario is divided into districts. Most of Ontario's fifty-one cities and more than 250 towns and villages are governed by a mayor or reeve (council leader) and a council.

History: The history of Ontario's native people can be traced back at least seven thousand years. The Algonquin tribes, such as the Crees, were typically hunters or fisherman. Tribes to the south, such as the Hurons and Iroquois, began farming around the Great Lakes.

French explorers came to the area in the early seventeenth century, including Étienne Brûlé and Samuel de Champlain. Englishmen Henry Hudson claimed the area for Britain in 1611. The French allied themselves with the Hurons but were discouraged from settling in the region due to hostility from the Iroquois, who were loosely allied with the British.

In the mid-seventeenth century, both the French and British set up fur trading posts in the region. The British-backed Hudson's Bay Company established the post of Moose Factory in 1671, at the southern tip of James Bay. In 1686, competing French trappers from Montreal captured Moose Factory and other British posts.

Britain officially won control of the region from France in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht, and the Hudson's Bay Company again took the upper hand. British control was further strengthened in 1763 as France again conceded control over Canadian territories as part of the settlement of the French and Indian War.

Ontario was first established as a distinct colony from Quebec with the Quebec Act of 1774. After British loyalists flooded into the southern region in the 1780s, the Constitutional Act of 1791 was devised to create a new province of the Ontario region, then called Upper Canada. Ruled by a small elite group of British colonists from the new capital of York (now Toronto), the new government welcomed American immigrants seeking cheap farmland, in addition to thousands from the British Isles.

The newly established government was challenged by American troops during the War of 1812 and in the 1837 revolt led by Scotsman William Lyon Mackenzie. Although none of these attempts would wrest lasting control from the British, it did indicate a need for more representative government.

The British government recognized this problem and tried to consolidate control over the Quebec region (Lower Canada) by uniting it with Ontario (Upper Canada) under the 1841 Act of Union. While this union did bring reform, it did not succeed in merging the distinctly French character of predominately Roman Catholic Quebec with the Anglican Protestant majority in Ontario. Therefore, with the creation of the Canadian Dominion in 1867, the regions were again split into two provinces.

The industrial revolution was in full swing at this time, as the railroad combined with cheap hydroelectric power to encourage construction of factories and mills around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. In the early twentieth century, mining to the north further bolstered the region's economy.

Once in Montreal's shadow, political unrest and economic uncertainty in Quebec led Toronto to become Canada's preeminent city by the 1970s.

Trivia

• Ontario native Sir Fredrick Banting was credited as one of the discoverers of insulin in 1922.
• Georgian Bay is home to Manitoulin Island, the world's largest freshwater island at 2,766 square kilometers (1,068 square miles).
• Baseball slugger Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run in Toronto on September 5, 1914.

Bibliography

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"Census Profile 2016—Ontario [Province] and Canada [Country]." Statistics Canada, 29 Nov. 2017, www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E. Accessed 23 Aug. 2018.

Conrad, Margaret. A Concise History of Canada. Cambridge UP, 2012.

"Farm Finance." Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Queen's Printer for Ontario, 10 Sept. 2021, www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/stats/finance/index.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

Keshen, Jeff, and Nicole St-Onge, eds. Ottawa: Making a Capital. U of Ottawa P, 2001.

Munson, Marit K., and Susan M. Jamieson. Before Ontario: The Archaeology of a Province. Canadian Electronic Lib., 2013.

"Ontario's Economy." Ontario Ministry of Finance, Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1 Apr. 2021, www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/economy/. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

"Ontario Fact Sheet." Ontario Ministry of Finance, 1 Apr. 2021, www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/economy/ecupdates/factsheet.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

"Population Estimates, Quarterly." Statistics Canada, 29 Sept. 2021, www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000901. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.