Ontario

Ontario is the southernmost province of Canada and the most populous, home to over 14 million people. It is located in Central Canada and is the second-largest province by area, after Quebec. Ontario includes Canada's capital city, Ottawa, and its largest city, Toronto, which is also the provincial capital.

The province is bordered by Manitoba to the west, Hudson Bay and James Bay to the north, and Quebec to the east and northeast. To the south, Ontario shares a long border with several U.S. states, including Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, mostly following rivers and lakes such as the Great Lakes.

Most of Ontario's population and farmland are found in Southern Ontario, where the economy is strongly based on manufacturing. In contrast, Northern Ontario has fewer people and colder winters, with mining and forestry being key industries.

Etymology

The name "Ontario" likely comes from Indigenous words. It might mean "great lake" from the Huron (Wyandot) language, or "beautiful water" or "sparkling water" from the Iroquoian languages. Ontario has many freshwater lakes. The name was first used in 1641 to describe land near the Great Lakes and became the official name of the province in 1867 at Confederation.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Ontario

See also: List of census divisions of Ontario, Geography of Canada, and List of parks and protected areas of Ontario

Ontario has many different landscapes. The Canadian Shield covers much of northern and central Ontario. This area has lots of minerals, lakes, and rivers, but it is not good for farming. Northern Ontario has two parts: Northwestern and Northeastern.

The Hudson Bay Lowlands in the far north and northeast are mostly swampy and have few trees.

Southern Ontario has four parts: Central, Eastern, Golden Horseshoe, and Southwestern Ontario. Ontario has some high areas, especially in the Canadian Shield and above the Niagara Escarpment. The highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level in Northeastern Ontario. The Carolinian forest covers much of southwestern Ontario. The Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Valley in the south is part of the Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests, where forests have become farms, industries, and cities. Niagara Falls is a famous feature. The Saint Lawrence Seaway lets ships travel far inland to Thunder Bay. Northern Ontario covers about 87% of the land, but Southern Ontario has 94% of the people.

Point Pelee in southwestern Ontario is the southernmost point of Canada's mainland. Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie are even farther south.

Climate

See also: Climate of Ontario

Ontario's weather changes with the seasons and location. Three main air sources affect it: cold, dry air from the north, air from the west, and warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Most of Ontario has a humid continental climate.

Southern Ontario is greatly influenced by the Great Lakes. This makes winters milder near the lakes and delays the start of winter. Southwestern Ontario and the Hamilton-Niagara region have warm, humid summers and cold winters, with plenty of snow in some areas.

Central and Eastern Ontario also have warm summers and cold, longer winters with lots of snow.

The northernmost parts of Ontario have long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Temperatures can get very low, and snow stays on the ground for much of the year.

Severe thunderstorms are most common in summer. Windsor has the most lightning in Canada. Ontario usually has about 11 tornadoes each year.

History

Main article: History of Ontario

Further information: Monarchy in Ontario § History

Indigenous habitation (pre–1610)

Main article: Settlement of the Americas

People lived in what is now Ontario about 11,000 years ago, after coming across the Bering land bridge from Asia. During a time called the Archaic period, from 8000 to 1000 BC, the population grew slowly, living by hunting and gathering in a warmer climate. Trading routes began along the St. Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes.

By the year 500 AD, people began growing corn, and later added beans and squash. This farming led to bigger settlements. In the 1400s, some villages in southern Ontario had thousands of people and large homes. Groups such as the Iroquoian people, including the Neutral Confederacy, Erie and Wendat (Huron), appeared. In northern Ontario, groups such as the Algonquian people, including the Ojibwe, traded with others.

Pays d'en Haut (1610–1763)

Main articles: Exploration of North America, New France, and Pays d'en Haut

In 1608, explorer Samuel de Champlain created France's first settlement in New France, now Quebec City. French explorers traveled west and mapped Southern Ontario, naming it the Pays d'en Haut ("Upper Country"). The area was part of New France and was important for trade and defense.

French missionaries set up posts along the Great Lakes and worked with Indigenous groups for trade and protection. Diseases from Europe, like measles and smallpox, caused many problems for the Huron people. The British defeated the French in the French and Indian War, and France gave most of its lands in North America to Britain.

Province of Quebec (1763–1791)

Main article: Province of Quebec (1763–1791)

After the American Revolution, about 5,000 United Empire Loyalists moved to what is now Ontario. Britain gave them land to start new lives and set up reserves for groups like the Mohawks who had supported Britain.

Southern Ontario was split into four districts in 1788. In 1791, Quebec was divided into two parts: Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

Upper Canada (1791–1841)

Main article: Upper Canada

John Graves Simcoe became the first leader of Upper Canada in 1793. More people came from the United States, looking for cheaper land.

During the War of 1812, American troops invaded but were pushed back by British forces, Canadian soldiers, and Indigenous warriors. After the war, more immigrants arrived from Europe.

Some people were unhappy with the governing group called the Family Compact, leading to early ideas of Canadian unity.

Canada West (1841–1867)

Main article: Canada West

Upper Canada and Lower Canada were combined into the Province of Canada in 1841, with Upper Canada becoming known as Canada West. By 1851, the population of Canada West had more than doubled.

Railway building helped the economy grow. In 1867, the British North America Act created the Dominion of Canada, including Ontario as one of its provinces.

Canadian province (1867–present)

Ontario grew in size and became an important part of Canada. Leaders like Oliver Mowat helped Ontario gain more power.

The province became a center for manufacturing, especially cars, with companies like Ford Motor Company of Canada and General Motors Canada starting up.

Ontario welcomed many immigrants, especially after World War II, making it very diverse. The province's official language is English, but French-language services are available where there are enough French-speaking people.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Ontario

See also: List of population centres in Ontario

Population

In the 2021 census, Ontario had 14 million people living in homes. It covers 892,411.76 square kilometres (344,562.11 square miles) and had a population density of 15.9/km² (41.3/sq mi) in 2021. The biggest population centres in Ontario are Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, London and Oshawa, each with over 300,000 people.

Ethnicity

Main article: Demographics of Ontario § Ethnic origins

Most people in Ontario are of English or other European descent, including many Scottish, Irish, and Italian people. Slightly less than 5% of Ontario’s people are Franco-Ontarian, meaning their first language is French, though 11% have French ancestry. Many people in Ontario come from other parts of the world, like East Asians, South Asians, the Caribbeans, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Most live in larger cities.

Visible minorities and Indigenous peoples

Main article: Demographics of Ontario § Visible minorities and Aboriginals

In 2021, 34.3% of Ontario’s people were from visible minorities and 2.9% were Indigenous, mostly from the First Nations and Métis groups. There were also a small number of Inuit people. The numbers of Indigenous people and visible minorities have been growing faster than the whole population of Ontario.

Religion

Main article: Demographics of Ontario § Religion

In 2021, 52.1% of people in Ontario were Christian. The biggest groups were the Roman Catholic Church (26.0%) and the United Church of Canada (4.1%). Other religions included Islam (6.7%) and Hinduism (4.1%). 31.6% of people in Ontario did not follow any religion.

The major religious groups in Ontario in 2021 were:

In Ontario, Catholics are led by the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario and Anglicans by the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario.

Language

Main article: Demographics of Ontario § Language

See also: Franco-Ontarian

From the 2021 Canadian Census, the most common languages in Ontario are English (97.28%), French (11.05%), Mandarin (3.33%), Hindi (3.11%), Spanish (2.86%), Punjabi (2.84%), Cantonese (2.51%), Arabic (2.44%), Italian (2.23%), and Urdu (2.1%).

English is the main language in Ontario and is spoken by nearly everyone, though only about 69.5% use it as their first language. Both English and French are official languages in Canada and in Ontario’s courts. About 4.6% of people in Ontario speak French as their first language, and around 11.5% can speak both English and French. Some parts of Ontario have special rules to make sure government services are available in French for communities where many people speak French.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Ontario

Ontario is Canada’s main place for making things. It makes more than half of all the products Canada creates. The biggest things made there are cars, steel, and many other important goods. Ontario’s biggest friend for trading is the U.S. state of Michigan.

Ontario has lots of natural resources like trees and minerals. These help make many products, especially paper and cars. The biggest area for making things is around Toronto, called the Golden Horseshoe. Here, people make cars, steel, food, and many other items that people use every day.

Ontario is also a great place for growing food. Farms there grow things like corn, apples, and tobacco.

Ontario gets its power from many places, like rivers, nuclear plants, and wind. One of the biggest nuclear plants in the world is in Niagara Falls. The province also uses wind to make clean energy.

Government, law and politics

Further information: Monarchy in Ontario, Executive Council of Ontario, and Local government in Ontario

Ontario's government is similar to the United Kingdom. It has a Legislature with one house, called the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, with 124 seats. Leaders of political parties compete in elections. The party with the most seats chooses the Premier, who leads the government.

The province has main political parties, including the Progressive Conservative Party, the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP), the Ontario Liberal Party, and the Green Party of Ontario. These parties take turns leading the government based on election results.

Further information: Courts of Ontario

Ontario has special laws and courts to handle important matters. There are leaders called the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General who help make and enforce laws.

Ontario has many political parties that compete in elections. The main parties are the Progressive Conservative Party, the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP), the Ontario Liberal Party, and the Green Party of Ontario.

In the 2018 election, the Progressive Conservative Party, led by Doug Ford, won and he became Premier.

Ontario is divided into different areas for local government. These include single-tier municipalities, upper-tier municipalities (which can be regional municipalities or counties), and districts. These areas provide different services to their residents.

Some parts of Quebec are included in the Ottawa area when looking at population numbers. The Ontario part of this area makes up about 75% of the total population.

Ten largest municipalities by population

Education

Main article: Education in Ontario

Ontario has four main types of public schools. These schools are available in both English and French, and some are Catholic schools. Young children attend elementary schools from kindergarten to grade 8, and older students go to secondary schools for grades 9 to 12. Kids can start kindergarten at age four or five, but they must start school by age six.

Higher education

Main article: Higher education in Ontario

See also: List of colleges in Ontario and List of universities in Ontario

Ontario offers many places for students to continue learning after high school. These include universities, colleges, and private career schools. Universities focus more on learning, while colleges often include hands-on training. Both can offer degree programs. Some students choose colleges because they are usually more affordable than universities.

Culture

See also: Category:Works about Ontario, Hollywood North, Southern Ontario Gothic, Northern Ontario § Culture, and Franco-Ontarians § Culture

Ontario is a place where many people enjoy outdoor activities and cultural events and festivals. People in Ontario like to eat local fish and wild game, such as walleye and moose. Poutine, a tasty dish that started in Quebec, is also popular in Ontario.

In 2019, Ontario’s government created a special job for a Poet Laureate of Ontario.

Museums

Main article: List of museums in Ontario

The biggest museum in Ontario and all of Canada is the Royal Ontario Museum, located in Toronto. It opened in 1912 and welcomes over a million visitors each year. The museum has many exhibits about art, culture, and nature from around the world. Some famous items there include the world’s largest faceted cerussite gem called Light of the Desert, four big totem poles from Nisga'a and Haida people, and a beautiful Neo-Babylonian wall relief named Striding Lion.

Ontario also has several important national museums because the city of Ottawa is there. These include the Canadian War Museum, the Canadian Museum of Nature for learning about natural history, and the Canada Science and Technology Museum. There are many smaller museums throughout Ontario as well.

Music and arts

See also: Music of Ontario and Canadian art

Ontario plays a big role in Canadian music, especially in Toronto, Canada’s largest city. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra are famous around the world. Many smaller cities in Ontario also have their own orchestras. The Canadian Opera Company, based in Toronto, is Canada’s largest opera group. Other important places for music and arts in Ontario include the Royal Conservatory of Music, MuchMusic, National Ballet of Canada, and concert halls like Roy Thomson Hall, Massey Hall, the National Arts Centre, and the Four Seasons Centre.

Media

In 2022, Ontario had 357 newspapers, with 32 of them being daily papers—the most of any province. The biggest newspaper in Canada is the Toronto Star, and the country’s newspaper of record is The Globe and Mail. There are also many weekly newspapers for different communities, though fewer people are reading printed papers now because news is often shared on sites like Facebook.

Songs and slogans

In 1973, the first words to appear on licence plates in Ontario were “Keep It Beautiful.” In 1982, this changed to “Yours to Discover,” which had been used as a tourism slogan since 1980. French-speaking people could also choose plates with Tant à découvrir. From 1988 to 1990, the slogan was “Ontario Incredible,” but then returned to “Yours to Discover.” In 2020, the slogan was planned to change to “A Place to Grow,” inspired by the song A Place to Stand, a Place to Grow, but this was reversed the same year because of visibility issues. So, the licence plates still say “Yours to Discover.”

The song “A Place to Stand, a Place to Grow” was first made for Ontario’s part in Expo 67 and became an unofficial anthem for the province. For the Canada 150 celebrations in 2017, the government made a new version of the song. In 2007, Ontario’s tourism agency asked for a new song called “There’s No Place Like This,” which is used in television advertising. Ontario artists like Molly Johnson, Brian Byrne, Keshia Chanté, Tomi Swick, and Arkells performed it.

Professional sports

Main article: List of professional sports teams in Ontario

Ontario has teams that play many kinds of sports, including baseball, basketball, Canadian football, ice hockey, lacrosse, rugby league, rugby union, and soccer.

Notable residents

Main article: List of people from Ontario

Transportation

Transportation in Ontario is managed by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario and Transport Canada. The Ministry handles roads, while Transport Canada takes care of air, rail, and water travel.

Air travel

Ontario has two major international airports. Toronto Pearson International Airport is the busiest in Canada, and Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport is the second largest. Many smaller cities also have airports with flights to larger cities like Toronto and Ottawa. In northern Ontario, some towns depend on air travel for getting around, goods, and even emergency services because roads and trains cannot reach them.

Railways

Via Rail runs passenger trains across Ontario, including a service from Southern Ontario to Vancouver. Amtrak also connects Ontario to cities in New York state. There are also local train services in areas like Toronto. Many goods are moved by freight trains run by big companies like Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

Roads

Main article: Roads in Ontario

Ontario has many highways, especially in the southern part of the province. These highways connect to the United States and other parts of Canada. Highway 401 is one of the busiest highways in North America.

Waterways

See also: Boat building industry in Ontario

The Saint Lawrence Seaway is an important route for moving cargo, like iron ore and grain, across southern Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean. While it used to carry many passengers, most of its traffic today is cargo. Ontario has several large ports, including the Port of Hamilton, Port of Thunder Bay, and the Port of Nanticoke.