Ontario

The name Ontario, from an Iroquoian word sometimes translated as meaning "beautiful lake" or "beautiful water", is apt, since lakes and rivers occupy one-sixth of the province's total area of just over one million square kilometres. The word was first applied in 1641 to the easternmost of the Great Lakes, and "Old Ontario" was used to refer to the southern portion of land nearest the lake and was applied to the whole province in 1867.

MAIN MENU: PROVINCES and TERRITORIES: ONTARIO

Capital: Toronto
Other major cities: Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo
Date Entered the Federation: July 1, 1867
Provincial Flower: White Trilium
Provincial Bird: Common Loon
Provincial Tree: Eastern White Pine
Provincial Gem: Amethyst
Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanent; "Loyal she began, loyal she remains"
Population: 15,386,407 (2023)
Area: 1,076,395 sq km
Lieutenant Governor: Her Honour The Honourable Edith Dumont
Premier: The Honourable Doug Ford (Progressive Conservative Party)

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Canada's most populous province; as with the rest of Canada, most of the population lives within 200 kilometres of the US border. (Northern Ontario is so sparsely populated that the provincial map notes which towns up there have phones.) Ontario is regarded by many outside it as hopelessly arrogant and self-centered, but it's also undoubtedly the heart of the Canadian economy.

Most Ontario cities and towns have carefully preserved historic buildings. You can see accurately rebuilt forts and pioneer villages around the province, including Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg and Fort William in Thunder Bay. Some towns, like Niagara on the Lake and Elora, make a special effort to preserve the flavour of the past. In Ottawa and Toronto, the distinctive parliament buildings are permanent reminders of their history.

Some Ontario superlatives include:

Ontario is home of many of Canada's most prominent universities (Toronto, Queen's, McMaster, Waterloo). Click here for a full list of Ontario universities.
Manitoulin Island is the largest freshwater island in the world.
Ontario Hydro is the largest electrical utility in the world.
Alexander Graham Bell placed the world's first long distance telephone call from Brantford to Paris, Ontario.

Ontario's Professional Sports Teams

Toronto Maple Leafs	Toronto Blue Jays	Toronto Argonauts	Toronto Rock

Toronto Raptors	Ottawa Senators	Hamilton Tiger Cats	Toronto FC

Famous sons and daughters of Ontario include:

Paul Anka, songwriter - including Frank Sinatra's signature My Way
Sir Frederick Banting, M.D., inventor
Dr. Norman Bethune, inventor
John Candy, actor
Timothy Eaton, founder of Eaton's department stores
Glenn Gould, pianist
Wayne Gretzky, hockey player
Bobby Hull, hockey player
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, M.D., author of In Flanders Fields
The Right Honourable Lester Pearson, 14th Prime Minister of Canada
Christopher Plummer, actor -including The Sound of Music
Neil Young, singer