Welcome to Ontario, Canada
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Ontario summary
Ontario is a province located in the central 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 American states of Michigan, New York, 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: Superior, Huron (which includes Georgian Bay), Erie, and Ontario (for
which the province is named), then along the Saint Lawrence River near Cornwall. 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 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 word meaning "great lake", or possibly skanadario which
means "beautiful water" in Iroquoian. 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.
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.
Bruce Peninsula.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 sea level
located in Temagami, 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 in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 85% of the surface area of the province; conversely Southern Ontario contains
94% of the population.
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 Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the northern border of California.
Ontario economy
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 car production, assembling 2.696 million vehicles
in 2004.
However, as a result of steeply declining sales, on November 21, 2005, General Motors announced massive layoffs at production facilities across North America including two large
GM plants in Oshawa and a drive train facility in St. Catharines which by 2008 will result in 8,000 job losses in Ontario alone. Subsequently in January 23, 2006 money losing Ford
Motor Co. 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 facility and the Windsor
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 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 by 2008, and Honda also has plans to add an engine
plant at its facility in Alliston.
Toronto: Ontario's capital city and Canada's largest metropolis. Niagara Falls 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,
Mississauga and Vaughan are large product distribution centres, in addition to having manufacturing industries. The information technology sector is also important, particularly
in Markham, Waterloo and Ottawa. Hamilton is the largest steel manufacturing city in Canada and Sarnia 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, 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, Rama, and Niagara Falls which attract many US visitors.
Ontario photos
Text & photo credits
The text contained in 'Ontario Summary,' and 'Ontario economy' above is courtesy of
Wikipedia.com.
The articles ('Ontario Summary,' and 'Ontario economy') are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License
(See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.)
They use material from the Wikipedia article "Ontario".
The Ontario images on this page are courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Images:
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one,
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four.