Ontario (redirected from Ont.)

Ontario, city, United States

Ontario, city (1990 pop. 133,179), San Bernardino co., S Calif., near Los Angeles, in a region of vineyards; inc. 1891. Manufactures include aircraft and aircraft parts, aerospace vehicle parts, sporting and leather goods, wine, electrical equipment, and plastics. High-technology industries in the southern California area have added to Ontario's development; it was one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities in the late 20th cent. Founded in 1882 as a planned community, the city is the site of an international airport and Ontario Motor Speedway.

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Ontario, province, Canada

Ontario (ŏntâr`ēō), province (2001 pop. 11,410,046), 412,582 sq mi (1,068,587 sq km), E central Canada.

Land and People

Ontario, the second largest Canadian province, is the most populous and the leader in mineral, industrial, and agricultural output and in financial and other services. It is bounded on the N by Hudson Bay and James Bay; on the E by Quebec; on the S by the St. Lawrence River, lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Superior, and the United States; and on the W by Manitoba. The province has three main geographic regions. Western and central portions lie on the Canadian Shield, a region of mineral-rich rock but very little arable land, covered with forests and broken by a labyrinth of rivers and lakes. In the north the Hudson Bay Lowlands border on Hudson and James bays, an area consisting mainly of marshes, swampland, and forest. In the south and east are the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence lowlands, where nine tenths of the population live and where industry and agriculture are concentrated.

The far north has subarctic conditions, while the west has a temperate climate. Around the Great Lakes the weather is moderate and summers are longer than in other parts of the province. The St. Lawrence River and seaway give Ontario access to the Atlantic. Other important rivers include those on the province's borders—the Ottawa (which forms part of the boundary with Quebec), and the St. Clair, the Detroit, and the St. Marys, all on the U.S. border. Several of the province's rivers are used to generate hydroelectric power, among them the Niagara, with its famous falls. Besides the falls, Ontario has numerous other tourist attractions, including the annual Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, the annual George Bernard Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, four national parks, the huge Algonquin Provincial Park, and numerous lake and island resorts.

With steady immigration from Italy, Germany, Portugal, the West Indies, India, and East Asia, Ontario's ethnic composition is rapidly diversifying. People of British ancestry make up about half the population, and one tenth are of French extraction. Over 80% of Ontario's residents live in urban centers. Toronto, the largest metropolitan area in Canada, is the capital; other important cities are Ottawa (the capital of Canada), Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Windsor, Thunder Bay, and St. Catharines.

Economy and Higher Education

The most important economic activity in Ontario is manufacturing, and the Toronto-Hamilton region is the most highly industrialized section of the country. The area from Oshawa around the west end of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls is known as the "Golden Horseshoe." Major industrial products include motor vehicles and parts; iron, steel, and other metal products; foods and beverages; electrical goods; machinery; chemicals; petroleum and coal products; and paper products. Ontario has many high-technology companies, especially around Ottawa and in the "Canadian Technology Triangle" region around Waterloo-Kitchener, Guelph, and Cambridge, and its service industries are second in importance only to manufacturing.

Agriculture is also significant, with cattle, dairy products, and hogs producing the most income. Other major crops are corn, wheat, potatoes, and soybeans. On the shores of the eastern Great Lakes are orchards and tobacco plantations. In the Canadian Shield region iron ore, copper, zinc, gold, silver, and uranium are mined. The area around Sudbury is particularly rich in copper and nickel. Ontario is also a major producer of lumber and pulp and paper.

Among the province's institutions of higher education are Brock Univ., at St. Catherines; Carleton Univ. and the Univ. of Ottawa, at Ottawa; Laurentian Univ., at Sudbury; McMaster Univ., at Hamilton; Queen's Univ., at Kingston; Ryerson Univ. and the Univ. of Toronto, at Toronto; Trent Univ., at Peterboro; the Univ. of Waterloo and Wilfred Laurier Univ., at Waterloo; the Univ. of Western Ontario, at London; and York Univ., at North York.

History and Politics

Before the arrival of Europeans the Ontario region was inhabited by several Algonquian (Ojibwa, Cree, and Algonquin) and Iroquoian (Iroquois, Huron, Petun, Neutral, Erie, and Susquehannock) tribes. Étienne Brulé explored southern Ontario in 1610–12. Henry Hudson sailed into Hudson Bay in 1611 and claimed the region for England. A few years later Samuel de Champlain reached (1615) the eastern shores of Lake Huron, and French explorers, missionaries, and trappers had established posts at several points. However, settlement was long hindered by the presence of the Iroquois.

In the late 17th cent. the British established trading posts in the Hudson Bay area, and the Anglo-French struggle for control of Ontario began. The conflict was resolved by the Treaty of Paris of 1763, which gave Great Britain all of France's mainland North American territory. In 1774 the British merged Ontario with Quebec, which had a predominantly French culture. When many pro-British Loyalists migrated to Ontario after the American Revolution, the desire for institutions and a government separate from those of Quebec grew. The Constitutional Act of 1791 split Quebec into Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) and Upper Canada (present-day Ontario), with the Ottawa River as the dividing line.

During the War of 1812, Americans raided Upper Canada and burned Toronto (1813). After the war many English, Scottish, and Irish settlers came to the colony. Conflict developed between the conservative, aristocratic governing group (known as the Family Compact) and the reformers and radicals led by William Lyon Mackenzie. The radicals staged an armed uprising in 1837 but were easily suppressed. However, the rebellion occurred at the same time as a revolt in Lower Canada, and the British government dispatched Lord Durham (see Durham, John George Lambton, 1st earl of) to study the situation in the North American colonies. He recommended the reunion of the two colonies (to place the French of Quebec in a minority) and the granting of self-government.

Accordingly, Upper and Lower Canada were joined in 1841 and became known, respectively, as Canada West and Canada East. Parliamentary self-government was not granted until 1849. However, conflict between French and English made the united province unworkable, and in 1867, when the confederation of Canada was formed, Ontario and Quebec became separate provinces. With the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1880s, settlement increased in western Canada, and Ontario's commerce and industry flourished. The exploitation of minerals in the Canadian Shield region began in the early 20th cent. From the 1960s, many businesses that left Quebec because of agitation against anglophone economic domination there relocated around Toronto, shifting the balance of Canadian business and financial power decisively to Ontario.

The main political parties in Ontario are the Liberals, who held power during the late 19th cent. and for a few terms during the 20th cent.; the Progressive Conservatives, who governed from 1905 to 1985 (except in 1919–23 and 1934–43); and the New Democrats, a democratic socialist party, who controlled the government from 1990 to 1995. Elections in 1995 brought Michael Harris and the Progressive Conservatives to power; after four years of cuts in social spending, Harris became (1999) the first Ontario premier to secure a second term in three decades. He resigned as premier in Apr., 2002, and was succeeded by Ernie Eves. In 2003 the Liberals, led by Dalton McGuinty, won at the polls, and formed their first provincial government since 1990.

Ontario sends 24 senators and 99 representatives to the national parliament.

Bibliography

See D. Fink, comp., Life in Upper Canada, 1781–1841 (1971); R. L. Gentilcore, ed., Ontario (1972); J. Spelt, Urban Development in South Central Ontario (1972); J. V. Wright, Ontario Prehistory (1972); C. Armstrong, The Politics of Federalism: Ontario's Relations with the Federal Government 1867–1942 (1981); K. J. Rea, The Prosperous Years: The Economic History of Ontario 1939–75 (1985); D. Peterson, Ontario (1987).

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Ontario

Province (pop., 2001: 11,874,400), the second largest in Canada. Situated between Hudson Bay and James Bay and the St. Lawrence River–Great Lakes chain, it is bordered by the U.S. and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Manitoba. It covers 412,581 sq mi (1,068,580 sq km). Its capital is Toronto. Before European settlement, the area was inhabited by Iroquois and Algonquin Indian tribes. In the 17th century it was visited by French explorers and missionaries. It passed to the British in 1763 after the French and Indian War. It was the scene of many battles in the War of 1812. The area was known as Canada West from 1841 until 1867, when it became one of four provinces of the new Dominion of Canada. Northern Ontario has a rocky and rugged terrain with thick forests, bogs, lakes, and extensive mineral reserves. Southern Ontario is an important farming and industrial region and is the centre of Canada's population and urban development. Ottawa, the national capital, is also in Ontario.

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Ontario

1. a province of central Canada: lies mostly on the Canadian Shield and contains the fertile plain of the lower Great Lakes and the St Lawrence River, one of the world's leading industrial areas; the second largest and the most populous province. Capital: Toronto. Pop.: 12 392 721 (2004 est.). Area: 891 198 sq. km (344 092 sq. miles)

2. Lake. a lake between the US and Canada, bordering on New York State and Ontario province: the smallest of the Great Lakes; linked with Lake Erie by the Niagara River and Welland Canal; drained by the St Lawrence. Area: 19 684 sq. km (7600 sq. miles)

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Ontario Parks

• Parks and Conservation-Related Organizations - Canada

  Animal Alliance of Canada Bird Studies Canada Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS) Canadian Parks & Recreation Association (CPRA) Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Canadian Peregrine Foundation Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA)

  Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) Council of Canadians Friends of the Earth Canada Greenpeace Canada Heritage Canada Foundation Nature Canada Nature Conservancy of Canada

  Ontario Natural Resources Ministry Ontario Nature (FON) Sierra Club of Canada World Wildlife Fund Canada Zoocheck Canada

• Canadian National Parks

  Bruce Peninsula National Park Fathom Five National Marine Park

  Georgian Bay Islands National Park Point Pelee National Park

  Pukaskwa National Park Saint Lawrence Islands National Park

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Ontario 

a province in Canada. Area, 1,068,600 sq km; population, 7,988,000 (1973). The capital and largest city is Toronto. Canada’s capital, Ottawa, is located in the province.

Most of Ontario is part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian Plateau; maximum elevation, 646 m). Part of the St. Lawrence Lowlands is found in the extreme southeast of the province. The climate is moderate. Average January temperatures range from –6° to – 24°C; average July temperatures, from 12° to 20°C. Annual precipitation measures 500–750 mm. The province has a dense network of rivers, with vast (more than ten gigawatts) waterpower resources. The Great Lakes lie to the south. Much of the land area is forested.

Ontario is Canada’s most economically developed province. Most of the inhabitants live in cities (82.4 percent) and industrial settlements (12.9 percent). The province accounts for more than half of the total output of Canada’s manufacturing industry and a quarter of the total output of the mining industry. Among Ontario’s industries are general machine building and transportation machine building (Toronto), ferrous metallurgy (Hamilton, Sault Ste. Marie), the chemical industry (Sarnia), the automobile industry (Windsor, Oshawa, Oakville), and the aircraft industry (Monkton). Ontario is the leading region in Canada for nickel mining (Sudbury basin). It is also one of the country’s principal regions for uranium mining (Blind River). Iron ore, copper, gold, platinum, lead, and zinc are also mined. Agriculture, which is intensive and market-oriented, is concentrated in the south and in the St. Lawrence valley.

L. N. KARPOV

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Ontario 

a city in southern California, USA. Population, 64,100; together with the nearby cities of San Bernardino and Riverside and the total suburban population, 1.1 million (1970). The city has plants producing aircraft parts, electrical equipment, tile, and plastics. Wine-making is also important. Ontario is the trading center of an agricultural region (citrus fruits, grapes, dairy cattle, poultry).

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Ontario 

the lowest lake in the Great Lakes system of North America, in the USA and Canada. It is approximately 310 km long, with a maximum width of 90 km; it has an area of 19,500 sq km. The maximum depth is 236 m. The lake has a drainage basin of 90,000 sq km.

Lake Ontario receives the flow from the higher lakes by way of the Niagara River. The lake’s outlet is the St. Lawrence River, which is navigable to the Atlantic Ocean. Navigable canals link Lake Ontario with Lake Erie (the Welland Canal) and the Hudson River (the Oswego and Erie canals). The lake freezes over from December through April. On the lake’s shoreline, which is primarily low and smooth, are situated the large cities and ports of Toronto, Hamilton, and Kingston in Canada and Rochester in the USA.