Welcome to Ontario

Ontario

-The province of Ontario is located in Eastern Canada.
-It is the second largest province. Only Quebec is larger.
-Quebec is east, Manitoba is west, Great Lakes are south, Hudson Bay and James Bay are north.
-Ontario's capital city is Toronto. Toronto has a large financial district and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE).
-Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is in southeastern Ontario.
-flower - White Trillium, tree - Eastern White Pine, bird - Common Loon
-In the Iroquois language "Kanadario" means "sparkling water " or "beautiful lake".
-Ontario's motto is "Loyal she began, loyal she remains".
 

THE PEOPLE

-The first people were the Huron, Iroquois, Neutral, Ojibwa, Cree, Ottawa, Nipissin, and Algonquin.
-More people live in Ontario than in any other province.
-Ontario is the home of over 12.9 million people. (2008)
-The southern area of the province has ninety percent of the population.
-The largest city is Toronto with 5.5 million people in the Greater Toronto Area (2006 census).
-Almost half of the people in Toronto were born in other countries.
-Many are of Italian, German, Chinese, Greek, Portuguese, Indian, Polish and Caribbean origin.
-In Toronto there are areas named Koreatown, Chinatown, Greektown, Little Jamaica, Little Italy and Portugal Village.
-In 2006, 47% of Toronto's population had a mother tongue in a language other than English or French. (Chinese, Italian, Punjabi, Tagalog/Pilipino, Portuguese)
-Some other cities are Ottawa (capital city of Canada), Hamilton, Oshawa, London, Thunder Bay and Windsor.

-Water covers about one-sixth of the province.
-There are 250,000 lakes and numerous rivers and streams.
-Four of the five Great Lakes are in Ontario. (Superior, Huron, Erie, Ontario)
-Two long rivers are St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River.
-Forests cover two-thirds of Ontario.
-Ontario is divided into three regions :

-Niagara Falls, the most powerful waterfall in North America, is in Ontario.
-In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened. The seaway links the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.

 

RESOURCES AND INDUSTRY

-Northern Ontario is rich in forests, minerals and hydroelectric power.
-mining: zinc, nickel, platinum, uranium, oil, natural gas, copper, gold, silver, iron ore
-main producer of nickel, cobalt, salt, and magnesium in Canada
-main industry is manufacturing of automobiles and auto parts
-building materials, wood pulp and paper are the main forestry products
-agriculture : grain farms; fruit and vegetable farms; poultry, livestock and dairy farms
-leading producer of fruits and vegetables in Canada
-vineyards and wineries near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
-The Globe and Mail newspaper and several magazines are published in Ontario.
-Toronto is Canada's financial centre.

PEOPLE and PLACES

-Dr. Roberta Bondar was Canada's first female astronaut. (1992).
-Dr. Banting and Dr. Best developed insulin used in treating diabetes. They received the Nobel Prize in 1923.
-J. Naismith invented the game of basketball in 1891. He used peach baskets at first.
-Emily Stow (1831-1903) was the first woman doctor in Canada in 1867.
-Wayne Gretsky the famous hockey player came from Brantford.
-Barbara Ann Scott (born in Ottawa) won an Olympic gold medal in figure skating (1948).
-Marilyn Bell (born in Toronto) was the first to swim Lake Ontario at age 16 (1954). She was also the youngest to swim the English Channel.
-Pauline Johnson, known as the "Mohawk Princess", was a native poet. She was born near Brantford.
-Karen Kain, a famous ballerina, was born in Hamilton.
-Dan Aykroyd (born in Ottawa) and Jim Carrey (born in Newmarket) are well-known actors and comedians.
-Singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette was born in Ottawa.
-Jeff Healey (1966-2008) was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock guitarist and singer. He was born in Toronto.
 

Many of Canada’s largest libraries, museums and galleries are located in Ontario.
-the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto)
- National Museum of Science and Technology, the Canadian War Museum, and the National Aviation Museum (in Ottawa)
-Alexander Graham Bell Homestead (Brantford)
-Black Creek Pioneer Village (Toronto)
-Hockey Hall of Fame (Toronto)
-Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Hamilton)
-Stratford festival features concerts, musicals and other productions.