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.
-Some other cities are Hamilton, Oshawa, London, Thunder Bay and Windsor.
-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 13,448,494 people. (2016 census)
-The southern area of the province has ninety percent of the population.
-The largest city is Toronto with 5.9 million people. (2016 census).
-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)
HISTORY
-Two language groups (Algonquian and Iroquoian) lived in the area of what is now Ontario.-The Algonquin speakers (Ojibwa, Nipissing, Ottawa, Cree and Algonquin) lived in the northern region.
They mainly hunted, fished and gathered food.
-Those who spoke the Iroquoian language (Huron, Neutral, Petun and Mississauga ) lived in the south.
They were farmers who grew corn, beans, squash and other crops.
They lived in villages surrounded by tall wooden fences.
-French explorer named Brule lived with the Hurons in 1610.
-Samuel de Champlain travelled up the Ottawa River to the Huron country.
-The French traders wanted furs and the Huron wanted European tools and weapons.
-Jesuit missionaries arrived in 1639 and set up missions.
-Forts were built by the French and by the Hudson's Bay Company.
-Loyalists fled the U.S. in 1781 and settled on the north shore of Lake Ontario.
-The land was divided into Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec).
-York (now Toronto) was the capital of Upper Canada.
-Upper Canada became a battleground in the War of 1812.
-After 1812 Scots, Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants, Welsh, English, Germans and former American slaves were among
those who settled in Upper Canada.
-In 1867 Ontario became one of the four original provinces of Canada.
-After Confederation settlements spread and valuable minerals were found in northern Ontario.
-During the First World War manufacturing grew in Ontario.
-After the Second World War the automobile industry grew.
WATER AND LAND
-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 :
(Hudson Bay Lowlands and the Shield cover 90 percent of Ontario.)
-Hudson Bay Lowlands : wetlands and small bushes
-Shield : rocky, forests, minerals, lakes and rivers
-Great Lakes-St.Lawrence Lowlands : good soil for farming
-Niagara Falls, the most powerful waterfall in North America, is in southern 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.-Zinc, nickel, platinum, uranium, oil, natural gas, copper, gold, silver and iron ore are mined.
-Ontario is the main producer of nickel, cobalt, salt and magnesium in Canada
-The main industry is manufacturing of automobiles and auto parts.
-Building materials, wood pulp and paper are the main forestry products.
-Agriculture includes grain farms; fruit and vegetable farms; poultry, livestock and dairy farms.
-The province is the leading producer of fruits and vegetables in Canada.
-There are vineyards and wineries near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
-Several newspapers and 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 in 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), a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock guitarist and singer, was born in Toronto.
-Many of Canada’s largest libraries, museums and galleries are located in Ontario :
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto)
Ottawa : Canada Science and Technology Museum, Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Canadian War Museum
-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.
CANADA | FACTS | EMBLEMS | TOURS
Web Pages for StudentsJ.Giannetta 1999
(updated 2017)
jgiannet@hotmail.com
The Canadian Encyclopedia - Ontario THE PREMIER'S KIDS ZONE
link - GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO SITE
