View source for Ontario

{{Short description|Province of Canada}}
{{About|the Canadian province}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox province or territory of Canada
| name                    = Ontario
| settlement_type         = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Province]]
| image_flag              = Flag of Ontario.svg
| flag_alt                = A red flag with a large Union Jack in the upper-left corner and a shield in the centre-right
| image_shield            = Coat of arms of Ontario.svg
| shield_alt              = A central shield with the upper part showing the red cross of St. George and the lower part showing three golden maple leaves on a green background. There is a black bear on top of a knight's helmet above the shield with a moose to the left and a Canadian deer to the right. The province's motto "Ut incepit Fidelis sic permanet", Latin for "Loyal she began, loyal she remains" is written below the crest.
| motto                   = {{native phrase|la|Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet}}<br />"Loyal she began, loyal she remains"
| Label_map               = yes
| image_map               = Ontario in Canada 2.svg
| map_alt                 = Map showing Ontario's location east/central of Canada.
| coordinates             = {{Coord|49|15|N|84|30|W|type:adm1st_scale:30000000|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|FEHRI|Ontario}}</ref>|display=inline,title}}
| capital                = [[Toronto]]<!--NOTE: Toronto is the provincial capital; Ottawa is the national capital.-->
| largest_city            = [[Toronto]]
| largest_metro           = [[Greater Toronto Area]]
| official_lang            = [[Canadian English|English]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/about-ontario|title=About Ontario|date=March 7, 2019|website=Ontario.ca|publisher=Queen's Printer for Ontario|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108211436/https://www.ontario.ca/page/about-ontario|archive-date=January 8, 2020|access-date=January 8, 2020}}</ref>
| ViceroyType             = Lieutenant Governor
| government_type         = [[Parliamentary system|Parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]
| Viceroy                 = [[Edith Dumont]]
| Premier                 = [[Doug Ford]]
| Legislature             = Legislative Assembly of Ontario
| HouseSeats              = 122
| SenateSeats             = 24
| Former                  = Canada West
| AdmittanceDate          = July 1, 1867
| AdmittanceOrder         = 1st, with [[New Brunswick]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Quebec]]
| area_footnotes          =&nbsp;(2021 land)<ref name=canpop/>
| area_rank               = 4th
| area_total_km2          = 1076395
| area_land_km2           = 892,411.76
| area_water_km2          = 158654
| population_demonym      = Ontarian<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ontarian|title=Definition of Ontarian|website=Collins Online Dictionary|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004234108/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ontarian|archive-date=October 4, 2013|access-date=October 3, 2013}}</ref>
| population_rank         = [[Population of Canada by province and territory|1st in Canada]]
| population_as_of        = [[2021 Canadian census|2021]]
| population_total        = 14223942<!--2021 StatCan federal census population only per [[WP:CANPOP]]. Do not update until 2026 census population released. Use "Population_est" below for latest StatCan quarterly estimate.-->
| population_ref          =<ref name=StatCan2021>{{cite web |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000101 |title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |date=February 9, 2022 |access-date=February 9, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=February 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209134802/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000101 }}</ref>
| population_est          = 16258260<!-- Latest StatCan quarterly estimate only. -->
| pop_est_as_of           = Q3 2025
| pop_est_ref             =<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 24, 2025 |title=Population estimates, quarterly |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000901 |access-date=September 24, 2025 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250925035249/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000901 |archive-date=September 25, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| GDP_rank                = 1st
| GDP_year                = 2024
| GDP_total               = CA$1,178.092&nbsp;billion<ref name=GDP2024>{{cite web |url=https://data.ontario.ca/dataset/ontario-economic-accounts|title=Ontario Economic Accounts |publisher=Government of Ontario|date=April 11, 2025 |access-date=April 24, 2025 }}</ref>
| GDP_per_capita_rank     = 8th
| GDP_per_capita          = CA$73,064
| HDI_year                = 2022
| HDI                     = 0.942<ref name="Subnational-HDI-2022">{{cite web|title=Sub-national HDI – Subnational HDI – Global Data Lab|url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/shdi/CAN/?levels=1%2B4&interpolation=1&extrapolation=0&nearest_real=0&years=2022|access-date=April 24, 2025}}</ref>—<span style="color:#090">Very high</span>
| HDI_rank                = [[List of Canadian provinces and territories by Human Development Index|3rd]]
| timezone_link           = Time in Canada
| timezone1_location      = East of [[90th meridian west]]
| timezone1               = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
| utc_offset1             = −05:00
| timezone1_DST           = [[Eastern Time Zone#Daylight savings time|EDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = −04:00
| timezone2_location      = West of 90th meridian west, except [[Atikokan]] and [[Pickle Lake]]
| timezone2               = [[Central Time Zone|CST]]
| utc_offset2             = −06:00
| timezone2_DST           = [[Central Time Zone#Central Daylight Time|CDT]]
| utc_offset2_DST         = −05:00
| timezone3_location      = [[Atikokan]] and [[Pickle Lake]] (No DST)
| timezone3               = EST
| utc_offset3             = −05:00
| timezone3_DST           =
| utc_offset3_DST         =
| PostalAbbreviation      = ON
| PostalCodePrefix         = [[List of K postal codes of Canada|K]] [[List of L postal codes of Canada|L]] [[List of M postal codes of Canada|M]] [[List of N postal codes of Canada|N]] [[List of P postal codes of Canada|P]]
| iso_code                = CA-ON
| flower                  = [[Trillium grandiflorum|White trillium]]
| tree                    = [[Pinus strobus|Eastern white pine]]
| bird                    = [[Common loon]]
| website                 = {{URL|https://www.ontario.ca/|ontario.ca}}
}}

'''Ontario'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-ca-Ontario.ogg|ɒ|n|ˈ|t|ɛər|i|oʊ}} {{respell|on|TAIR|ee|oh}}; {{IPA|fr|ɔ̃taʁjo|lang}}}} is the southernmost [[Provinces and territories of Canada|province]] of [[Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/prepare-life-canada/provinces-territories.html |title=Get to know Canada - Provinces and territories|publisher=[[Government of Canada]], [[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada]]|date=July 12, 2017|access-date=October 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231212034/https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/prepare-life-canada/provinces-territories.html |archive-date=December 31, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Located in [[Central Canada]],<ref name="location" />{{efn|Ontario is located in the geographic [[Eastern Canada|eastern half of Canada]], but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of [[Central Canada]].<ref name=location>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/discover-canada/read-online/canadas-regions.html |title=Discover Canada - Canada's Regions|publisher=Government of Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada|date=July 1, 2012|access-date=October 7, 2023|url-status=live|archive-date=August 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806161959/https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/discover-canada/read-online/canadas-regions.html}}</ref>}} Ontario is the [[Population of Canada by province and territory|country's most populous province]]. As of the [[2021 Canadian census]], it is home to 38.5% of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by total area (after [[Quebec]]).<ref name=canpop>{{cite web|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000101 |title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories|date=September 2, 2022|access-date=October 7, 2023|publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411183058/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000101 |archive-date=April 11, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="www150.statcan.gc.ca">{{Cite web |title=Table 15.7 Land and freshwater area, by province and territory |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-402-x/2010000/chap/geo/tbl/tbl07-eng.htm |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=www150.statcan.gc.ca |language=en}}</ref> Ontario is Canada's fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area of all the Canadian provinces and territories.<ref name="www150.statcan.gc.ca"/> It is home to the nation's capital, [[Ottawa]], and its [[list of the largest municipalities in Canada by population|most populous]] city, [[Toronto]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo05a.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050724005426/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo05a.htm|archive-date=July 24, 2005|title=Population of census metropolitan areas (2001 Census boundaries)|work=Statistics Canada|access-date=January 5, 2007}}</ref> which is Ontario's provincial capital.

Ontario is bordered by the province of [[Manitoba]] to the west, [[Hudson Bay]] and [[James Bay]] to the north, and Quebec to the east and northeast. To the south, it is bordered by the [[U.S. state]]s of (from west to east) [[Minnesota]], [[Michigan]], [[Ohio]], [[Pennsylvania]] (through [[Lake Erie]]), and [[New York (state)|New York]]. Almost all of Ontario's {{convert|2700|km|mi|round=50|abbr=on}} border with the United States follows rivers and lakes: from the westerly [[Lake of the Woods]], eastward along the major rivers and lakes of the [[Great Lakes]]/[[Saint Lawrence River]] drainage system. There is only about {{convert|1|km|mi|frac=8|abbr=on}} of actual land border, made up of portages including [[Height of Land Portage]] on the Minnesota border.<ref name = IBC>{{cite web
|last = Canada/United States International Boundary Commission
|title = St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes
|work = Presentation at 2006 IBRU Conference, p. 21
|publisher = Durham University
|year = 2006
|url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ibru/conferences/thailand/canada.pdf
|access-date = May 6, 2014
|archive-date = November 2, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102204917/http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ibru/conferences/thailand/canada.pdf
|url-status = live
}}</ref>

The great majority of Ontario's population and [[arable land]] are in [[Southern Ontario]], and while [[Agriculture in Canada|agriculture]] remains a significant industry, the region's economy depends highly on [[Manufacturing in Canada|manufacturing]]. In contrast, [[Northern Ontario]] is sparsely populated with cold winters and heavy forestation,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/economy/demographics/projections |title=Ontario Population Projections, 2018–2046 |publisher=Government of Ontario Ministry of Finance |access-date=April 12, 2020 |archive-date=March 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328043850/https://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/economy/demographics/projections/ |url-status=live }}</ref> with [[Mining in Canada|mining]] and [[Forestry in Canada|forestry]] making up the region's major industries.

== Etymology ==
Ontario is a term thought to have Indigenous origins, either {{lang|wyn|Ontarí:io}}, a [[Wyandot language|Huron]] ([[Wyandot people|Wyandot]]) word meaning "great lake",<ref name="Mithun2001">{{cite book|author=Marianne Mithun|title=The Languages of Native North America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALnf3s2m7PkC&q=ontario+%22great+lake%22&pg=PA312|date=June 7, 2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-29875-9|page=312|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=January 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122140534/https://books.google.com/books?id=ALnf3s2m7PkC&q=ontario+%22great+lake%22&pg=PA312|url-status=live}}</ref> or possibly {{lang|iro|skanadario}}, which means "beautiful water" or "sparkling water" in the [[Iroquoian languages]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studycanada.ca/english/about-ont.htm|pages=Last Paragraph–second–last sentence|title=About Canada // Ontario|work=Study Canada|quote=The name "Ontario" is generally thought to be derived from the Iroquois word Skanadario, meaning "beautiful water"|access-date=April 23, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706204317/http://www.studycanada.ca/english/about-ont.htm|archive-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref> Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes.<ref name=river-number>{{cite web|title=Lakes and Rivers |url=http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Water/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_163597.html |work=Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources |access-date=March 23, 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323134120/http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Water/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_163597.html |archive-date=March 23, 2014}}</ref> The first mention of the name Ontario was in 1641, when "Ontario" was used to describe the land on the north shore of the easternmost part of the Great Lakes.<ref name="canada.ca">{{cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/provincial-territorial-symbols-canada/ontario.html#a1 |title=Ontario – Canada.ca |accessdate=November 22, 2021 |publisher=Government of Canada |website=canada.ca |date=August 15, 2017 |archive-date=September 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912201706/https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/provincial-territorial-symbols-canada/ontario.html#a1 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was adopted as the official name of the new province at [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]] in 1867.<ref name="canada.ca"/>

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Ontario}}
{{See also|List of census divisions of Ontario|Geography of Canada|List of protected areas of Ontario|l3=List of parks and protected areas of Ontario}}
[[File:BlackRiver1.JPG|thumb|Typical landscape of the [[Canadian Shield]] at [[Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park]], located in [[Central Ontario]].]]
The thinly populated [[Canadian Shield]], which dominates the northwestern and central portions of the province, comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in [[mineral]]s, partly covered by the [[Central Canadian Shield forests|Central]] and [[Midwestern Canadian Shield forests]], and studded with lakes and rivers. [[Northern Ontario]] is subdivided into two sub-regions: [[Northwestern Ontario]] and [[Northeastern Ontario]].

The virtually unpopulated [[Hudson Bay Lowlands]] in the extreme north and northeast are mainly swampy and sparsely forested.

[[Southern Ontario]] is further sub-divided into four sub-regions: [[Central Ontario]] (although not actually the province's geographic centre), [[Eastern Ontario]], [[Golden Horseshoe]] and [[Southwestern Ontario]] (parts of which were formerly referred to as Western Ontario).

Despite the rarity of 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 {{convert|693|m|ft|0}} [[above mean sea level|above sea level]] in [[Temagami]], Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over {{convert|500|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands and in hilltops near the [[Madawaska River (Ontario)|Madawaska River]] in [[Renfrew County]].

The [[Carolinian forest]] zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. The temperate and fertile Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Valley in the south is part of the [[Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests]] [[ecoregion]] where the forest has now been largely replaced by agriculture, industrial and urban development. A well-known geographic feature is [[Niagara Falls]], part of the 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 covers approximately 87% of the province's surface area; conversely, Southern Ontario contains 94% of the population.

[[Point Pelee National Park|Point Pelee]] is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario (near [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]] and [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]]) that is the southernmost extent of Canada's mainland. [[Pelee, Ontario|Pelee Island]] and [[Middle Island (Lake Erie)|Middle Island]] in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of [[42nd parallel north|42°N]]&nbsp;– slightly farther south than the northern border of [[California]].

=== Climate ===
{{See also|Climate of Ontario}}
[[File:Ontario Köppen.svg|left|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] of Ontario]]
Ontario's climate varies by season and location.<ref name=EC>{{cite web |url=http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/canada-country-study/intro.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323131703/http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/canada-country-study/intro.html |archive-date = March 23, 2013 |title = The Canada Country Study: Climate Impacts and Adaptation: Ontario Region Executive Summary |publisher = Environment Canada |access-date = January 29, 2013}}</ref> Three air sources affect it: cold, dry, arctic air from the north (dominant factor during the winter months, and for a longer part of the year in far northern Ontario); Pacific polar air crossing in from the western Canadian Prairies/US [[Northern Plains]]; and warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name=UBCgeo>{{cite web |first1 = David |last1 = Baldwin |first2 = Joseph |last2 = Desloges |first3 = Lawrence |last3 = Band |url=http://www.ubcpress.ca/books/pdf/chapters/ecology/chapter2.pdf |title = Physical Geography of Ontario |publisher = UBC Press |access-date = March 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217184751/http://www.ubcpress.ca/books/pdf/chapters/ecology/chapter2.pdf |archive-date = December 17, 2007 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> The effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief.<ref name= UBCgeo/> In general, most of Ontario's climate is classified as humid continental.<ref name= UBCgeo/>

Ontario has three main climatic regions:
* The surrounding Great Lakes greatly influence the climatic region of southern Ontario.<ref name="EC"/> During the fall and winter, the release of heat stored by the lakes moderates the climate near the shores which<ref name=EPA>{{cite web |url=http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/atlas/glat-ch2.html |title = Natural Processes in the Great Lakes |publisher = US Environmental Protection Agency |access-date = March 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202002550/http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/atlas/glat-ch2.html |archive-date = February 2, 2013 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> give parts of Southern Ontario not only a later start to winter conditions, but also generally milder winter temperatures than mid-continental areas at lower latitudes. In many areas, warmer spring temperatures are delayed by surrounding colder lake temperatures <ref name= EPA/> Parts of Southwestern Ontario and the Hamilton-Niagara region (generally south of a line from Sarnia–Toronto) have a moderate [[humid continental climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Dfa''), similar to the inland [[Mid-Atlantic states]] and lower [[Great Lakes]] portion of the [[Midwestern United States]]. The region has warm to hot, humid summers and cold winters. Annual precipitation ranges from {{convert|750|-|1000|mm|in|abbr=on}} and is well distributed throughout the year. Most of this region lies in the lee of the Great Lakes, making for abundant snow in some areas. In December 2010, the [[snowbelt]] set a new record when it was hit by more than a metre of snow within 48 hours.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/snowstorm-shuts-down-london-ont-1.929437 |work=CBC News |title=Snowstorm shuts down London, Ont |date=December 8, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308071854/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/snowstorm-shuts-down-london-ont-1.929437 |archive-date=March 8, 2014 }}</ref>
* The next climatic region is Central and Eastern Ontario, which has a moderate [[humid continental climate]] (Köppen ''Dfb''). This region has warm and sometimes hot summers with colder, longer winters, ample snowfall (even in regions not directly in the snowbelts) and annual precipitation similar to the rest of Southern Ontario.<ref name="UBCgeo" />

In the northeastern parts of Ontario, extending south as far as [[Kirkland Lake]], the cold waters of Hudson Bay depress summer temperatures, making it cooler than other locations at similar latitudes. The same is true on the northern shore of [[Lake Superior]], which cools hot, humid air from the south, leading to cooler summer temperatures.<ref name= UBCgeo/> Along the eastern shores of Lake Superior and [[Lake Huron]] winter temperatures are slightly moderated but come with frequent heavy [[lake-effect snow]] squalls that increase seasonal snowfall totals to upwards of {{convert|3|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in some places. These regions have higher annual precipitation, in some places over {{convert|100|cm|in|abbr=on}}.
[[File:Lake Effect Snow on Earth.jpg|thumb|Cold northwesterly wind over the [[Great Lakes]] creating [[lake-effect snow]]. Lake-effect snow most frequently occurs in the [[snowbelt]] regions of the province.]]
* The northernmost parts of Ontario&nbsp;– primarily north of 50°N&nbsp;– have a [[subarctic climate]] (Köppen ''Dfc'') with long, severely cold winters and short, cool to warm summers with dramatic temperature changes possible in all seasons. With no major mountain ranges blocking sinking Arctic [[air mass]]es, temperatures of {{convert|-40|C|abbr=on}} are not uncommon; snow remains on the ground for sometimes over half the year. Snow accumulation can be high in some areas.<ref name= EC/> Precipitation is generally less than {{convert|70|cm|in|abbr=on}} and peaks in the summer months in the form of rain or thunderstorms.<ref name= EC/>

Severe thunderstorms peak in summer. Windsor, in Southwestern Ontario, has the most lightning strikes per year in Canada, averaging 33 days of thunderstorm activity per year.<ref>{{cite web|title=WeatherStats: Weather Winners|url=https://www.weatherstats.ca/winners.html?location=ottawa;category=35|access-date=June 29, 2020|website=Amateur Weather Statistics for Ottawa (Kanata – Orléans), Ontario|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630180809/https://www.weatherstats.ca/winners.html?location=ottawa;category=35|url-status=live}}</ref> In a typical year, Ontario averages 11 confirmed [[tornado]] touchdowns. Ontario had a record 29 tornadoes in both 2006 and 2009. [[Tropical cyclone|Tropical depression]] remnants occasionally bring heavy rains and winds in the south, but are rarely deadly. A notable exception was [[Hurricane Hazel]], which struck Southern Ontario centred on Toronto, in October 1954.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marsh |first1=James |title=Hurricane Hazel |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hurricane-hazel |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected locations in Ontario
|-
!City
!July (°C)
!July (°F)
!January (°C)
!January (°F)
|-
|[[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]] ([[Windsor International Airport]])<ref name="ccnwindsor">{{cite web |url= https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1991_2020_e.html?searchType=stnName_1991&txtStationName_1991=windsor&searchMethod=contains&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=217000000&dispBack=0|date = November 25, 2023 |publisher = Environment Canada |access-date =July 20, 2025|df = mdy-all }}</ref> ||28/18 ||83/64 ||0/−7 ||32/19
|-
|[[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara Falls]] (NPCSH)<ref name="ccnniagara">{{cite web |publisher = [[Environment Canada]] |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=4659&lang=e&dCode=0&province=ONT&provBut=Go&month1=0&month2=12 |title = Niagara Falls NPCSH |work = Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 |date = October 31, 2011|access-date = April 12, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413160109/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=4659&lang=e&dCode=0&province=ONT&provBut=Go&month1=0&month2=12 |archive-date = April 13, 2014 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> ||27/17 ||81/63 ||0/−8 ||30/18
|-
|[[Toronto]] ([[The Annex]])<ref name="ccnannex">{{cite web |url=https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1991_2020_e.html?searchType=stnName_1991&txtStationName_1991=toronto&searchMethod=contains&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=207000000&dispBack=0|title= 1991 to 2020 Canadian Climate Normals |publisher= Environment Canada |id= Climate ID: 6158350 |date = November 25, 2023 |access-date= July 20, 2025 |df= mdy-all }}</ref> ||27/18 ||81/65 ||0/−7 ||31/20
|-
|[[Midland, Ontario|Midland]] (Water Pollution Control Plant)<ref name="ccnmidland">{{cite web |publisher = [[Environment Canada]] |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=4474&lang=e&amp;StationName=Midland&amp;SearchType=Contains&amp;stnNameSubmit=go&dCode=5&dispBack=1 |title = Midland Water Pollution Control Plant |work = Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 |date = September 25, 2013|access-date = May 9, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517214728/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=4474&lang=e&StationName=Midland&SearchType=Contains&stnNameSubmit=go&dCode=5&dispBack=1 |archive-date = May 17, 2017 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> ||26/16 ||78/61 ||−4/–13 ||25/8
|-
|[[Ottawa]] (City)<ref name="ccnottawa">{{cite web |publisher = Environment Canada |url=https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1991_2020_e.html?searchType=stnName_1991&txtStationName_1991=ottawa&searchMethod=contains&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=450000000&dispBack=0 |date = November 25, 2023|access-date = July 20, 2025 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> ||27/16 ||80/60 ||−5/−14 ||23/7
|-
|[[Greater Sudbury|Sudbury]] ([[Sudbury Airport]])<ref name="ccnsudbury">{{cite web |publisher = [[Environment Canada]] |url=https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1991_2020_e.html?searchType=stnName_1991&txtStationName_1991=sudbury&searchMethod=contains&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=203000000&dispBack=1 |date = November 25, 2023|access-date = July 20, 2025 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> ||25/13 ||77/56 ||−8/−18 ||18/1
|-
|[[Thunder Bay]] ([[Thunder Bay International Airport]])<ref name="ccnthunder">{{cite web |publisher = [[Environment Canada]] |url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1991_2020_e.html?searchType=stnName_1991&txtStationName_1991=thunder+bay&searchMethod=contains&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=204000000&dispBack=1 |title = Thunder Bay |work = 1991 to 2020 Canadian Climate Normals Data |format = CSV |date = November 25, 2023|access-date = July 20, 2025}}</ref> ||25/11 ||77/52 ||−8/−19 ||18/−3
|-
|[[Kenora]] ([[Kenora Airport]])<ref name="ccnkenora">{{cite web|publisher = [[Environment Canada]]|url=https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1991_2020_e.html?searchType=stnName_1991&txtStationName_1991=kenora&searchMethod=contains&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=178000000&dispBack=1|title = Kenora |work = 1991 to 2020 Canadian Climate Normals Data |date = November 25, 2023|access-date = July 20, 2025|df = mdy-all}}</ref> ||24/15 ||76/59 ||−11/−20 ||11/−4
|-
|[[Moosonee]] (UA)<ref name="ccnmoosonee">{{cite web |publisher = [[Environment Canada]] |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=4168&lang=e&dCode=0&province=ONT&provBut=Go&month1=0&month2=12 |title = Moosonee UA |work = Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 |date = October 31, 2011|access-date = April 9, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413160113/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=4168&lang=e&dCode=0&province=ONT&provBut=Go&month1=0&month2=12 |archive-date = April 13, 2014 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> ||23/9 ||73/48 ||−14/–26 ||8/–15
|}

== History ==
{{Main|History of Ontario}}
{{Further|Monarchy in Ontario#History}}

===Indigenous habitation (pre–1610)===
{{Main|Settlement of the Americas}}
[[Paleo-Indians]] were the first people to settle on the lands of Ontario, about 11,000 years ago, after crossing the [[Bering land bridge]] from Asia to North America between 25,000 and 50,000 years ago.{{Sfn|Baskerville|2005|p=1}}<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=Carl |last2=Hinshelwood |first2=Andrew |last3=Daechsel |first3=Hugh |last4=Bursey |first4=Jeff |title=The Archaeology of Ontario: A Summary |url=https://ontarioarchaeology.org/resources/summary-of-ontario-archaeology/ |access-date=2024-06-15 |website=[[Ontario Archaeological Society]] |language=en-CA}}</ref> During the [[Archaic period (North America)|Archaic period]], which lasted from 8000 to 1000 [[Anno Domini|BC]], the population slowly increased, with a generally [[Egalitarianism|egalitarian]] [[hunter-gatherer]] society and a warmer climate. Trading routes also began emerging along the [[St. Lawrence River]] and around the [[Great Lakes]].{{Sfn|Baskerville|2005|pp=2-3}} Hunting and gathering remained predominant throughout the early [[Woodland period]], and social structures and trade continued to develop.{{Sfn|Baskerville|2005|p=4}} Around 500 [[AD]], corn cultivation began, later expanding to include [[bean]]s and [[Cucurbita|squash]] around 1100 AD.{{Efn|These three agricultural crops are known as the [[Three Sisters (agriculture)]]}} Increased agriculture enabled more permanent, fortified, and significantly larger settlements. In southern Ontario during the 1400s, the population of some villages numbered in the thousands, with [[Longhouses of the Indigenous peoples of North America|longhouses]] that could house over a hundred people. Around this time, large-scale warfare began in southern Ontario, leading to the emergence of [[Iroquoian peoples|Iroquoian]] groups, including the [[Neutral Confederacy]], [[Erie people|Erie]] and [[Wendats|Wendat]] (Huron).{{Sfn|Baskerville|2005|p=5}} Groups in northern Ontario were primarily [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] and included the [[Ojibwe]], who traded with the Iroquois.{{Sfn|Baskerville|2005|pp=9-11}}

Many ethnocultural groups emerged and came to exist on the lands of Ontario: the [[Algonquin people|Algonquins]], [[Mississaugas]], [[Ojibway]], [[Cree]], [[Odawa]], [[Potawatomi|Pottowatomi]], and [[Iroquois]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/policy_part/research/pdf/Spotton_Profile-of-Aboriginal-Peoples-in-Ontario.pdf|title=A Profile of Aboriginal Peoples in Ontario|access-date=July 10, 2022|archive-date=January 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119062558/http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/policy_part/research/pdf/Spotton_Profile-of-Aboriginal-Peoples-in-Ontario.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Pays d'en Haut (1610–1763)===
{{Main|Exploration of North America|New France|Pays d'en Haut}}
In 1608, [[Samuel de Champlain]] established France's first colonial settlement in [[New France]], the [[Habitation de Québec]] (now [[Quebec City]]). French explorers continued to travel west, establishing new villages along the coasts of the Saint Lawrence River. French explorers, the first of which was [[Étienne Brûlé]] who explored the Georgian Bay area in 1610–1612,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/82078/Etienne-Brule|title=Étienne Brûlé|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=January 5, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207030900/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/82078/Etienne-Brule|archive-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref> mapped Southern Ontario and called the region the [[Pays d'en Haut]] ("Upper Country"), in reference to the region being upstream of the Saint Lawrence River. The colony of the Pays d'en Haut was formally established in 1610 as an administrative dependency of Canada, and was for defence and business rather than a settlement colony. The territory of the Pays-d'en-Haut was quite large and would today include the province of Ontario, as well as, in whole or in part, the American states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Indigenous peoples were the vast majority of the Pays d'en Haut population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/francophonie/Nlle-France_Pays_d'en-Haut.htm#:~:text=Le%20premier%20Europ%C3%A9en%20%C3%A0%20s,Outaouais%20et%20du%20lac%20Nipissing|title=Le Pays-d'en-Haut (Canada)|access-date=July 16, 2022|archive-date=June 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621223241/https://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/francophonie/Nlle-France_Pays_d%27en-Haut.htm#:~:text=Le%20premier%20Europ%C3%A9en%20%C3%A0%20s,Outaouais%20et%20du%20lac%20Nipissing.|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:1755 Bellin Map of the Great Lakes - Geographicus - GreatLakes-bellin-1755.jpg|left|thumb|A 1755 map of the ''[[Pays d'en Haut]]'' region of [[New France]], an area that included most of Ontario]] 

As for Northern Ontario, the English explorer [[Henry Hudson]] sailed into [[Hudson Bay]] in 1611 and claimed its drainage basin for England.<ref>{{cite web |title=Henry Hudson set adrift by mutineers |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/june-22/hudson-set-adrift-by-mutineers |website=HISTORY |access-date=31 July 2025 |language=en |date=9 February 2010}}</ref> The area would become known as [[Rupert's Land]].

De Champlain reached Lake Huron in 1615, and French missionaries, such as the [[Jésuites]] and [[Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice|Supliciens]], began to establish posts along the Great Lakes. The French allied with most Indigenous groups of Ontario, all for the fur trade and for defence against Iroquois attacks (which would later be called the [[Iroquois Wars]]). The French would declare their Indigenous allies to be subjects of the King of France and would often act as mediators between different groups. The Iroquois later allied themselves with the British.<ref name="thefrenchshouldvewon">{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.on.ca/ont/portal/!ut/p/.cmd/cs/.ce/7_0_A/.s/7_0_252/_s.7_0_A/7_0_252/_l/en?docid=004520|title=About Ontario; History; French and British Struggle for Domination|work=Government of Ontario|access-date=January 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905194801/http://www.gov.on.ca/ont/portal/!ut/p/.cmd/cs/.ce/7_0_A/.s/7_0_252/_s.7_0_A/7_0_252/_l/en?docid=004520|archive-date=September 5, 2007}}</ref>

From 1634 to 1640, the Huron were devastated by European infectious diseases, such as [[measles]] and [[smallpox]], to which they had no immunity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ontarioarchaeology.on.ca/summary/contact.htm |title=The Contact Period |work=ontarioarchaeology.com |access-date=September 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003124851/http://www.ontarioarchaeology.on.ca/summary/contact.htm |archive-date=October 3, 2009}}</ref> By 1700, the Iroquois had been driven out or left the area that would become Ontario and the Mississaugas of the Ojibwa had settled the north shore of Lake Ontario. The remaining Huron settled north of Quebec City.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

During the [[French and Indian War]], the North American theatre of the [[Seven Years' War]] of 1754 to 1763, the British defeated the armies of New France and its Indigenous allies. In the [[Treaty of Paris 1763]] France ceded most of its possessions in North America to Britain. Using the [[Quebec Act]], Britain re-organised the territory into the [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/PreConfederation/qa_1774.html|title=The Quebec Act of 1774|website=Solon.org|access-date=January 15, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207151343/http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/PreConfederation/qa_1774.html|archive-date=February 7, 2007}}</ref>

===Province of Quebec (1763–1791)===
{{Main|Province of Quebec (1763–1791)}} [[File:United Empire Loyalist Statue in Hamilton, Ontario.jpg|thumb|A monument in [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]] commemorating the [[United Empire Loyalists]], a group of settlers who fled the [[United States]] during or after the [[American Revolution]]]]
In 1782–1784, 5,000 [[United Empire Loyalist]]s entered what is now Ontario following the [[American Revolution]].<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Ontario |volume= 20 | pages = 113–117: see pages 115 and 116 |quote= History. —... |last1= Grant |first1= William Lawson }}</ref> The Kingdom of Great Britain granted them {{convert|200|acre|abbr=on}} land and other items with which to rebuild their lives.<ref name="thefrenchshouldvewon"/> The British also set up reserves in Ontario for the [[Mohawk people|Mohawks]] who had fought for the British and had lost their land in New York state. Other Iroquois, also displaced from New York were resettled in 1784 at the [[Six Nations of the Grand River|Six Nations]] reserve at the west end of Lake Ontario. The Mississaugas, displaced by European settlements, would later move to Six Nations also.

After the American War of Independence, the first reserves for First Nations were established. These are situated at Six Nations (1784), [[Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory|Tyendinaga]] (1793) and [[Akwesasne]] (1795). Six Nations and Tyendinaga were established by the British for those Indigenous groups who had fought on the side of the British, and were expelled from the new United States. Akwesasne was a pre-existing Mohawk community and its borders were formalized under the 1795 [[Jay Treaty]].

In 1788, while part of the province of Quebec, southern Ontario was divided into four [[District#Ontario|districts]]: [[Western District, Upper Canada|Hesse]], [[Eastern District, Upper Canada|Lunenburg]], [[Midland District, Upper Canada|Mecklenburg]], and [[Home District|Nassau]]. In 1792, the four districts were renamed: Hesse became the Western District, Lunenburg became the Eastern District, Mecklenburg became the Midland District, and Nassau became the Home District. Counties were created within the districts.

The population of Canada west of the St. Lawrence-Ottawa River confluence substantially increased during this period, a fact recognized by the [[Constitutional Act 1791|''Constitutional Act'' of 1791]], which split Quebec into [[the Canadas]]: [[Upper Canada]] southwest of the St. Lawrence-Ottawa River confluence, and [[Lower Canada]] east of it.

===Upper Canada (1791–1841)===
{{Main|Upper Canada}}
[[File:A new map of Upper and Lower Canada from the latest authorities - 1811.jpg|thumb|Map of [[Upper Canada]], 1811]]
[[John Graves Simcoe]] was appointed Upper Canada's first [[Lieutenant governor (Canada)|Lieutenant governor]] in 1793.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~sprague/con91.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829152801/http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~sprague/con91.htm|archive-date=August 29, 2007|title=The Constitutional Act of 1791|access-date=January 15, 2007}}</ref> A second wave of Americans, not all of them necessarily loyalists moved to Upper Canada after 1790 until the pre-war of 1812, many seeking available cheap land, and at the time, lower taxation.

By 1798, there were eight districts: Eastern, Home, [[Johnstown District, Upper Canada|Johnstown]], [[London District, Upper Canada|London]], Midland, [[Newcastle District|Newcastle]], [[Niagara District|Niagara]], and Western. By 1826, there were eleven districts: [[Bathurst District|Bathurst]], Eastern, [[Gore District, Upper Canada|Gore]], Home, Johnstown, London, Midland, Newcastle, Niagara, [[Ottawa District|Ottawa]], and Western. By 1838, there were twenty districts: Bathurst, Brock, Colbourne, [[Dalhousie District|Dalhousie]], Eastern, Gore, Home, Huron, Johnstown, London, Midland, Newcastle, Niagara, Ottawa, Prince Edward, [[Simcoe County|Simcoe]], Talbot, Victoria, [[Wellington District, Upper Canada|Wellington]], and Western.

American troops in the [[War of 1812]] invaded Upper Canada across the [[Niagara River]] and the [[Detroit River]], but were defeated and pushed back by the British, Canadian [[fencibles]] and militias, and [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] warriors. However, the Americans eventually gained control of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The 1813 [[Battle of York]] saw American troops defeat the garrison at the Upper Canada capital of [[York, Upper Canada|York]]. The Americans looted the town and burned the Upper Canada Parliament Buildings during their brief occupation. The British would [[Burning of Washington|burn]] the American capital of Washington, D.C. in 1814.
[[File:Push on, brave York volunteers(large).jpg|thumb|Depiction of the [[Battle of Queenston Heights]], during the [[War of 1812]]. [[Upper Canada]] was an active theatre of operation during the conflict.]]
After the War of 1812, relative stability allowed for increasing numbers of immigrants to arrive from Europe rather than from the United States. As was the case in the previous decades, this immigration shift was encouraged by the colonial leaders. Despite affordable and often free land, many arriving newcomers, mostly from Britain and Ireland, found frontier life with the harsh climate difficult, and some of those with the means eventually returned home or went south. However, population growth far exceeded emigration in the following decades. It was a mostly agrarian-based society, but canal projects and a new network of plank roads spurred greater trade within the colony and with the United States, thereby improving previously damaged relations over time.

Meanwhile, Ontario's numerous waterways aided travel and transportation into the interior and supplied [[Hydropower|water power]] for development. As the population increased, so did the industries and transportation networks, which in turn led to further development. By the end of the century, Ontario vied with Quebec as the nation's leader in terms of growth in population, industry, arts and communications.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.ca/virtual-vault/026018-119.01-e.php?q1=People&PHPSESSID=709io6475tfesngi2m7226o454|title=ARCHIVED – People – Virtual Vault – Library and Archives Canada|website=Collectionscanada.ca|access-date=June 7, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321204831/http://collectionscanada.ca/virtual-vault/026018-119.01-e.php?phpsessid=709io6475tfesngi2m7226o454&q1=people|archive-date=March 21, 2016}}</ref>

Unrest in the colony began to chafe against the aristocratic [[Family Compact]], who governed while benefiting economically from the region's resources, and who did not allow elected bodies power. This resentment spurred republican ideals and sowed the seeds for early [[Canadian nationalism]]. Accordingly, rebellion in favour of [[responsible government]] rose in both regions; [[Louis-Joseph Papineau]] led the [[Lower Canada Rebellion]] and [[William Lyon Mackenzie]], the first [[mayor]] of [[Toronto]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Biography – MACKENZIE, WILLIAM LYON – Volume IX (1861–1870) |website=Dictionary of Canadian Biography |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/mackenzie_william_lyon_9E.html |access-date=October 25, 2018 |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105130202/http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/mackenzie_william_lyon_9E.html |url-status=live }}</ref> led the [[Upper Canada Rebellion]]. In Upper Canada, the rebellion was quickly a failure. Mackenzie escaped to the [[United States]], where he declared the [[Republic of Canada]] on [[Navy Island]] on the Niagara River.<ref>{{cite web |title=William Lyon Mackenzie |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mackenzie-william-lyon |access-date=October 25, 2018 |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105130307/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mackenzie-william-lyon |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Canada West (1841–1867)===
{{Main|Canada West}}
Although both rebellions were put down in short order, the British government sent [[John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham|Lord Durham]] to investigate the causes. He recommended responsible government be granted, and Lower and Upper Canada be re-joined in an attempt to assimilate the [[French Canadians]]. Accordingly, the two colonies were merged into the Province of Canada by the ''[[Act of Union 1840]]'', with the capital initially at [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]], and Upper Canada becoming known as [[Province of Canada|Canada West]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada West – historical region, Canada |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Canada-West |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=October 25, 2018 |archive-date=October 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025225854/https://www.britannica.com/place/Canada-West |url-status=live }}</ref> Responsible government was achieved in 1848. There were heavy waves of immigration in the 1840s, and the population of Canada West more than doubled by 1851 over the previous decade. As a result, for the first time, the English-speaking population of Canada West surpassed the French-speaking population of [[Canada East]], tilting the representative balance of power.
[[File:1855 Colton Map of Upper Canada or Ontario - Geographicus - Ontario2-colton-1855.jpg|thumb|left|Map of [[Canada West]] from 1855. Canada West formed the western portion of the [[Province of Canada]].]]

In 1849, the districts of southern Ontario were formed into the Province of Canada, and [[county]] governments took over certain municipal responsibilities. The Province of Canada also began creating ''districts'' in sparsely populated Northern Ontario with the establishment of [[Algoma District]] and [[Nipissing District]] in 1858.

An economic boom in the 1850s coincided with railway expansion across the province, further increasing the economic strength of Central Canada. With the repeal of the [[Corn Laws]] and a reciprocity agreement in place with the United States, various industries such as timber, mining, farming and alcohol distilling benefited tremendously.

A political stalemate developed in the 1850s, between finely balanced political groups: conservative and reform groups from Canada West and Canada East aligned against reform and liberal groups from Canada East each group having some support from [[French-Canadian]] and English-Canadian legislators. There was also a fear of aggression from the United States during and immediately after the [[American Civil War]]. These factors led to the formation of the [[Great Coalition]] in the elected Legislative Assembly, which initiated a series of conferences in the 1860s to effect a broader federal union of all [[British North America]]n colonies. The ''[[Constitution Act, 1867|British North America Act]]'' took effect on July 1, 1867, establishing the Dominion of Canada, initially with the four provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. The Province of Canada was divided into Ontario and Quebec so that each linguistic group would have its own province. Both Quebec and Ontario were required by section 93 of the ''British North America Act'' to safeguard existing educational rights and privileges of the Protestant and Catholic minorities. Thus, separate Catholic schools and [[board of education|school boards]] were permitted in Ontario. However, neither province had a constitutional requirement to protect its French- or English-speaking minority. Toronto was formally established as Ontario's provincial capital.

===Canadian province (1867–present)===
[[File:Canada provinces evolution 2.gif|thumb|An animated map of the changes to the borders of Canada. The borders of Ontario were last changed in 1912.]]
The borders of Ontario, its new name in 1867, were provisionally expanded north and west. When the Province of Canada was formed, its borders were not entirely clear, and Ontario claimed eventually to reach all the way to the [[Rocky Mountains]] and [[Arctic Ocean]]. With Canada's acquisition of Rupert's Land, Ontario was interested in clearly defining its borders, especially since some of the new areas in which it was interested were rapidly growing. After the federal government asked Ontario to pay for construction in the new disputed area, the province asked for an elaboration on its limits, and its boundary was moved north to the [[51st parallel north]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Report on the Boundaries of the Province of Ontario |author=Mills, David |publisher=Hunter, Rose & Co. |location=Toronto |page=347 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BlYCAAAAMAAJ |year=1877 |access-date=September 14, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107091048/http://books.google.com/books?id=BlYCAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=November 7, 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Oliver Mowat.jpg|thumb|[[Oliver Mowat]], [[Premier of Ontario]] from 1872 to 1896]]
Once constituted as a province, Ontario proceeded to assert its economic and legislative power. In 1872, the lawyer [[Oliver Mowat]] became [[Premier of Ontario]] and remained as premier until 1896. He fought for provincial rights, weakening the power of the [[Government of Canada|federal government]] in provincial matters, usually through well-argued appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. His battles with the federal government greatly [[Decentralization|decentralized]] Canada, giving the provinces far more power than [[John A. Macdonald]] had intended. He consolidated and expanded Ontario's educational and provincial institutions, created districts in Northern Ontario, and fought to ensure that those parts of Northwestern Ontario not historically part of Upper Canada (the vast areas north and west of the Lake Superior-Hudson Bay watershed, known as the [[District of Keewatin]]) would become part of Ontario, a victory embodied in the ''Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889''. He also presided over the emergence of the province into the economic powerhouse of Canada. Mowat was the creator of what is often called ''Empire Ontario''.

Beginning with Macdonald's [[National Policy]] (1879) and the construction of the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] (1875–1885) through Northern Ontario and the [[Canadian Prairies]] to [[British Columbia]], Ontario manufacturing and industry flourished. However, population increases slowed after a large recession hit the province in 1893, thus slowing growth drastically but for only a few years. Many newly arrived immigrants and others moved west along the railway to the Prairie Provinces and British Columbia, sparsely settling Northern Ontario.

The northern and western boundaries of Ontario were in dispute after Canadian Confederation. Ontario's right to northwestern Ontario was determined by the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] in 1884 and confirmed by the ''Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889'' of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]. By 1899, there were seven northern districts: Algoma, Manitoulin, Muskoka, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, and Thunder Bay. Four more northern districts were created between 1907 and 1912: Cochrane, Kenora, Sudbury and Timiskaming.<ref>{{cite web|title=Early Districts and Counties 1788–1899 |publisher=Archives of Ontario |date=September 5, 2006 |access-date=November 29, 2006 |url=https://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/maps/ontario-districts.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130162533/http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/maps/ontario-districts.aspx |archive-date=January 30, 2010}}</ref>

Mineral exploitation accelerated in the late 19th century, leading to the rise of important mining centres in the northeast, such as [[Greater Sudbury|Sudbury]], [[Cobalt, Ontario|Cobalt]] and [[Timmins]]. The province harnessed its water power to generate hydro-electric power and created the state-controlled Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, later [[Ontario Hydro]]. The availability of cheap electric power further facilitated the development of industry. The [[Ford Motor Company of Canada]] was established in 1904 and the [[McLaughlin Motor Car Company]] (later [[General Motors Canada]]) was founded in 1907. The motor vehicle industry became the most lucrative industry for the Ontario economy during the 20th century.

In July 1912, the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|Conservative]] government of [[James Whitney (politician)|James Whitney]] issued [[Regulation 17]] which severely limited the availability of French-language schooling to the province's French-speaking minority. French Canadians reacted with outrage, journalist [[Henri Bourassa]] denouncing the "Prussians of Ontario". The regulation was eventually repealed in 1927.
[[File:Raid at elk lake.jpg|thumb|left|Law enforcement confiscate stores of alcohol in [[James, Ontario|Elk Lake]] in an effort to enforce [[prohibition]]. The prohibition measures were introduced in 1916 and were not repealed until 1927.]]
Influenced by events in the United States, the government of [[William Howard Hearst|William Hearst]] introduced [[Prohibition in Canada|prohibition]] of alcoholic drinks in 1916 with the passing of the ''[[Ontario Temperance Act]]''. However, residents could distil and retain their own personal supply, and liquor producers could continue distillation and export for sale, allowing this already sizeable industry to strengthen further. Ontario became a hotbed for the illegal smuggling of liquor and the biggest supplier into the United States, which was under complete [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition]]. Prohibition in Ontario came to an end in 1927 with the establishment of the [[Liquor Control Board of Ontario]] under the government of [[Howard Ferguson]]. The sale and consumption of liquor, wine, and beer are still controlled by some of the most extreme laws in North America to ensure strict community standards and revenue generation from the alcohol retail monopoly are upheld.

The post-[[World War II]] period was one of exceptional prosperity and growth. Ontario has been the recipients of most immigration to Canada, largely immigrants from war-torn Europe in the 1950s and 1960s and following changes in federal [[immigration law]], a massive influx of non-Europeans since the 1970s. From a largely [[ethnic group|ethnically]] British province, Ontario has rapidly become culturally very diverse.

The nationalist movement in Quebec, particularly after the election of the ''[[Parti Québécois]]'' in 1976, contributed to driving many businesses and English-speaking people out of Quebec to Ontario, and as a result, Toronto surpassed [[Montreal]] as the largest city and economic centre of Canada.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mayda|first=Chris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzK0dFXtS9oC&q=1976+Toronto+surpassed+Montreal+as+the+largest+city+and+economic+centre+of+Canada&pg=PA109|title=A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada: Toward a Sustainable Future|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2013|isbn=9780742556904|location=Lanham, Md.|page=109|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817055041/https://books.google.com/books?id=BzK0dFXtS9oC&q=1976+Toronto+surpassed+Montreal+as+the+largest+city+and+economic+centre+of+Canada&pg=PA109|url-status=live}}</ref> Depressed economic conditions in the [[Atlantic Canada|Maritime Provinces]] have also resulted in de-population of those provinces in the 20th century, with heavy migration into Ontario.<ref>Neill, R. (2005). Atlantica: partial recovery and partial decline: the context of Maritime emigration, 1870–1970. in Atlantic Canada Economics Association Conference 2005 Working Papers Series (Vol. 2005). Retrieved from http://economics.acadiau.ca/id-2005.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019095625/https://economics.acadiau.ca/id-2005.html |date=October 19, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=View of Confederation's Casualties: The "Maritimer" as a Problem in 1960s Toronto {{!}} Acadiensis|url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/acadiensis/article/view/15385/16525|access-date=January 28, 2021|journal=Acadiensis|date=January 2010|last1=Marquis|first1=Greg|archive-date=February 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201130850/https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/acadiensis/article/view/15385/16525|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ontario's official language is English, although there exists a number of [[List of francophone communities in Ontario|French-speaking communities across Ontario]].<ref name=aboot>{{cite web|title=About Ontario|url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/about-ontario|date=February 28, 2016|publisher=Queen's Printer for Ontario|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305060711/https://www.ontario.ca/page/about-ontario|archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref> French-language services are made available for communities with a sizeable French-speaking population; a service that is ensured under the ''[[French Language Services Act (Ontario)|French Language Services Act]]'' of 1989.

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Ontario}}
{{see also|List of population centres in Ontario}}
[[File:Ontario Population Density 2021.svg|thumb|Population density of Ontario]]
{{Historical populations
|title = Historical populations
|type = Canada
|align = right
|width =
|state =
|shading =
|percentages =
|footnote = Source: [[Statistics Canada]]
|1851|952004
|1861|1396091
|1871|1620851
|1881|1926922
|1891|2114321
|1901|2182947
|[[Canada 1911 Census|1911]]|2527292
|1921|2933662
|1931|3431683
|1941|3787655
|1951|4597542
|1956|5404933
|1961|6236092
|1966|6960870
|1971|7703105
|1976|8264465
|1981|8625107
|1986|9101695
|1991|10084885
|[[Canada 1996 Census|1996]]|10753573
|[[Canada 2001 Census|2001]]|11410046
|[[Canada 2006 Census|2006]]|12160282
|[[Canada 2011 Census|2011]]|12851821
|[[Canada 2016 Census|2016]]|13448494
|[[Canada 2021 Census|2021]]|14223942
}}

=== Population ===
In the [[2021 Canadian Census|2021 census]], Ontario had a population of 14,223,942 living in 5,491,201 of its 5,929,250 total dwellings, a 5.8 percent change from its 2016 population of 13,448,494. With a land area of {{convert|892411.76|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|14223942|892411.76|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name=StatCan2021/> The largest [[List of population centres in Ontario|population centres]] in Ontario are Toronto, [[Ottawa]], [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]], [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]], [[London, Ontario|London]] and [[Oshawa]], which all have more than 300,000 inhabitants.

=== Ethnicity ===
{{Main|Demographics of Ontario#Ethnic origins}}
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2023}}
The percentages given below add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g., "French and Canadian" response generates an entry both in the category "[[French Canadian]]" and in the category "Canadian").

The majority of Ontarians are of [[English Canadians|English]] or other [[European Canadians|European descent]] including large Scottish, Irish and Italian communities. Slightly less than 5% of the population of Ontario is [[Franco-Ontarian]], that is those whose native tongue is French, although those with French ancestry account for 11% of the population. Compared to natural increase or [[interprovincial migration in Canada|interprovincial migration]], [[Immigration to Canada|immigration]] is a huge population growth force in Ontario, as it has been over the last two centuries. More recent sources of immigrants with large or growing communities in Ontario include [[East Asian Canadians|East Asians]], [[South Asian Canadians|South Asians]], Caribbeans, Latin Americans, Europeans, and Africans. Most populations have settled in the larger urban centres.

=== Visible minorities and Indigenous peoples ===
{{Main|Demographics of Ontario#Visible minorities and Aboriginals}}
In 2021, 34.3% of the population consisted of [[visible minorities]] and 2.9% of the population was [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous]], mostly of First Nations and [[Métis in Canada|Métis]] descent. There was also a small number of [[Inuit]] in the province. The number of Indigenous people and visible minorities has been increasing at a faster rate than the general population of Ontario.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/Page.cfm?Lang%3DE%26Geo1%3DPR%26Code1%3D35%26Data%3DCount%26SearchText%3DOntario%26SearchType%3DBegins%26SearchPR%3D01%26A1%3DAll%26B1%3DAll%26GeoLevel%3DPR%26GeoCode%3D35 |title=NHS Profile, Ontario, 2011 |access-date=December 26, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703072838/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=35&Data=Count&SearchText=Ontario&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=35 |archive-date=July 3, 2013}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=4 | Visible minority and Indigenous population (Canada 2021 Census)<ref name="2021censusB">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-10-26 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0&DGUIDlist=2021A00051209034&SearchText=halifax |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=June 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610051651/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0&DGUIDlist=2021A00051209034&SearchText=halifax |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
! colspan="2" | Population group!! Population !! %
|-
| colspan="2" | ''[[European Canadian|European]]''{{notetag|Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.|name="euro"}} || ''8,807,805'' || ''62.8%''
|-
| rowspan="12" | [[Visible minority]] group|| [[South Asian Canadians|South Asian]] || 1,515,295 || 10.8%
|-
| [[Chinese Canadians|Chinese]] || 820,245 || 5.8%
|-
| [[Black Canadians|Black]] || 768,740 || 5.5%
|-
| [[Filipino Canadian|Filipino]] || 363,650 || 2.6%
|-
| [[Arab Canadians|Arab]] || 284,215 || 2.0%
|-
| [[Latin American Canadians|Latin American]] || 249,190 || 1.8%
|-
| [[Southeast Asian Canadians|Southeast Asian]] || 167,845 || 1.2%
|-
| [[West Asian Canadians|West Asian]] || 212,185 || 1.5%
|-
| [[Korean Canadian|Korean]] || 99,425 || 0.7%
|-
| [[Japanese Canadians|Japanese]] || 31,420 || 0.2%
|-
| Visible minority, {{abbr|n.i.e.|not included elsewhere}} || 124,120 || 0.9%
|-
| [[Multiracial people|Multiple visible minorities]] || 181,025 || 1.3%
|-
| colspan="2" | ''Total visible minority population'' || ''4,817,360'' || ''34.3%''
|-
| rowspan="5" | [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous]] group||[[First Nations in Canada|First Nations (North American Indian)]]|| 251,030 || 1.8%
|-
|[[Métis]]|| 134,615 || 1.0%
|-
|[[Inuit|Inuk (Inuit)]]|| 4,310 || 0.0%
|-
| Multiple Indigenous responses || 7,115 || 0.1%
|-
| Indigenous responses {{abbr|n.i.e.|not included elsewhere}} || 9,515 || 0.1%
|-
| colspan="2" |''Total Indigenous population''||''406,585''||''2.9%''
|-
| colspan="2" |'Total population'||'14,031,750'||'100.0%'
|}

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Demographics of Ontario#Religion}}
In 2021, 52.1% of the population was Christian, with the largest religious denominations being the [[Catholic Church in Canada|Roman Catholic Church]] (with 26.0% of the population) and the [[United Church of Canada]] with (4.1%). Other religions included [[Islam]] (6.7%), [[Hinduism]] (4.1%). 31.6% of Ontarians had no religious affiliation.<ref name="census-religion">{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000259,2021A000235,2021A000248,2021A000260&HEADERlist=32&SearchText=yukon | title=Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - British Columbia &#91;Province&#93;;Ontario &#91;Province&#93;;Alberta &#91;Province&#93;;Yukon &#91;Territory&#93; | date=February 9, 2022 | access-date=November 6, 2022 | archive-date=November 6, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106172132/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000259,2021A000235,2021A000248,2021A000260&HEADERlist=32&SearchText=yukon | url-status=live }}</ref>

The major religious groups in Ontario in 2021 were:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Religion
!People
!%
|- style="text-align:right;"
! style="text-align:center;" |Total ||14,031,750 ||100&nbsp;&nbsp;

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |No religious affiliation ||4,433,675 ||31.6

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Catholic Church|Catholic]] ||3,654,825 ||26.0

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Protestantism|Protestant]] ||2,187,685||15.6

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |Other Christians ||1,143,450||8.15

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |Muslim ||942,990 ||6.7

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |Hindu ||573,700 ||4.1

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Orthodoxy#Christianity|Christian Orthodox]] ||329,850 ||2.35

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |Sikh ||300,435 ||2.1

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |Jewish ||196,100 ||1.4

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |Buddhist ||164,215 ||1.2

|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |Other religions ||104,830 ||0.7
|}

In Ontario, [[Catholics]] are represented by the [[Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Accueil |url=http://acbo.on.ca/fr/ |website=Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario |language=fr-FR |access-date=October 25, 2018 |archive-date=February 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210230728/http://acbo.on.ca/fr/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Anglican]] [[Protestants]] by the [[Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario]].<ref name="province-ontario.anglican.ca">{{cite web |title=Welcome to the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario |url=https://www.province-ontario.anglican.ca/ |website=province-ontario.anglican.ca |access-date=January 23, 2019 |archive-date=July 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716185005/https://www.province-ontario.anglican.ca/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Language ===
{{Main|Demographics of Ontario#Language}}
{{See also|Franco-Ontarian}}

[[File:Ontario French Ability 2021.svg|thumb|Map of French language ability according to the 2021 census.]]

[[File:Hwy 416 Ottawa.JPG|thumb|English and French displayed on a gantry sign. Communities with sizeable francophone populations are able to receive provincial services in French.]]

As of the [[2021 Canadian census|2021 Canadian Census]], the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (13,650,230 or 97.28%), French (1,550,545 or 11.05%), Mandarin (467,420 or 3.33%), Hindi (436,125 or 3.11%), Spanish (401,205 or 2.86%), Punjabi (397,865 or 2.84%), Cantonese (352,135 or 2.51%), Arabic (342,860 or 2.44%), Italian (312,800 or 2.23%), and Urdu (295,175 or 2.1%).<ref name="language2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=August 17, 2022 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Ontario [Province] |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000235&HEADERlist=,15,13,18,12,16,14,17&SearchText=Ontario |access-date=August 17, 2022 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=August 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817232547/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000235&HEADERlist=,15,13,18,12,16,14,17&SearchText=Ontario |url-status=live }}</ref>{{notetag|The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.}}

The principal language of Ontario is English, the province's ''[[de facto]]'' official language,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slmc.uottawa.ca/?q=english_french_legal|title=The Legal Context of Canada's Official Languages|publisher=Site for Language Management in Canada, [[University of Ottawa]]|access-date=February 4, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221032458/https://slmc.uottawa.ca/?q=english_french_legal|archive-date=December 21, 2016}}</ref> with approximately 97.2% of Ontarians having proficiency in the language, although only 69.5% of Ontarians reported English as their mother tongue in the 2016 Census.<ref name=langcen>{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=35&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=Ontario&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Language&TABID=1&type=0|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census – Ontario – Language Profile|website=statcan.gc.ca|publisher=Stat Canada|access-date=September 7, 2019|date=August 9, 2019|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522192116/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=35&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=Ontario&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Language&TABID=1&type=0|url-status=live}}</ref> English is one of two [[official languages of Canada]], with the other being French. English and French are the official languages of the courts in Ontario. Approximately 4.6% of the population identified as francophone,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/profile-francophone-population-ontario-2016#section-0|title=Profile of the Francophone population in Ontario – 2016|publisher=Queen's Printer for Ontario|access-date=April 24, 2020|date=February 5, 2019|website=ontario.ca|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522192203/https://www.ontario.ca/page/profile-francophone-population-ontario-2016#section-0|url-status=live}}</ref>{{notetag|name=inclu|The following figure is taken from the province's "Inclusive Definition of Francophones", (IDF) which includes those whose mother tongue is French, and those whose mother tongue is not French, but have proficiency in the language, and use French as the primary language at home.}} and a total of 11.5% of Ontarians reported having proficiency in French.<ref name=langcen/> Approximately 11.2% of Ontarians reported being bilingual in both English and French.<ref name=langcen/> Approximately 2.5% of Ontarians have no proficiency in either English or French.<ref name=langcen/>

Franco-Ontarians are concentrated in the northeastern, eastern, and extreme southern parts of the province, where under the ''French Language Services Act'',<ref>{{cite web |title= Law |url=https://csfontario.ca/en/loi |website=Office of the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario |access-date=October 25, 2018 |archive-date=October 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026025122/https://csfontario.ca/en/loi |url-status=live }}</ref> provincial government services are required to be available in French if at least 10% of a designated area's population report French as their native language or if an urban centre has at least 5,000 francophones.

Other languages spoken by residents include Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Dutch, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Malayalam, Mandarin, Marathi, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Sinhalese, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Telugu, Tamil, Tibetan, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/tbt-tt/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=1&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=908351&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=103251&PRID=0&PTYPE=101955&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2011&THEME=90&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0|title=2011 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations|publisher=[[Government of Canada]], Statistics Canada |date=October 24, 2012|access-date=June 7, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704095730/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/tbt-tt/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=1&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=908351&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=103251&PRID=0&PTYPE=101955&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2011&THEME=90&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0|archive-date=July 4, 2016}}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Ontario}}
Ontario is Canada's leading manufacturing province, accounting for 52% of the total national manufacturing shipments in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|last=Government of Ontario|title= Ontario Facts: Overview|url=http://www.2ontario.com/facts/fact01.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070129072416/http://www.2ontario.com/facts/fact01.asp|archive-date=January 29, 2007|access-date=January 5, 2007}}</ref> Ontario's largest trading partner is the American state of [[Michigan]]. In April 2012, [[Moody's Corporation|Moody's]] bond-rating agency rated [[Canadian public debt|Ontario debt]] at AA2/stable,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/moody-s-downgrades-ontario-credit-rating-1.1287800|title=Moody's downgrades Ontario credit rating|date=April 26, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140406203839/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/moody-s-downgrades-ontario-credit-rating-1.1287800|archive-date=April 6, 2014}}</ref> while [[S&P]] rated it AA−.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/04/25/sp_downgrades_ontarios_credit_outlook.html |date = April 25, 2012 |work = Toronto Star |title = S&P downgrades Ontario's credit outlook |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010154246/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/04/25/sp_downgrades_ontarios_credit_outlook.html |archive-date = October 10, 2017 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> [[Dominion Bond Rating Service]] rated it AA(low) in January 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/509176/credit-agency-praises-ontario-government/|title=Credit agency praises Ontario but holds back on rating boost|date=January 14, 2013|work=metronews.ca|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203022433/http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/509176/credit-agency-praises-ontario-government/|archive-date=December 3, 2013|access-date=November 25, 2013}}</ref> Long known as a bastion of Canadian manufacturing and financial solvency, Ontario's public [[debt-to-GDP ratio]] is projected to be 38.4% in [[fiscal year]] 2023–2024.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.rbc.com/economics/economic-reports/pdf/canadian-fiscal/prov_fiscal.pdf
 |title = Canadian Federal and Provincial Fiscal Tables
 |date = January 14, 2020
|website = Economic Forecasts & Special Reports
 |publisher = Royal Bank of Canada
 |access-date = January 18, 2020
|archive-date = February 5, 2020
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205160447/http://www.rbc.com/economics/economic-reports/pdf/canadian-fiscal/prov_fiscal.pdf
 |url-status = live
 }}</ref>
[[File:2007 Ontario Sault Ste. Marie Algoma Steel.jpg|left|thumb|Container ship at [[Algoma Steel]]. The [[Great Lakes]] provide ocean access for industries in the province's interior.]]
Mining and the forest products industry, notably [[pulp and paper industry in Canada|pulp and paper]], are vital to the economy of Northern Ontario. As of 2011, roughly 200,000 ha are [[clearcut]] each year; [[herbicides]] for [[hardwood]] suppression are applied to a third of the total.<ref>{{cite book |title=Frontline Forestry Research Applications – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) On the Use of Herbicides in Canadian Forestry – Technical Note #112 |date=2011 |publisher=Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forestry Service |url=http://www.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/pubwarehouse/pdfs/32344.pdf |access-date=July 4, 2019 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121050711/https://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/pubwarehouse/pdfs/32344.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> There has been controversy over the [[Northern Ontario Ring of Fire|Ring of Fire]] mineral deposit, and whether the province can afford to spend CAD$2.25&nbsp;billion on a road from the [[Trans-Canada Highway]] near [[Kenora]] to the deposit, currently valued at CAD$60 billion.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/ontario-disappointed-as-mining-firm-suspends-project-in-ring-of-fire/article15547837/|title=Cliffs' pullout forces Ontario action in Ring of Fire mining area|work=The Globe and Mail|date=November 21, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701000107/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/ontario-disappointed-as-mining-firm-suspends-project-in-ring-of-fire/article15547837/|archive-date=July 1, 2016|last1=Morrow|first1=Adrian|last2=Atkins|first2=Eric}}</ref>

An abundance of [[natural resource]]s, excellent transportation links to the North American heartland and the inland Great Lakes making ocean access possible via [[container ship]]s, have all contributed to making manufacturing the principal industry of the province, found mainly in the Golden Horseshoe region, which is the largest industrialized area in Canada, the southern end of the region being part of the North American [[Rust Belt]]. Important products include motor vehicles, iron, steel, food, electrical appliances, machinery, chemicals, and paper.

Hamilton is the largest steel manufacturing city in Canada followed closely by [[Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario|Sault Ste. Marie]], and [[Sarnia]] is the centre for [[petrochemical]] production. Construction employed more than 6.5% of the province's work force in June 2011.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120226183736/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/labr67g-eng.htm "Employment by major industry groups, seasonally adjusted, by province (monthly) – (Ontario)", June 2011], Statistics Canada</ref> Ontario's steel industry was once centred in Hamilton. Hamilton harbour, which can be seen from the [[QEW]] Skyway bridge, is an industrial wasteland; [[U.S. Steel]]-owned [[Stelco]] announced in the autumn of 2013 that it would close in 2014, with the loss of 875 jobs. The move flummoxed a union representative, who seemed puzzled why a plant with capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum would be shut while Canada imported 8&nbsp;million tonnes of steel the previous year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/us-steel-to-shut-down-hamilton-works-ceo-says/article15142440/|title=U.S. Steel ends an era in Hamilton|work=The Globe and Mail|date=October 29, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516010222/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/us-steel-to-shut-down-hamilton-works-ceo-says/article15142440/|archive-date=May 16, 2017|last1=Keenan|first1=Greg}}</ref> [[Algoma Steel]] maintains a plant in Sault Ste Marie.

[[File:Oakville Assembly.jpg|thumb|A worker at the [[Oakville Assembly]] installs a battery in an automobile. The automotive industry is a contributor to the [[economy of Ontario]].]]

Ontario surpassed Michigan in car production, assembling more than 2,696,000 vehicles in 2004. Ontario has [[Chrysler]] plants in Windsor and Bramalea, two [[General Motor]] (GM) plants in Oshawa and one in Ingersoll, a [[Honda]] assembly plant in [[Alliston]], [[Ford Motor Company]] (Ford) plants in Oakville and St. Thomas and [[Toyota]] assembly plants in Cambridge and Woodstock. However, as a result of steeply declining sales, in 2005, GM announced massive layoffs at production facilities across North America, including two large GM plants in Oshawa and a [[Powertrain|drive train]] facility in [[St. Catharines]], that resulted in 8,000 job losses in Ontario alone. In 2006, Ford 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, Ontario|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, Ontario|Oakville]] plant and GM's re-introduction of the [[Chevrolet Camaro|Camaro]] which will be produced in Oshawa. In December 2008, Toyota announced the grand opening of the [[Toyota RAV4]] plant in [[Woodstock, Ontario|Woodstock]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2008/12/15/toyotas-opening-a-new-chapter-in-woodstocks-industrial-history |title=Toyota's opening a new chapter in Woodstock's industrial history |publisher=Woodstocksentinelreview.com |access-date=October 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611011528/http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2008/12/15/toyotas-opening-a-new-chapter-in-woodstocks-industrial-history |archive-date=June 11, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Honda also plans to add an engine plant at its facility in Alliston. Despite these new plants coming online, Ontario has not yet fully recovered following massive layoffs during the [[Great Recession]]; its unemployment rate was 7.3% in May 2013,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/indi02g-eng.htm |title=Economic indicators, by province and territory (monthly and quarterly) (Ontario) |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=July 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107075127/http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/indi02g-eng.htm |archive-date=November 7, 2011 }}</ref> compared to 8.7% in January 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/LABOR07b-eng.htm |title=Labour force, employed and unemployed, numbers and rates, by province (Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba) |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=July 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706182156/http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/labor07b-eng.htm |archive-date=July 6, 2011 }}</ref> and approximately 6% in 2007. In September 2013, the Ontario government committed {{CAD|70.9}}&nbsp;million to the Ford plant in Oakville, while the federal government committed CAD$71.1mn, to secure 2,800 jobs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2013/09/19/feds-ontario-give-1425m-to-ford-motor-company|title=Feds, Ontario invest $142M in Oakville Ford plant|website=Torontosun.com|access-date=June 7, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713204649/http://www.torontosun.com/2013/09/19/feds-ontario-give-1425m-to-ford-motor-company|archive-date=July 13, 2016}}</ref> The province has lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs in the decade from 2003, and the Bank of Canada noted that "while the energy and mining industries have benefitted from these movements, the pressure on the manufacturing sector has intensified, since many firms in this sector were already dealing with growing competition from low-cost economies such as China."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/2012/02/20/ontario_has_to_learn_to_live_with_high_dollar.html|title=Ontario has to learn to live with high dollar|author=David Crane|date=February 20, 2012|work=thestar.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010215237/https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/2012/02/20/ontario_has_to_learn_to_live_with_high_dollar.html|archive-date=October 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/11/23/fergus_plant_closing_shows_ontarios_decline.html | date = November 24, 2013 | work = Toronto Star | title = Fergus plant closing shows Ontario's decline | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010224057/https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/11/23/fergus_plant_closing_shows_ontarios_decline.html | archive-date = October 10, 2017 | df = mdy-all }}</ref>

[[File:Toronto from cn tower.jpg|thumb|Toronto's [[Financial District, Toronto|Financial District]] serves as the centre for Canada's financial services.]]

Toronto and more broadly the Greater Toronto Area is a commercial, distribution, financial and industrial centre. It is the centre of Canada's financial sector, including insurance and banking services. Neighbouring cities are home to product distribution, IT centres, and manufacturing industries. Canada's Federal Government is the largest single employer in the [[National Capital Region (Canada)|National Capital Region]], which centres on the border cities of Ontario's Ottawa and Quebec's [[Gatineau]].<ref>[http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/govt58a-eng.htm "Federal government employment, wages and salaries, by census metropolitan area – (Employment)", 2006–2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025125335/http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/govt58a-eng.htm |date=October 25, 2011 }}, Statistics Canada</ref><ref>[http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss04d-eng.htm "Labour force characteristics, unadjusted, by census metropolitan area (3 month moving average) – (Ottawa-Gatineau (Ont.-Que.), Ottawa (Ont.)-Gatineau (Que.), Ontario part, Ottawa (Ont.)-Gatineau (Que.), Quebec part)", 2010/2011] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107094449/http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss04d-eng.htm |date=November 7, 2011 }}, Statistics Canada</ref>

The [[information technology]] sector is important, particularly in the ''[[Silicon Valley North]]'' section of Ottawa, home to Canada's largest technology park.<ref>[https://thewedge.live/2017/02/08/canadas-largest-tech-park-kanata-north-about-to-roar/ "ECanada's largest tech park, Kanata North, about to roar", Feb 2017] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517192429/https://thewedge.live/2017/02/08/canadas-largest-tech-park-kanata-north-about-to-roar/ |date=May 17, 2019 }}, The Wedge</ref> IT is also important in the [[Regional Municipality of Waterloo|Waterloo Region]], where the headquarters of [[BlackBerry]] is located.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/the-quantum-computing-revolution-blackberry-billionaire-mike-lazaridis-is-betting-on-tech-that-hasnt-been-invented-yet|title=The quantum computing revolution: BlackBerry billionaire Mike Lazaridis is betting on tech that hasn't been invented ... yet|author=Joseph Brean|date=December 7, 2013|work=National Post|url-status=live|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20131215012710/http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/07/the%2Dquantum%2Dcomputing%2Drevolution%2Dblackberry%2Dbillionaire%2Dmike%2Dlazaridis%2Dis%2Dbetting%2Don%2Dtech%2Dthat%2Dhasnt%2Dbeen%2Dinvented%2Dyet/|archive-date=December 15, 2013}}</ref>

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 [[snowmobile|snowmobiling]] are popular. 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, [[Cornwall, Ontario|Cornwall]], Sarnia and [[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara Falls]], the latter of which attracts millions of US and other international visitors.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ontario|publisher=Ministry of Economic Development and Trade|access-date=November 29, 2006|url=http://www.2ontario.com/welcome/oo_000.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061024224855/http://www.2ontario.com/welcome/oo_000.asp|archive-date=October 24, 2006}}</ref>

=== Agriculture ===
[[File:Waterloo, Canada (Unsplash v1ar8e1dOjg).jpg|Aerial view of farms in [[Waterloo, Ontario|Waterloo]]. A significant portion of the land in [[Southern Ontario]] is used as farmland.|thumb]]

Once the dominant industry, agriculture now uses a small percentage of the workforce. [[Massey Ferguson]], a [[Agricultural machinery|farm-implement]] manufacturer, was originally founded in the province in 1847, before eventually expanding internationally.<ref>{{cite web |title=Massey Ferguson Company a Canadian success |url=https://www.durhamregion.com/news/massey-ferguson-company-a-canadian-success/article_d54ef664-2d57-5a0d-98b0-27ae1453b235.html |website=Oshawa This Week |date=October 24, 2006 |access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref> As the following table shows, while the number of individual farms has steadily decreased and their overall size has shrunk at a lower rate, greater mechanization has supported increased supply to satisfy the ever-increasing demands of a growing population base; this has also meant a gradual increase in the total amount of land used for growing crops.
{{Ontario Farming Stats}}
[[File:Vineyard, Prince Edward County (4048276162).jpg|thumb|Vineyard, Prince Edward County]]
Common types of farms reported in the 2001 census include those for cattle, small grains and dairy. The fruit- and [[Ontario wine|wine industry]] is primarily on the [[Niagara Peninsula]], [[Prince Edward County Wine|Prince Edward County]], and along the northern shore of Lake Erie, where [[tobacco]] farms are also situated. Market vegetables grow in the rich soils of the [[Holland Marsh]] near [[Newmarket, Ontario|Newmarket]]. The area near Windsor is also very fertile.

The area defined as the [[Corn Belt]] covers much of the southwestern area of the province, extending as far north as close to Goderich, but corn and soy are grown throughout the southern portion of the province. Apple orchards are a common sight along the southern shore of [[Nottawasaga Bay]] (part of Georgian Bay) near Collingwood and along the northern shore of Lake Ontario near Cobourg. Tobacco production, centred in [[Norfolk County, Ontario|Norfolk County]], has decreased, allowing an increase in alternative crops such as [[Corylus avellana|hazelnuts]] and [[ginseng]]. Southern Ontario's limited supply of agricultural land is going out of production at an increasing rate. [[Urban sprawl]] and farmland [[Severance (land)|severances]] contribute to the loss of thousands of acres of productive agricultural land in Ontario each year. Over 2,000 farms and {{convert|150000|acre|abbr=on}} of farmland in the GTA alone were lost to production in the two decades between 1976 and 1996. This loss represented approximately 18%". of Ontario's Class 1 farmland being converted to urban purposes. In addition, increasing rural severances provide ever-greater interference with agricultural production.<ref>{{cite news |title=New bill could open Greenbelt to development, critics say |url=https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/12/07/ontario-greenbelt-development/ |access-date=September 14, 2019 |work=CityNews |publisher=Rogers Digital Media |date=December 7, 2018 |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522192113/https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/12/07/ontario-greenbelt-development/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In an effort to protect the farmland and green spaces of the National Capital Region, and Greater Toronto Area, the Federal<ref>{{cite web |title=Ottawa's Greenbelt Master Plan |url=https://www.ucalgary.ca/ev/designresearch/projects/2001/CEDRO/cedro/cip_acupp_css/pdf/ottawa.pdf |publisher=Faculty of Environmental Design The University of Calgary |access-date=September 15, 2019 |date=September 15, 2019 |archive-date=October 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023062624/https://www.ucalgary.ca/EV/designresearch/projects/2001/CEDRO/cedro/cip_acupp_css/pdf/ottawa.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and Provincial Governments introduced [[green belt#Canada|greenbelts]] around Ottawa<ref>{{cite web |title=120 years of Capital building |url=http://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/120-years-of-capital-building |publisher=National Capital Commission |access-date=September 14, 2019 |date=2019 |archive-date=July 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716185008/https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/120-years-of-capital-building |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Golden Horseshoe, limiting urban development in these areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ontario's Greenbelt |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontarios-greenbelt |publisher=Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Government of Ontario |access-date=September 14, 2019 |date=August 27, 2019 |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522153945/https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontarios-greenbelt |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Energy ===
{{See also|Energy policy of Canada|Renewable energy in Canada|Smart grid}}
Ontario's rivers make it rich in hydroelectric energy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.2ontario.com/welcome/oout_508.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218231700/http://www.2ontario.com/welcome/oout_508.asp|archive-date= February 18, 2007|title= Ontario is rich in hydroelectricity, especially areas near the Niagara River|work= Ontario Facts|access-date= February 2, 2007}}</ref> In 2009, [[Ontario Power Generation]] generated 70% of the province's electricity, of which 51% is [[nuclear power|nuclear]], 39% is [[hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] and 10% is [[fossil-fuel]] derived.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opg.com/power/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226225341/http://www.opg.com/power/|archive-date=February 26, 2011 |title=Ontario Power Generation: Power Generation |publisher=Opg.com |access-date=February 23, 2011}}</ref> By 2025, nuclear power is projected to supply 42%, while fossil-fuel-derived generation is projected to decrease slightly over the next 20 years.<ref name=gm2dec/> Much of the newer power generation coming online in the last few years is natural gas or combined-cycle natural gas plants. OPG is not, however, responsible for the transmission of power, which is under the control of [[Hydro One]].
[[File:Frenchman's Bay and the Pickering Nuclear Plant -a.jpg|thumb|The [[Pickering Nuclear Generating Station]] is one of three [[nuclear power plant|nuclear power stations]] in Ontario.]]

Despite its diverse range of power options, problems related to increasing consumption, lack of energy efficiency and ageing 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. Ontario's basic domestic rate in 2010 was 11.17 cents per kWh; by contrast. Quebec's was 6.81.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://consultations.finances.gouv.qc.ca/media/pdf/le-quebec-face-a-ses-defis-fascicule-2.pdf|title=Accueil – Consultations prébudgétaires 2016–2017|work=Consultations prébudgétaires 2016–2017 – Ministère des Finances du Québec|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229041342/http://consultations.finances.gouv.qc.ca/media/pdf/le-quebec-face-a-ses-defis-fascicule-2.pdf|archive-date=December 29, 2011}}</ref> In December 2013, the government projected a 42% hike by 2018, and 68% by 2033.<ref name=gm2dec>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontario-power-bills-expected-to-rise-14-per-month/article15717495/|title=Ontario projects steady rise in electricity costs for next 20 years|work=The Globe and Mail|date=December 2, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504110337/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontario-power-bills-expected-to-rise-14-per-month/article15717495//|archive-date=May 4, 2017|last1=Morrow|first1=Adrian|last2=McCarthy|first2=Shawn}}</ref> Industrial rates are projected to rise by 33% by 2018, and 55% in 2033.<ref name=gm2dec/>

The ''Green Energy and Green Economy Act'', 2009 (GEA), takes a two-pronged approach to commercializing renewable energy; first, it aims to bring more [[Renewable resource|renewable energy sources]] to the province; and secondly, it aims to adopt more [[efficient energy use|energy-efficiency]] measures to help [[energy conservation|conserve energy]]. The bill envisaged appointing a Renewable Energy Facilitator to provide "one-window" assistance and support to project developers to facilitate project approvals.<ref name="renewableenergyworld1">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/02/ontario-unveils-green-energy-and-green-economy-act-2009
|title = Ontario Unveils Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009
|publisher = Renewableenergyworld.com
|access-date = October 17, 2010
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113025934/http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/02/ontario-unveils-green-energy-and-green-economy-act-2009
|archive-date = November 13, 2013
|df = mdy-all
}}
</ref>

The approvals process for transmission projects would also be [[wikt:streamline|streamlined]] and (for the first time in Ontario) the bill would enact standards for renewable energy projects. Homeowners would have access to incentives to develop small-scale renewables such as low- or no-interest loans to finance the capital cost of renewable energy generating facilities like solar panels.<ref name="renewableenergyworld1"/>

[[File:Adam Beck Complex.jpg|thumb|The [[Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Stations]] are [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] plants located in [[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara Falls]].]]

Much of Ontario's electricity is generated in Niagara Falls. The [[Bruce Nuclear Generating Station]], the second largest operational nuclear power plant in the world, is also in Ontario and uses eight [[CANDU reactor]]s to generate electricity for the province.

Ontario had the most [[wind energy]] capacity of the country with 4,900 MW of power (41% of Canada's capacity).<ref>{{cite web |title=Renewable energy facts |url=https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/facts/renewable-energy/20069 |publisher=Canada Natural Resources |date=October 6, 2017 |access-date=October 25, 2018 |archive-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022232849/https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/facts/renewable-energy/20069 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Government, law and politics ==
{{Further|Monarchy in Ontario|Executive Council of Ontario|Local government in Ontario}}
The ''British North America Act 1867'' section 69 stipulated "There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting of the Lieutenant Governor and of One House, styled the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]]." The assembly currently has 124 seats (increased from 107 as of the 42nd Ontario general election) representing [[electoral district (Canada)|ridings]] elected in a [[Plurality voting|first-past-the-post]] system across the province.

The legislative buildings at [[Queen's Park (Toronto)|Queen's Park]] are the seat of government. Following the [[Westminster system]], the leader of the party holding the most seats in the assembly is known as the "Premier and President of the Council" (Executive Council Act R.S.O. 1990). The Premier chooses the [[cabinet (government)|cabinet]] or [[Executive Council of Ontario|Executive Council]] whose members are deemed [[ministers of the Crown]].

Although the ''Legislative Assembly Act'' (R.S.O. 1990) refers to "members of the assembly" in English and {{lang|fr|députés à l'Assemblée}} in French, the legislators are now commonly called MPPs ([[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|Members of the Provincial Parliament]]) in English, but they have also been called MLAs ([[Member of the Legislative Assembly|Members of the Legislative Assembly]]); both are acceptable but the latter is uncommon. The title of Prime Minister of Ontario, correct in French ({{lang|fr|le Premier ministre}}), is permissible in English but now generally avoided in favour of the title "Premier" to avoid confusion with the Prime Minister of Canada.

=== Law ===
[[File:One of Osgoode Hall facade during Doors Open Toronto event, 2010.jpg|thumb|[[Osgoode Hall]] houses the [[Court of Appeal for Ontario]], the [[appellate court]] for the province.]]
{{Further|Courts of Ontario}}
Ontario has grown, from its roots in Upper Canada, into a modern jurisdiction. The old titles of the chief law officers, the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General, remain in use. They both are responsible to the Legislature. The Attorney-General draughts the laws and is responsible for criminal prosecutions and the administration of justice, while the Solicitor-General is responsible for law enforcement and the police services of the province. The ''[[Municipal Act]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_01m25_e.htm |website=Government of Ontario | title = ''Municipal Act, 2001'', S.O. 2001, c. 25| date = July 24, 2014| access-date = April 23, 2019| archive-date = March 30, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330230859/http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_01m25_e.htm| url-status = live}}</ref> is the main [[statute]] governing the creation, administration and government of [[municipality|municipalities]] in the [[Canada|Canadian]] province of Ontario, other than the [[City of Toronto government|City of Toronto]]. After being passed in 2001, it came into force on January 1, 2003, replacing the previous ''Municipal Act''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/repealedstatutes/english/elaws_rep_statutes_90m45_e.htm |website=Government of Ontario | title = ''Municipal Act, 1990'' R.S.O. 1990, c. M.45| date = July 24, 2014| access-date = April 23, 2019| archive-date = March 7, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307000559/http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/repealedstatutes/english/elaws_rep_statutes_90m45_e.htm| url-status = live}}</ref> Effective January 1, 2007, the ''Municipal Act'' (the Act) was significantly amended by the ''Municipal Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006'' (Bill 130).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amo.on.ca/AMO-Content/Municipal-101/How-Municipal-Government-Works.aspx|title= How Municipal Government Works|website=AMO |access-date=May 14, 2019|archive-date=April 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423041832/https://www.amo.on.ca/AMO-Content/Municipal-101/How-Municipal-Government-Works.aspx|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontario.ca/laws/view|title=Law Document English View|date=July 24, 2014|website=Ontario.ca|access-date=May 14, 2019|archive-date=November 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114010813/https://www.ontario.ca/laws/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Politics ===
{{Main|Politics of Ontario}}
[[File:Ontario Legislative Building, Toronto, South view 20170417 1.jpg|thumb|The [[Ontario Legislative Building]] at [[Queen's Park (Toronto)|Queen's Park]]. The building serves as the meeting place for the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]].]]
Ontario has numerous political parties which run for election. The four main parties are the centre-right Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, the [[Social democracy|social democratic]] [[Ontario New Democratic Party]] (NDP), the centre to centre-left [[Ontario Liberal Party]], and [[Green Party of Ontario]]. The Progressive Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats have each governed the province, while the Greens elected their first member to the Legislative Assembly in the [[2018 Ontario general election]].

The 2018 Ontario general election resulted in a Progressive Conservative majority government under party leader [[Doug Ford]], who was sworn in as Premier on June 29. Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath was sworn in as the leader of her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The PC party under Ford has won two further successive majority governments in 2022 and 2025.

===Administrative divisions===
[[File:Ontario census divisions by type.png|thumb|275px|alt=Ontario's census divisions by type from the 2011 federal census|Map of the counties, regional municipalities, districts, and municipalities of Ontario.]]

Ontario has three types of first-level administrative divisions. They include [[List of census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities|single-tier municipalities]], upper-tier municipalities (which may be in the form of either [[List of regional municipalities in Ontario|regional municipalities]] or [[United counties|counties]]), and [[Districts of Ontario|district]]s. Upper-tier municipalities and districts are made up of smaller municipalities and other types of administrative divisions.

Administrative divisions differ primarily in the services that they provide to their residents, with the differing structures of these administrative regions resulting in disparities among Ontario's different regions. The administrative regions of Ontario are roughly coterminous with the census divisions used by [[Statistics Canada]], although some exceptions do exist.{{notetag|[[Statistics Canada]] treats [[Norfolk County, Ontario|Norfolk County]] and [[Haldimand County]] as one single census division; the [[County of Brant]] and [[Brantford|City of Brantford]] are also treated as one single census division. There would otherwise be 51 census divisions instead of the 49 official ones used by Statistics Canada.|name=Haldimand-Norfolk|group=lower-alpha}}

=== Urban areas ===
{{See also|Golden Horseshoe|National Capital Region (Canada)|Detroit–Windsor}}
Statistics Canada's measure of a "metro area", the [[Census Metropolitan Area]] (CMA), roughly bundles together population figures from the core municipality with those from "commuter" municipalities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2006 and 2001 censuses – 100% data|publisher=Statistics Canada|date=November 5, 2008|access-date=April 1, 2009|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=202&PR=35&S=0&O=A&RPP=50|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504145258/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=202&PR=35&S=0&O=A&RPP=50|archive-date=May 4, 2009}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|- "
!CMA (largest other included municipalities in brackets)
!2001
!2006
!2011
!2016
!% Change
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Greater Toronto Area|Toronto]] CMA ([[Mississauga]], [[Brampton]])
|4,682,897&nbsp;
|5,113,149&nbsp;
|5,583,064&nbsp;
|5,928,040&nbsp;
|6.2
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[National Capital Region (Canada)|Ottawa]] CMA ([[Gatineau]], [[Clarence-Rockland]]) *
|1,067,800&nbsp;
|1,130,761&nbsp;
|1,254,919
|1,323,783
|4.4
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]] CMA ([[Burlington, Ontario|Burlington]], [[Grimsby, Ontario|Grimsby]])
|662,401&nbsp;
|692,911&nbsp;
|721,053&nbsp;
|747,545
|3.7
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]] CMA ([[Cambridge, Ontario|Cambridge]], [[Waterloo, Ontario|Waterloo]])
|414,284&nbsp;
|451,235&nbsp;
|496,383
|523,894
|5.5
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[London, Ontario|London]] CMA ([[St. Thomas, Ontario|St. Thomas]], [[Strathroy-Caradoc]])
|435,600&nbsp;
|457,720&nbsp;
|474,786&nbsp;
|494,069
|4.1
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[St. Catharines]] CMA ([[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara Falls]], [[Welland]])
|377,009&nbsp;
|390,317&nbsp;
|392,184&nbsp;
|406,074
|3.5
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Oshawa]] CMA ([[Whitby, Ontario|Whitby]], [[Clarington]])
|296,298&nbsp;
|330,594&nbsp;
|356,177&nbsp;
|379,848
|6.6
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]] CMA ([[Lakeshore, Ontario|Lakeshore]], [[LaSalle, Ontario|LaSalle]])
|307,877&nbsp;
|323,342&nbsp;
|319,246&nbsp;
|329,144
|3.1
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Barrie]] CMA ([[Innisfil]], [[Springwater, Ontario|Springwater]])
|148,480&nbsp;
|177,061&nbsp;
|187,013&nbsp;
|197,059
|5.4
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Greater Sudbury|Sudbury]] CMA ([[Whitefish Lake 6, Ontario|Whitefish Lake]], [[Wahnapitae First Nation|Wanapitei Reserve]])
|155,601&nbsp;
|158,258&nbsp;
|160,770&nbsp;
|164,689
|1.0
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]] CMA
|146,838&nbsp;
|152,358&nbsp;
|159,561&nbsp;
|161,175
|1.0
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Parts of Quebec (including Gatineau) are included in the Ottawa CMA. The population of the Ottawa CMA, in both provinces, is shown. The Ontario portion of the CMA is about 75% of the total population of the CMA.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710013501 | title = Population estimates, July 1, by census metropolitan area and census agglomeration, 2016 boundaries | date = April 17, 2019 | access-date = 16 November 2023}}</ref>

;Ten largest municipalities by population<ref name="ON2006MuniPops">{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=302&SR=1&S=3&O=D&RPP=25&PR=35|title=Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses – 100% data|work=[[Statistics Canada]], 2006 Census of Population|date=March 13, 2007|access-date=March 13, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912162730/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=302&SR=1&S=3&O=D&RPP=25&PR=35|archive-date=September 12, 2007}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|- "
!Municipality
!2001
!2006
!2011
!2016
!2021
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Toronto]]
|2,481,494
|2,503,281
|2,615,060
|2,731,571
|2,794,356
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Ottawa]]
|774,072
|812,129
|883,391
|934,243
|1,017,449
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Mississauga]]
|612,925
|668,549
|713,443
|721,599
|717,961
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Brampton]]
|325,428
|433,806
|523,911
|593,638
|656,480
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]]
|490,268
|504,559
|519,949
|536,917
|569,353
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[London, Ontario|London]]
|336,539
|352,395
|366,151
|383,822
|422,324
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Markham, Ontario|Markham]]
|208,615
|261,573
|301,709
|328,996
|338,503
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Vaughan]]
|182,022
|238,866
|288,301
|306,233
|323,103
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]]
|190,399
|204,668
|219,153
|233,222
|256,885
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;" |[[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]]
|209,218
|216,473
|210,891
|217,188
|229,660
|}

== Education ==
{{Main|Education in Ontario}}
Ontario operates four publicly funded school systems, with there being both English and French equivalents of the public school system and the Catholic school system.<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Erik |title=The cost of competition? School boards in northeastern Ontario spend over $1M a year on marketing |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/school-board-marketing-expenses-northern-ontario-1.6975051 |website=CBC News |access-date=16 March 2024}}</ref> About half of Ontario's government-funded District School Boards are Catholic (37 out of 72).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/brochure/whosresp.html#boards|title=Who's responsible for your child's education?|last=Ontario|first=Government of|website=www.edu.gov.on.ca|language=en|access-date=2019-07-05}}</ref> There are some publicly funded schools with non-Catholic religious affiliation: these include [[Eden High School]] (under the [[District School Board of Niagara]])<ref>{{cite web |title=LaFleche: Eden High not a religious bogey man |url=https://www.niagarathisweek.com/opinion/columnists/lafleche-eden-high-not-a-religious-bogey-man/article_29acfea3-f6f2-554f-b203-70c397fd18d3.html |website=Niagara This Week |date=January 21, 2015 |publisher=Fort Erie Times |access-date=16 March 2024}}</ref> and the Burkevale Protestant Separate School (under the [[Penetanguishene Protestant Separate School Board]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Kim |title=Hundreds protest for a new school in Penetanguishene |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/barrie/article/hundreds-protest-for-a-new-school-in-penetanguishene/ |website=CTV News |date=April 22, 2022 |access-date=16 March 2024}}</ref> Legislation regarding primary and secondary level education in Ontario is outlined in the ''Education Act''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Responsibility for publicly funded elementary and secondary education |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/responsibility-publicly-funded-elementary-and-secondary-education |website=Ontario.ca |access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref> In 2021, two million children were enrolled as students within the province.<ref>{{cite web |title=Media Release: FAO releases financial overview of Ontario's school boards |url=https://www.fao-on.org/en/Blog/media/MR-FA2207schoolboards |website=Financial Accountability Office of Ontario |access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref> [[Elementary school]]s teach children enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1&ndash;8, while [[secondary school]]s teach adolescents in grades 9&ndash;12. Four and five year olds may enter [[kindergarten]] programs but are not required by law to do so until they turn six that calendar year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kindergarten |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/kindergarten |website=Ontario.ca |publisher=Government of Ontario |access-date=16 March 2024}}</ref>

=== Higher education ===
{{Main|Higher education in Ontario}}
{{See also|List of colleges in Ontario|List of universities in Ontario}}
Higher education in Ontario includes postsecondary education and skills training regulated by the [[Ministry of Colleges and Universities]], whose current minister is [[Jill Dunlop]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Callan |first1=Isaac |last2=D'Mello |first2=Colin |title=Ontario unveils $1B-plus in colleges, universities funding and new legislation |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/10317011/ontario-post-secondary-funding-increase/ |website=Global News |access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref> Recognized institutions include universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, and private career colleges.<ref name="MTCU-Role of the ministry">Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities Ontario (2007, March 20). ''Role of the ministry''. Retrieved September 18th 2011, from http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/about/role.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618083527/http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/about/role.html |date=June 18, 2016 }}</ref> While there is some overlap between the purpose of universities and colleges in Canada, they generally serve different purposes. Universities place greater emphasis on academics while colleges place greater emphasis on [[work-integrated learning]]. Both colleges and universities can offer [[undergraduate degree]] programs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kong |first1=Stacy |title=Everything you need to know about colleges in Canada |url=https://education.macleans.ca/colleges-in-canada/everything-you-need-to-know-about-colleges-in-canada/ |website=Maclean's |access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref> There are also programs that involve a partnership between a college and a university. Some students choose to attend college over university because it is the more affordable option.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wray |first1=Meaghan |title=University isn't 'better' than college. Why does it get all the glory? |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/5961371/choosing-university-or-college/ |website=Global News |access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref>

== Culture ==
{{See also|Category:Works about Ontario|Hollywood North|4=Southern Ontario Gothic|5=Northern Ontario#Culture|6=Franco-Ontarians#Culture}}

Outdoor recreation is popular in Ontario and the region is home to numerous cultural events and festivals. There is no single regional dish in Ontario. Local fish and wild game, such as [[walleye]] and [[moose]], are sometimes consumed. Poutine, a dish that originated in Quebec, is also popular in Ontario.

In 2019, the government of Ontario passed legislation that established the [[Poet Laureate of Ontario]].<ref name="CBCnews">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/gord-downie-poet-laureate-position-1.5392988|title='His legend lives on': Ontario to get poet laureate in memory of Gord Downie|publisher=[[CBC News]]|date=December 12, 2019|access-date=December 13, 2019|archive-date=December 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212231458/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/gord-downie-poet-laureate-position-1.5392988|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Museums ===
{{Main|List of museums in Ontario}}
[[File:Royal Ontario Museum in Fall 2021.jpg|thumb|Royal Ontario Museum in fall of 2021]]

The largest museum in both Ontario and Canada is the [[Royal Ontario Museum]], located in Toronto and founded in 1912. Receiving over one million visitors each year, it is also Canada's most popular museum.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Ontario Museum {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/royal-ontario-museum |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |archive-date=February 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223170143/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/royal-ontario-museum |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ROM Announces Record-Breaking 1.35 Million Visitors Annual Attendance |url=https://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/rom-announces-record-breaking-135-million-visitors-annual |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=Royal Ontario Museum |date=May 2017 |language=en |archive-date=August 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828170324/https://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/rom-announces-record-breaking-135-million-visitors-annual |url-status=live }}</ref> It features 40 exhibits containing "art, culture and nature from around the world."<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the Museum |url=https://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/rom |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=Royal Ontario Museum |language=en |archive-date=May 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503090455/https://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/rom |url-status=live }}</ref> Iconic objects include: the world's largest faceted [[cerussite]] gem, [[Light of the Desert]]; four large totem poles, [[Nisga'a and Haida Crest Poles of the Royal Ontario Museum|Nisga'a and Haida]]; and a [[Neo-Babylonian]] wall relief, [[Striding Lion]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iconic Objects: The Must-See Treasures of the ROM |url=https://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/iconic-objects-the-must-see-treasures-of-the-rom |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=Royal Ontario Museum |date=May 27, 2010 |language=en |archive-date=February 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221072318/https://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/iconic-objects-the-must-see-treasures-of-the-rom |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Ontario is also home to a number of national museums, due to the location of Ottawa within Ontario. These include, among others, the [[Canadian War Museum]], dedicated to [[Military history of Canada|Canada's military history]], the [[Canadian Museum of Nature]], dedicated to [[natural history]] and the [[Canada Science and Technology Museum]], dedicated to the [[Technological and industrial history of Canada|history of science and technology in Canada]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=15 top museums in Canada {{!}} Destination Canada |url=https://travel.destinationcanada.com/en-ca/things-to-do/learning-coast-coast-15-best-canadian-museums |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=travel.destinationcanada.com |date=February 19, 2016 |archive-date=August 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825062913/https://travel.destinationcanada.com/en-ca/things-to-do/learning-coast-coast-15-best-canadian-museums |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-29 |title=Ottawa's seven national museums |url=https://ottawatourism.ca/en/ottawa-insider/ottawa-s-seven-national-museums |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=Ottawa Tourism |language=en |archive-date=May 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502212124/https://ottawatourism.ca/en/ottawa-insider/ottawa-s-seven-national-museums |url-status=live }}</ref> 

There are also numerous other smaller, regional museums located in Ontario.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Regional Museum Networks {{!}} Ontario Museum Association |url=https://members.museumsontario.ca/programs-events/advocacy/regional-museum-networks |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=members.museumsontario.ca |archive-date=May 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531104525/https://members.museumsontario.ca/programs-events/advocacy/regional-museum-networks |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Music and arts ===
{{See also|Music of Ontario|Canadian art}}
[[File:The Tragically Hip Star on Canada's Walk of Fame.jpg|thumb|[[The Tragically Hip]] star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto]]
Ontario has a particularly prominent role in [[Music of Canada|Canadian music]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Industry Profile - Music |url=https://www.ontariocreates.ca/research/industry-profile/ip-music |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=Ontario Creates |language=en}}</ref> notably Toronto, Canada's largest municipality.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 8, 2017 |title=Census in Brief: Municipalities in Canada with the largest and fastest-growing populations between 2011 and 2016 |url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016001/98-200-x2016001-eng.cfm |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250909002631/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016001/98-200-x2016001-eng.cfm |archive-date=September 9, 2025 |accessdate=12 June 2017 |website=[[Statistics Canada]] |publisher=[[Government of Canada]] |language=en}}</ref> In classical music, the [[Toronto Symphony Orchestra]],<ref name="sym">{{cite web |title=Toronto Symphony Orchestra |url=https://www.tso.ca/ |accessdate=12 June 2017 |website=tso.ca}}</ref> and the [[National Arts Centre Orchestra]]<ref>{{cite web |title=NAC Orchestra |url=https://nac-cna.ca/en/orchestra |accessdate=12 June 2017 |website=nac-cna.ca |language=en}}</ref> are renowned internationally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Orchestras {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/orchestras-emc |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> Many smaller Ontario cities have orchestras of their own as well. The [[Canadian Opera Company]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Canadian Opera Company |url=http://www.coc.ca/ |accessdate=12 June 2017 |website=www.coc.ca |language=en}}</ref> also based in Toronto, is the country's largest and most influential producer of opera productions. Other institutions in the province include the [[Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada)|Royal Conservatory of Music]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The Royal Conservatory of Music {{!}} The finest instrument is the mind.® |url=https://www.rcmusic.ca/ |accessdate=12 June 2017 |website=www.rcmusic.ca |language=en}}</ref> [[MuchMusic]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Much.com {{!}} Watch Shows Online |url=http://www.much.com/ |accessdate=12 June 2017 |website=Much.com}}</ref> [[National Ballet of Canada]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The National Ballet of Canada |url=https://national.ballet.ca/Meet/About-National-Ballet |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=national.ballet.ca |language=en}}</ref> and concert venues such as [[Roy Thomson Hall]],<ref name="roy">{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.masseyhallandroythomsonhall.com/about/ |accessdate=12 June 2017 |website=The Corporation of Massey Hall & Roy Thomson Hall}}</ref> [[Massey Hall]],<ref name="roy" /> the [[National Arts Centre (building)|National Arts Centre]],<ref>{{cite web |title=National Arts Centre {{!}} Canada is our stage |url=https://nac-cna.ca/en/ |accessdate=12 June 2017 |website=nac-cna.ca |language=en}}</ref> and the [[Four Seasons Centre]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts {{!}} Canadian Opera Company |url=https://www.coc.ca/venue-information/fourseasonscentre |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=www.coc.ca}}</ref>

=== Media ===
In 2022, Ontario had 357 newspapers, 32 of which are [[Daily newspaper|daily]], the highest in any province.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Snapshot 2022 Canada's Newspaper Industry |url=https://nmc-mic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/SNAPSHOT-2022-REPORT_Total-Industry-03.31.2023.pdf |access-date=20 October 2023 |website=[[News Media Canada]]}}</ref> Ontario is home to the largest newspaper{{Efn|in weekly circulation}} in Canada, the ''[[Toronto Star]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAQ |url=https://nmc-mic.ca/about-newspapers/faq/ |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=News Media Canada |language=en-US}}</ref> and Canada's [[newspaper of record]], [[The Globe and Mail]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Clement |first=Wallace |url=https://archive.org/details/understandingcan0000unse_e3q5/page/343 |title=Understanding Canada: Building on the New Canadian Political Economy |publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=9780773515031 |page=[https://archive.org/details/understandingcan0000unse_e3q5/page/343 343]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2009-01-11 |title=Globe and Mail to cut jobs |newspaper=[[Straits Times]] |location=Singapore |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Money/Story/STIStory_324744.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130083617/http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Money/Story/STIStory_324744.html |archive-date=2009-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=June 2, 2009 |title=What's behind the shake up at 'Canada's newspaper of record'? |work=[[rabble.ca]] |url=http://www.rabble.ca/news/2009/06/shake-globe |url-status=live |access-date=2010-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013095321/http://rabble.ca/news/2009/06/shake-globe |archive-date=October 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Globe and Mail |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/235427/The-Globe-and-Mail |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425174541/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/235427/The-Globe-and-Mail |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |author=Brian Duignan |url-status=live}}</ref> There are also numerous weekly newspapers for individual communities, though print publications for these papers have been on a downwards trend due to local news being shared on sites like [[Facebook]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Decaire |first=Celeste |date=16 September 2023 |title=Small-town community papers take big hit after Metroland files for bankruptcy |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/weekly-print-papers-cancelled-across-ontario-1.6968892 |access-date=20 October 2023 |website=[[CBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 September 2023 |title=Not all small newspapers in southwestern Ontario are closing. One town just got a new one |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/local-newspaper-closures-southwestern-ontario-metroland-layoffs-1.6975180 |access-date=20 October 2023 |website=[[CBC News]]}}</ref>

=== Songs and slogans ===
[[File:1997 Ontario license plate CAJA♔723.jpg|thumb|An [[Vehicle registration plates of Ontario|Ontario licence plate]] with the slogan ''Yours to Discover'' at the bottom of the plate]]
In 1973, the first slogan to appear on [[Vehicle registration plates of Ontario|licence plates in Ontario]] was "Keep It Beautiful". This was replaced by "Yours to Discover" in 1982,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.15q.net/on.html |title=Ontario |publisher=15q.net |date=February 24, 2007 |access-date=May 6, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422161516/http://15q.net/on.html |archive-date=April 22, 2009 }}</ref> which was originally used as a tourism slogan beginning in 1980.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bradburn |first=Jamie |date=April 5, 2019 |title=And you're gonna love it: How Ontario became 'Yours to Discover' |url=https://www.tvo.org/article/and-youre-gonna-love-it-how-ontario-became-yours-to-discover |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=www.tvo.org}}</ref> Plates with the French equivalent, {{lang|fr-CA|Tant à découvrir}}, were made available to the public beginning in May 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/frenchplate/frenchplate.shtml|title=New French Slogan Licence Plate for Passenger Vehicles|publisher=Government of Ontario|date=June 10, 2010|access-date=July 29, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728021257/http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/frenchplate/frenchplate.shtml|archive-date=July 28, 2010}}</ref> (From 1988 to 1990,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ontarioroadmaps.ca/Official_Ontario/Official_Maps_producedB.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808015042/http://www.ontarioroadmaps.ca/Official_Ontario/Official_Maps_producedB.htm|archive-date=August 8, 2007 |title=Official Ontario Road Maps Produced 1971–2006 |publisher=Ontarioroadmaps.ca |access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref> "Ontario Incredible"<ref>{{cite journal |title=Measuring the Returns to Tourism Advertising |first1=David W. |last1=Butterfield |first2=Kenneth R. |last2=Deal |first3=Atif A. |last3=Kubursi |journal=Journal of Travel Research |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=12–20 |year=1998 |doi=10.1177/004728759803700102|s2cid=154905439  | issn=0047-2875}}</ref> gave "Yours to Discover" a brief respite.) In 2020, as part of a licence plate redesign, the slogan was changed to "A Place to Grow," inspired by the song [[A Place to Stand, a Place to Grow]]. This decision was reversed in the same year, due to visibility concerns.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-04-09 |title='A Place to Grow': Ontario to scrap 'Yours to Discover' slogan on licence plates |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-a-place-to-grow-ontario-to-scrap-yours-to-discover-slogan-on/ |access-date=2023-10-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 6, 2020 |title=Ford government's blue licence plates officially scrapped, 'Yours to Discover' is back |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/blue-licence-plates-scrapped-1.5557952 |access-date=October 25, 2023 |website=[[CBC News]]}}</ref> The slogan on licence plates remains "Yours to Discover".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Renew your licence plate {{!}} ontario.ca |url=http://www.ontario.ca/page/renew-your-licence-plate |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=www.ontario.ca |language=en}}</ref>

A Place to Stand, a Place to Grow was originally commissioned by the government of Ontario for its pavilion in [[Expo 67]], and it became an unofficial anthem of the province.<ref name="aplaceto">{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/09/16/ontarios-catchy-a-place-to-stand-theme-grows-up.html|title=Ontario's catchy 'A place to stand' theme grows up|last=Hong|first=Jackie|work=The Toronto Star|publisher=Torstar Corporation|access-date=September 29, 2020|date=September 16, 2016|archive-date=October 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011050739/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/09/16/ontarios-catchy-a-place-to-stand-theme-grows-up.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As a part of the [[Canada 150]] celebrations in 2017, the provincial government released an updated rendition.<ref name="aplaceto" /> In 2007, the provincial tourism agency commissioned a new song, "There's No Place Like This" is featured in [[television advertisement|television advertising]], performed by Ontario artists including [[Molly Johnson]], [[Brian Byrne]], [[Keshia Chanté]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ontariotravel.net/TcisCtrl?site=consumers&key1=home&language=EN&modus=otsplmen01 |title=There's more to discover in Ontario |publisher=Ontariotravel.net |access-date=October 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610042246/http://www.ontariotravel.net/TcisCtrl?site=consumers&key1=home&language=EN&modus=otsplmen01 |archive-date=June 10, 2008}}{{better source needed|date=February 2014}}</ref> as well as [[Tomi Swick]] and [[Arkells]].

=== Professional sports ===
{{main|List of professional sports teams in Ontario}}

The province has professional sports teams in [[baseball]], [[basketball]], [[Canadian football]], [[ice hockey]], [[lacrosse]], [[rugby league]], [[rugby union]] and [[Association football|soccer]].

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em; clear:right; text-align:left; line-height:normal;"
|-
!Club
!Sport
!League
!City
!Stadium

|-
|[[Atlético Ottawa]]
|[[Association football|Soccer]]
|[[Canadian Premier League|CPL]]
|[[Ottawa]]
|[[TD Place Stadium]]
|-
|[[Belleville Senators]]
|[[Ice hockey]]
|[[American Hockey League|AHL]]
|[[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]]
|[[CAA Arena]]
|-
|[[Forge FC]]
|Soccer
|CPL
|[[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]]
|[[Tim Hortons Field]]
|-
|[[Guelph Nighthawks]]
|[[Basketball]]
|[[Canadian Elite Basketball League|CEBL]]
|Guelph
|[[Sleeman Centre (Guelph)|Sleeman Centre]]
|-
|[[Hamilton Honey Badgers]]
|Basketball
|CEBL
|Hamilton
|[[FirstOntario Centre]]
|-
|[[Hamilton Tiger-Cats]]
|[[Canadian football|Football]]
|[[Canadian Football League|CFL]]
|Hamilton
|Tim Hortons Field
|-
|[[KW Titans]]
|Basketball
|[[National Basketball League of Canada|NBLC]]
| [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]]
| [[Kitchener Memorial Auditorium]]
|-
|[[London Lightning]]
|Basketball
| NBLC
| [[London, Ontario|London]]
| [[Budweiser Gardens]]
|-
|[[Niagara River Lions]]
|Basketball
| CEBL
| [[St. Catharines]]
| [[Meridian Centre]]
|-
|[[Ottawa BlackJacks]]
|Basketball
| CEBL
| Ottawa
| [[TD Place Arena]]
|-
|[[Ottawa Redblacks]]
|Football
|CFL
|Ottawa
|TD Place Stadium
|-
|[[Ottawa Senators]]
|Ice hockey
|[[National Hockey League|NHL]]
|Ottawa
|[[Canadian Tire Centre]]
|-
|[[Ottawa Titans]]
|[[Baseball]]
|[[Frontier League|FL]]
|Ottawa
|[[Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park]]
|-
|[[PWHL Ottawa]]
|Ice Hockey
|[[Professional Women's Hockey League|PWHL]]
|Ottawa
|TD Place Arena
|-
|[[PWHL Toronto]]
|Ice Hockey
|PWHL
|Toronto
|[[Mattamy Athletic Centre]]
|-
|[[Raptors 905]]
| Basketball
| [[NBA G League|G League]]
|[[Mississauga]]
| [[Paramount Fine Foods Centre]]
|-
|[[Sudbury Five]]
| Basketball
| NBLC
| [[Greater Sudbury]]
| [[Sudbury Community Arena]]
|-
|[[Toronto Argonauts]]
|Football
|CFL
|[[Toronto]]
|[[BMO Field]]
|-
|[[Toronto Arrows]]
|[[Rugby union]]
|[[Major League Rugby|MLR]]
|Toronto
|[[York Lions Stadium]]
|-
|[[Toronto Blue Jays]]
|Baseball
|[[Major League Baseball|MLB]]
|Toronto
|[[Rogers Centre]]
|-
|[[Toronto FC]]
|Soccer
|[[Major League Soccer|MLS]]
|Toronto
|BMO Field
|-
|[[Toronto FC II]]
| Soccer
| USL
| Toronto
| Lamport Stadium
|-
|[[Toronto Maple Leafs]]
|Ice hockey
|NHL
|Toronto
|[[Scotiabank Arena]]
|-
|[[Toronto Marlies]]
|Ice hockey
|AHL
|Toronto
|[[Coca-Cola Coliseum]]
|-
|[[Toronto Raptors]]
|Basketball
|[[National Basketball Association|NBA]]
|Toronto
|Scotiabank Arena
|-
|[[Toronto Rock]]
|[[Lacrosse]]
|[[National Lacrosse League|NLL]]
|Hamilton
|FirstOntario Centre
|-
|[[Toronto Wolfpack]]
|[[Rugby league]]
|[[North American Rugby League|NARL]]
|Toronto
|Lamport Stadium
|-
|[[Windsor Express]]
|Basketball
|NBLC
| [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]]
| [[WFCU Centre]]
|-
|[[York United FC]]
|Soccer
|CPL
|Toronto
|[[York Lions Stadium]]
|}

=== Notable residents ===
{{Main|List of people from Ontario}}

== Transportation ==
Transportation in Ontario is under the purview of the [[Ministry of Transportation of Ontario]] and [[Transport Canada]]. Infrastructure and laws relating to road transport is the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation, while infrastructure and laws relating to air, rail and marine transport is the responsibility of Transport Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-07-28 |title=Transport Canada |url=https://tc.canada.ca/en |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=[[Transport Canada]] |archive-date=October 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007231811/https://tc.canada.ca/en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministry of Transportation {{!}} ontario.ca |url=http://www.ontario.ca/page/ministry-transportation |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=www.ontario.ca |archive-date=October 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007152133/https://www.ontario.ca/page/ministry-transportation |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Air travel ===
[[File:Toronto Pearson International Airport - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[Airport apron]] of Pearson Airport, Canada's busiest airport. Control tower visible in background.]]

There are two Transport Canada designated [[List of international airports in Canada|international airports in Ontari]]o<ref name=TCAC>{{cite web|url=https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/reference-centre/advisory-circulars/advisory-circular-ac-no-302-032#toc55 |title=Advisory Circular (AC) No. 302-032 - Subject: Designation of International Airports in Canada|publisher=[[Transport Canada]]|access-date=October 7, 2023|date=August 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629134943/https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/reference-centre/advisory-circulars/advisory-circular-ac-no-302-032 |archive-date=June 29, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> They are [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]], the [[List of the busiest airports in Canada|busiest airport in Canada]],<ref name="busy">{{cite web |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230728/t001c-eng.htm |title=Table 1 Passengers enplaned and deplaned at the top four Canadian airports|date=July 28, 2023 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]|access-date=October 7, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007153309/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230728/t001c-eng.htm |archive-date=October 7, 2023}}</ref> handling 44 million passengers in 2023<ref name="move"/> and [[Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport]], Ontario's second largest airport, handling over 4 million passengers in 2023.<ref name="move">{{Cite web|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2310025301&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2021&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2022&referencePeriods=20210101%2C20220101 |title=Air passenger traffic at Canadian airports, annual|date=July 28, 2023|access-date=October 7, 2023|publisher=Statistics Canada |archive-date=October 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007154616/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2310025301&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2021&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2022&referencePeriods=20210101%2C20220101 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition to airports in Ottawa, and Toronto, the province also operates 11 other [[Port of entry#Airport of entry|airports of entry]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/do-rb/services/aoe-eng.html |title=Directory of CBSA Offices and Services, Airport of Entry (AOE) |date=September 29, 2023 |access-date=October 7, 2023 |website=[[Canadian Border Services Agency]] |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522220400/https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/do-rb/services/aoe-eng.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

A number of Ontario cities also have regional airports,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transportation |url=https://www.destinationontario.com/en-ca/travel-resources/transportation |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=Destination Ontario |archive-date=October 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007182637/https://www.destinationontario.com/en-ca/travel-resources/transportation |url-status=live }}</ref> many of which have scheduled commuter flights from [[Air Canada Jazz|Jazz Aviation]] or smaller airlines and charter companies&nbsp;– flights from mid-size cities such as Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, to larger airports in Toronto and Ottawa.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.saultstar.com/2015/02/28/tsb-probes-sault-landing | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321184613/http://www.saultstar.com/2015/02/28/tsb-probes-sault-landing | url-status=dead | archive-date=21 March 2015 | title=TSB probes Sault landing | publisher=[[Sault Star]] | date=28 February 2015 | access-date=2015-04-06 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/air-canada-jazz-fuel-tanker-truck-pearson-collision-1.5130624|title=Air Canada plane, fuel tanker truck collide at Pearson|access-date=October 6, 2023|archive-date=May 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510135045/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/air-canada-jazz-fuel-tanker-truck-pearson-collision-1.5130624|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Bearskin Airlines]] also runs flights along the northerly east–west route, connecting [[North Bay, Ontario|North Bay]], Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and Thunder Bay directly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bearskin Airlines - Route Map |url=https://www.bearskinairlines.com/article/route-map-262.asp |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=www.bearskinairlines.com |archive-date=May 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530234554/https://www.bearskinairlines.com/article/route-map-262.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Remote and isolated community|Remote and isolated towns and settlements]] in the northern areas of the province rely partly or entirely on [[airline|air service]] for travel, goods, and even [[air ambulance|ambulance]] services ([[Medical evacuation|MEDIVAC]]), since much of the far northern area of the province cannot be reached by road (or by year-round road) or rail.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Connecting the North: A Draft Transportation Plan for Northern Ontario {{!}} ontario.ca |url=http://www.ontario.ca/page/connecting-north-draft-transportation-plan-northern-ontario |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=www.ontario.ca |archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523163654/https://www.ontario.ca/page/connecting-north-draft-transportation-plan-northern-ontario |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Railways ===
[[File:VIA Rail Belleville 0002.jpg|thumb |A Via Rail train approaching [[Belleville station (Ontario)|Belleville station]]]]
{{Ontario rail network|collapse=y}}
[[Via Rail]] operates the inter-regional passenger train service on the [[Quebec City–Windsor Corridor (Via Rail)|Quebec City–Windsor Corridor]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Québec City – Windsor Corridor |url=https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/media/pdfs/schedules/summer2020/06-07_Quebec-SainteFoy-Montreal-Ottawa.pdf |access-date=October 5, 2023 |website=[[Via Rail]] |archive-date=February 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227150132/https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/media/pdfs/schedules/summer2020/06-07_Quebec-SainteFoy-Montreal-Ottawa.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> along with ''[[The Canadian]]'', a transcontinental rail service from Southern Ontario to [[Vancouver]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=VIA Rail Canada: Toronto & Vancouver train trip |url=https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains/rockies-and-pacific/toronto-vancouver-canadian |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=VIA Rail |archive-date=August 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814173448/https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains/rockies-and-pacific/toronto-vancouver-canadian |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Sudbury–White River train]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sudbury to White River train |url=https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains/regional-trains/sudbury-white-river |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=VIA Rail |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240622032101/https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains/regional-trains/sudbury-white-river |archive-date= 22 June 2024 }}</ref> Additionally, [[Amtrak]] rail connects Ontario with key New York cities including [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[Albany, New York|Albany]], and [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maple Leaf Train  |url=https://www.amtrak.com/maple-leaf-train |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Amtrak |archive-date=August 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811134501/https://www.amtrak.com/maple-leaf-train |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ontario Northland Railway|Ontario Northland]] provides rail service to destinations as far north as [[Moosonee]] near [[James Bay]], connecting them with the south.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=John |date=2017-12-28 |title=Ontario Northland: Through timber to tidewater |url=https://www.railwayage.com/news/ontario-northland-through-timber-to-tidewater/ |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Railway Age |archive-date=March 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329134652/https://www.railwayage.com/news/ontario-northland-through-timber-to-tidewater/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Regional [[commuter rail]] is limited to the provincially owned [[GO Transit]], and serves a train-bus network spanning the Golden Horseshoe region, with [[Union Station (Toronto)|Union Station]] in Toronto serving as the [[transport hub]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Vanderveen|first=Cale|date=April 2, 2015|title=Metrolinx Preparing For Massive GO Transit Service Expansion|work=Urban Toronto|url=https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2015/04/metrolinx-preparing-massive-go-transit-service-expansion|access-date=September 11, 2020|archive-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227092933/https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2015/04/metrolinx-preparing-massive-go-transit-service-expansion|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Union Station: History, Facts, & Map|url=https://www.gotransit.com/en/stations-stops-parking/union-station-history-facts-map|access-date=September 11, 2020|website=GO Transit|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920234851/https://www.gotransit.com/en/stations-stops-parking/union-station-history-facts-map|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Rail freight transport|Freight rail]] is dominated by the founding cross-country [[Canadian National Railway]] and [[Canadian Pacific Kansas City]] (formerly CP Rail) companies.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Rail Transportation |url=https://tc.canada.ca/en/corporate-services/transparency/corporate-management-reporting/transportation-canada-annual-reports/transportation-canada-2011/rail-transportation |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=[[Transport Canada]] |archive-date=June 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626224947/https://tc.canada.ca/en/corporate-services/transparency/corporate-management-reporting/transportation-canada-annual-reports/transportation-canada-2011/rail-transportation |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2021, there are 19,979&nbsp;km of railways in operation.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= June 27, 2018|title=Railway industry length of track operated at the end of the year by area, by company |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2310005201 |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=[[Statistics Canada]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221055744/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2310005201 |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are several city rail-transit systems in the Province. The [[Toronto Transit Commission]] operates [[Toronto subway|subway]]s, as well as [[Toronto streetcar system|streetcar]]s (being one of the busiest streetcar systems in North America). [[OC Transpo]] operates a [[O-Train|light rail]] metro system in Ottawa.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wanek-Libman|first=Mischa|date=September 16, 2020|title=Ottawa shows it's ready for rail with Confederation Line opening|work=Mass Transit|url=https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/article/21105657/ottawa-shows-its-ready-for-rail-with-confederation-line-opening|access-date=September 11, 2020|archive-date=April 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411011937/https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/article/21105657/ottawa-shows-its-ready-for-rail-with-confederation-line-opening|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, Waterloo region operates a surface [[light rail]] system called [[Ion rapid transit|Ion]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=October 18, 2019|title=More than 1 million boardings on ION trains since launch: Report|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/ion-train-boarding-numbers-report-1.5324341|access-date=September 11, 2020|archive-date=September 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929023208/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/ion-train-boarding-numbers-report-1.5324341|url-status=live}}</ref> Construction on light rail lines, such as the [[Hurontario LRT]], are also underway in the [[Regional Municipality of Peel]], and are expected to be completed by late 2024.<ref>{{Cite news|last=News Review Media E.D.D.|date=October 29, 2019|title=Hurontario Light Rail Transit construction on track to begin next year|work=Peel Region Review|url=https://peelregionreview.com/hurontario-light-rail-transit-construction-on-track-to-begin-next-year/|access-date=September 11, 2020|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924222441/https://peelregionreview.com/hurontario-light-rail-transit-construction-on-track-to-begin-next-year/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metrolinx.com/en/greaterregion/projects/hurontario-lrt.aspx |title=Huronontario LRT: Expected Completion: fall 2024 |website=metrolinx.com |access-date=June 21, 2021 |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618044242/http://www.metrolinx.com/en/greaterregion/projects/hurontario-lrt.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cornwell |first=Steve |date=2022-10-30 |title=$4.6B Mississauga and Brampton LRT still 'on track' for 2024 opening target amid Eglinton Crosstown delay |url=https://www.mississauga.com/news/4-6b-mississauga-and-brampton-lrt-still-on-track-for-2024-opening-target-amid-eglinton/article_54296004-6807-5f5c-bc6e-166f8f887e72.html |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=Mississauga.com }}</ref>

{{wide image|Ontario Northland train crosses the Missinaibi River at Mattice-Val Côté, Ontario.jpg|880px|alt=[[Ontario Northland Railway|Ontario Northland]] freight train crossing the [[Missinaibi River]] at [[Mattice-Val Côté]] in [[Northern Ontario]]|[[Ontario Northland Railway|Ontario Northland]] freight train crossing the [[Missinaibi River]] at [[Mattice-Val Côté]] in [[Northern Ontario]]}}

=== Roads ===
{{Main|Roads in Ontario}}
[[File:Highway 400 Seguin.jpg|thumb|[[Ontario Highway 400|Highway 400]] in [[Seguin, Ontario|Seguin]]. The roadway forms a part of the province's [[400-series highway]]s.]]

[[400-series highways]] make up the primary vehicular network in the south of province, and they connect at a number of points to border crossings to the United States, and [[Quebec]], the busiest being the [[Detroit–Windsor Tunnel]] and [[Ambassador Bridge]] and the [[Blue Water Bridge]] (via [[Ontario Highway 402|Highway 402]]). Some of the primary highways along the southern route are [[Ontario Highway 401|Highway 401]], [[Ontario Highway 417|Highway 417]], and [[Ontario Highway 400|Highway 400]],<ref name=Ontario>{{cite web |title=Ontario government investing $401&nbsp;million to upgrade Highway 401 |url=http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE/2002/08/06/c0057.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914064434/http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE/2002/08/06/c0057.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html |archive-date=September 14, 2007 |access-date=December 20, 2006 |date=August 6, 2002 |author=Ministry of Transportation (Ontario)}}</ref><ref name=Highway>{{cite web
|url=http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3459
|title = GTA Economy Dinged by Every Crash on the 401 – North America's Busiest Freeway
|author = Brian Gray
|publisher = [[Toronto Sun]], transcribed at Urban Planet
|date = April 10, 2004
|access-date = March 18, 2007
|quote = The 'phenomenal' number of vehicles on Hwy. 401 as it cuts through Toronto makes it the busiest freeway in the world...
|archive-date = December 27, 2009
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227131438/http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3459
|url-status = live
}}</ref> Highway 401 being the busiest highway in North America.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clark |first=Andrew |date=2023-04-28 |title=The defining characteristic of Ontario's 400-series highways is immense boredom punctuated by sudden fear |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/drive/mobility/article-the-defining-characteristic-of-ontarios-400-series-highways-is-immense/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |archive-date=June 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603054624/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/drive/mobility/article-the-defining-characteristic-of-ontarios-400-series-highways-is-immense/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other [[List of provincial highways in Ontario|provincial highways]] and regional roads inter-connect the remainder of the province, and the Trans-Canada Highway connects the province to the rest of the country.<ref>{{cite report
 |title = Draft Technical Backgrounder: Highways and Roads
 |author = IBI Group
 |publisher = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
 |date = November 2016
 |page = 7
 |url = https://northernontariommts.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/ttr_hwys_techbackgrounder_draft-2016-11-29.pdf
 |access-date = March 9, 2021
 |archive-date = December 11, 2020
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201211210949/https://northernontariommts.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/ttr_hwys_techbackgrounder_draft-2016-11-29.pdf
 |url-status = live
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Trans-Canada Highway |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/trans-canada-highway |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |archive-date=August 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825191032/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/trans-canada-highway |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Waterways ===
{{see also|Boat building industry in Ontario}}
The Saint Lawrence Seaway, which extends across most of the southern portion of the province and connects to the Atlantic Ocean, is the primary water transportation route for cargo, particularly [[iron ore]] and grain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodrigue |first=Jean-Paul |date=2018-02-03 |title=B.20 – The St. Lawrence Seaway and Regional Development {{!}} The Geography of Transport Systems |url=https://transportgeography.org/contents/applications/saint-lawrence-seaway-development/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=transportgeography.org |archive-date=June 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610001559/https://transportgeography.org/contents/applications/saint-lawrence-seaway-development/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the past, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River were also a major passenger transportation route, including with the early 20th century growth of [[Canada Steamship Lines]], but in the 1930s, passenger traffic greatly declined,<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.ixmedia.com |title=Articles {{!}} Encyclopédie du patrimoine culturel de l'Amérique française – histoire, culture, religion, héritage |url=http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/en/article-701/cruises_on_the_saint_lawrence_river.html |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.ameriquefrancaise.org |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Salmon |first=M. Stephen |date=2005-07-01 |title="This Remarkable Growth": Investment in Canadian Great Lakes Shipping, 1900-1959 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.25071/2561-5467.505 |journal=The Northern Mariner / Le Marin du Nord |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=1–37 |doi=10.25071/2561-5467.505 |issn=2561-5467}}</ref> and though some cruise lines still exist,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canada and St. Lawrence Cruise Itineraries |url=https://www.greatlakescruises.com/canada-and-st-lawrence-cruise-itineraries.html |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=GREAT LAKES CRUISES |language=en}}</ref> as of 2022 less than 20% of traffic were non-cargo or passenger ships.<ref>Great Lakes Seaway. 2023. Traffic Report.

https://greatlakes-seaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/traffic_report_2022_en.pdf</ref> Ontario's three largest ports{{notetag|As of 2011, domestic and international tonnage}} are the [[Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority|Port of Hamilton]], [[Thunder Bay Port Authority|Port of Thunder Bay]] and the Port of Nanticoke.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2019-02-08 |title=Table 11-4a: Top 20 Canadian Water Ports by Tonnage (Domestic and International) – 2011 |url=https://www144.statcan.gc.ca/nats-stna/tables-tableaux/tbl11-4a/tbl11-4a-CAN-eng.htm |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=[[Statistics Canada]] |archive-date=May 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524041749/https://www144.statcan.gc.ca/nats-stna/tables-tableaux/tbl11-4a/tbl11-4a-CAN-eng.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Ontario's only saltwater port is located in the town of Moosonee on James Bay.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontario.ca/en/about_ontario/004660.html|title=About Ontario: Moosonee|publisher=Queen's Printer for Ontario|access-date=2010-12-22|archive-date=2012-10-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018002148/http://www.ontario.ca/en/about_ontario/004660.html}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|border=no|Canada|Ontario}}
* [[Outline of Ontario]]
* [[Index of Ontario-related articles]]
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}{{notefoot}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* Michael Sletcher, "Ottawa", in James Ciment, ed., ''Colonial America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History'', (5 vols., M. E. Sharpe, New York, 2006).
* [http://www.collectionscanada.ca/virtual-vault/ Virtual Vault] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001065838/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/virtual-vault/ |date=October 1, 2007 }}, an online exhibition of Canadian historical art at [[Library and Archives Canada]].
*{{Cite book |last=Baskerville |first=Peter A. |url=https://archive.org/details/sitesofpowerconc0000bask/ |title=Sites of power: a concise history of Ontario |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2005 |isbn=9780195418927}}

== Further reading ==
{{Main list|Bibliography of Ontario}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Jx0lQMN53sC&q=Ontario&pg=PA1|title=Ontario|last=Beckett|first=Harry|publisher=[[Weigl Educational Publishers Limited]]|year=2001|isbn=978-1-894705-04-2|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613205435/https://books.google.com/books?id=9Jx0lQMN53sC&q=Ontario&pg=PA1|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ontario16101985p0000whit|url-access=registration|quote=Ontario.|title=Ontario, 1610–1985 : a political and economic history|last=White|first=Randall|publisher=Dundurn Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-919670-98-3}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oSfenc15ISUC&q=Ontario&pg=PP1|title=Ontario since Confederation : a reader|last1=Montigny|first1=Edgar-André|last2=Chambers|first2=Anne Lorene|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8020-4444-0|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613205433/https://books.google.com/books?id=oSfenc15ISUC&q=Ontario&pg=PP1|url-status=live}}
* ''Celebrating One Thousand Years of Ontario's History: Proceedings of the Celebrating One Thousand Years of Ontario's History Symposium, April 14, 15 and 16, 2000.'' Ontario Historical Society, 2000. 343 pp.
* Chambers, Lori, and Edgar-Andre Montigny, eds. ''Ontario Since Confederation: A Reader'' (2000), articles by scholars.
* Winfield, Mark S. ''Blue-Green Province: The Environment and the Political Economy of Ontario'' (University of British Columbia Press; 2012) 296 pages; environmental policies since 1945.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|voy=Ontario|m=no|mw=no|species=no|n=Category:Ontario|q=no|s=no|b=Cookbook:Cuisine of Ontario|v=no}}
* [https://www.ontario.ca/ Government of Ontario]
* [http://mtc.gov.on.ca/ Tourism Ontario] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421075729/http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/ |date=April 21, 2021 }}
* [http://www.visualheritage.ca/ Ontario Visual Heritage Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706212822/http://www.visualheritage.ca/ |date=July 6, 2011 }}&nbsp;– Non-profit documentary project about Ontario's history

{{Ontario}}
{{Subdivisions of Ontario}}
{{Provinces and territories of Canada}}
{{Canada topics}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:1867 establishments in Canada]]
[[Category:Provinces and territories of Canada]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1867]]