Ontario

C

Plants and Animals

The vegetation of Ontario may be grouped into five main areas. Along the shore of Hudson Bay is a narrow strip of arctic tundra, made up of low shrubs, mosses, and lichens underlain by permafrost. A wide subarctic transitional zone covers most of the Hudson Bay Lowland and the northern half of the Canadian Shield region. Black spruce is the dominant tree species here. Drainage is poor, and swamps and muskegs are widespread. A third area, part of the boreal forest, covers the central section of the Shield and is the main resource area for pulpwood. Black spruce abounds, and white spruce, jack pine, and balsam fir occur on drier sites. The Great Lakes and St Lawrence forests extend from the southern part of the Shield, where the boreal softwoods as well as red spruce and hemlock occur, to south-eastern Ontario between Lakes Huron and Ontario, where hardwoods dominate. Along the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario is the fifth area, made up mainly of southern broadleaf forest. Altogether, forest covers nearly 70 per cent of the land area of Ontario.

The animal life of Ontario is rich and varied. Polar bear, white whale, seal, walrus, and caribou are common in the arctic area along Hudson Bay. The swampy northern areas and the countless lakes of the Canadian Shield region provide ideal habitats for many fur-bearing animals. In the boreal and Great Lakes forests are black bear, skunk, deer, moose, and wolf, as well as a number of smaller mammals. Ontario supports a wide variety of bird life, including herons, divers, woodpeckers, warblers, and finches.

D

Resources, Products, and Industries

While the economy of Ontario was traditionally dominated by agriculture, forestry, mining, and trapping, manufacturing has become a leading economic sector. Commerce, banking, insurance, tourism, and government operations are other major aspects of the Ontario economy. Ontario has great mineral resources, with vast deposits of nickel, copper, and iron ore as well as substantial resources of gold, silver, platinum metals, colbalt, lead, and zinc.

Ontario is the leading agricultural province of Canada. The major crops include corn, potatoes, and other vegetables, soya beans, tobacco, wheat, barley, and hay. Large quantities of apples, cherries, grapes, peaches, and other fruit are grown in the Niagara Peninsula. Softwoods harvested in the northern part of the province are used primarily for furniture making. Commercial fishing is limited; harvested species include yellow perch, lake whitefish, smelt, pickerel, and bass.

Ontario dominates manufacturing in Canada, accounting for more than half of all the country's shipments of fabricated goods. The most important manufactured items include transport equipment, especially motor vehicles, packed meat and other processed food, beverages, primary metals and metal products, rubber and leather goods, textiles, clothing, furniture, paper and paper items, refined petroleum, and printed materials.

III

Population and Administration

The population of Ontario is 12,687,000 (2006 estimate), an increase of 16 per cent over 1991. The overall population density in 1991 was 9.4 people per sq km (24.4 per sq mi). Ottawa, the capital of Canada (population, 2001, 774,072), and Toronto, the country’s largest metropolitan area (population, 2001, 2,481,494), are located in Ontario. Other important cities in the province include Hamilton (population, 2001, 490,268); Kitchener (population, 2001, 190,399); London (population, 2001, 336,539); Brampton (population, 2001, 325,428); and Windsor (population, 2001, 208,402).

English is the sole first language of about 75 per cent of the people; nearly 5 per cent have French as their only mother tongue. Some 113,000 Native Americans live in Ontario.

A

Education

The first elementary (common) school in Ontario was founded in the late 1780s, and in 1816 the government provided for elementary schools to be established throughout the province. It was not until the 1870s, however, that all elementary and secondary schools were made free. Tax-supported elementary schools today include public (non-denominational) and separate (Roman Catholic) schools.

King's College, the first institution of higher education in Ontario, was established by a royal charter in 1827 and became the University of Toronto in 1850. By the late 1990s Ontario had more than 60 institutions of higher education. Besides the University of Toronto, notable schools included Queen's University (1841) and the Royal Military College of Canada (1876) in Kingston, McMaster University (1887) in Hamilton, the University of Ottawa (1848) and Carleton University (1942) in Ottawa, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (1948) in Toronto, the University of Windsor (1857) in Windsor, the University of Western Ontario (1878) in London, Wilfrid Laurier University (1911) and the University of Waterloo (1957) in Waterloo, Brock University (1964) and Ridley College (1889) in St Catharines, and the University of Guelph (1964) includes the Ontario Agriculture College (1874) and the Ontario Veterinary College (1862) in Guelph.

B

Places of Interest

Ontario's places of historical interest include Fort Malden National Historic Site in Amherstburg, containing the remains of a British military post founded in the 1790s; Fort George National Historic Site in Niagara-on-the-Lake, encompassing a reconstruction of a British fort used in the War of 1812; and Fort Wellington National Historic Site in Prescott, with a restored British fort erected in 1838-1839. Also of note is Bellevue House in Kingston, a residence of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister. At Stoney Creek, the Battlefield House Museum and the Battlefield Monument in Battlefield Park commemorate the Battle of Stoney Creek, which took place during the War of 1812.

Ontario contains a number of excellent museums and other cultural facilities. Toronto is the site of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Ontario Science Centre. Located in Ottawa are the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, the National Museum of Science and Technology, and the Canadian Museum of Nature. Also in Toronto are the O'Keefe Centre (home of the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada) and Roy Thomson Hall, home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, another performing arts complex, contains an opera house and a theatre. A major annual cultural event in Ontario is the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, featuring productions of plays by William Shakespeare. Places of interest in Oshawa include the Canadian Automotive Museum and the Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery. The Hockey Hall of Fame is in Toronto, and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame is in Hamilton. The Bradley Museum, a restored 1830s farmhouse, and Playdium, an interactive theme park, can be found in Mississauga. Cultural institutions and notable landmarks in the town of Markham include Markham Museum, a 10-hectare (25-acre) historic village featuring displays such as the Transportation Exhibit; the Frederick Horsman Varley Art Gallery, named after the Canadian painter; and the Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts.