Ontario



Ontario is a province located in the Central part of Canada, and is largest by population and the second largest Province, next to Quebec, in size. It is bordered by the provinces Manitoba in the west and Quebec in the east, and the American states of New York, Minnesota and Michigan. Ontario is also the only Province to border the Great Lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

Ontario was one of the four original provinces, along with Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to be formed on July 1st, 1867, by the British North American Act. The capital of Ontario is Toronto, the most populous city in Canada, with a metropolitan population of almost 6 million people. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is also located in Ontario.

The Province takes its name from Lake Ontario, a Huron word meaning 'Great Lake'.

Motto: Ut incepit fidelis, sic manet. - She began loyal, she remains loyal.

Geography
Ontario is located in Central Canada, bordered by the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay and James Bay. It is bordered to the East by Quebec and to the West by Manitoba. It also shares borders with the U.S. states of Minnesota, New York and Michigan.

The province consists of four main geographical regions:
 * The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and the central portions which covers over half the land area in the province, though mostly infertile land, it is rich in minerals and studded with lakes and rivers; sub-regions are Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario.
 * The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the extreme north and northeast, mainly swampy and sparsely forested; and
 * The temperate, and therefore most populous region, fertile Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Valley in the south where agriculture and industry are concentrated. Southern Ontario is further sub-divided into four regions; Southwestern Ontario (parts of which were formerly referred to as Western Ontario), Golden Horseshoe, Central Ontario (although not actually the province's geographic centre) and Eastern Ontario.

Cities of 500,000+ people

 * Toronto - see also Toronto Wikia.
 * Mississauga, Ontario
 * Ottawa - see also Ottawa Wikia.

Golden Horseshoe

 * St. Catharines, Ontario
 * Hamilton, Ontario
 * Burlington, Ontario
 * Oakville, Ontario
 * Brampton, Ontario
 * Vaughan, Ontario
 * Richmond Hill, Ontario
 * Markham, Ontario
 * Oshawa, Ontario
 * Barrie, Ontario

Western Ontario

 * Windsor, Ontario
 * London, Ontario - see also London, Ontario Wikia
 * Kitchener, Ontario
 * Chatham, Ontario
 * Guelph, Ontario
 * Brantford, Ontario

Eastern Ontario

 * Kingston, Ontario

Northern Ontario

 * Greater Sudbury, Ontario
 * Thunder Bay, Ontario

Golden Horseshoe

 * Fort Erie, Ontario
 * Niagara Falls, Ontario
 * Milton, Ontario
 * Caledon, Ontario
 * Newmarket, Ontario
 * Pickering, Ontario
 * Ajax, Ontario
 * Whitby, Ontario
 * Orillia, Ontario
 * Dundas, Ontario
 * Welland, Ontario
 * Ancaster, Ontario

Western Ontario

 * St. Thomas, Ontario
 * Woodstock, Ontario
 * Stratford, Ontario
 * Owen Sound, Ontario
 * Waterloo, Ontario
 * Cambridge, Ontario

Eastern Ontario

 * Peterborough, Ontario
 * Cornwall, Ontario
 * Brockville, Ontario
 * Belleville, Ontario

Northern Ontario

 * Timmins, Ontario
 * North Bay, Ontario
 * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Golden Horseshoe

 * Bolton, Ontario
 * Thorold, Ontario
 * Orangeville, Ontario
 * Bowmanville, Ontario
 * Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
 * Pelham, Ontario

Western Ontario

 * Palmerston, Ontario
 * St. Marys, Ontario
 * Wasaga Beach, Ontario
 * Collingwood, Ontario
 * Midland, Ontario
 * Goderich, Ontario
 * Leamington, Ontario
 * Port Elgin, Ontario
 * Amherstburg, Ontario
 * Essex, Ontario
 * Ingersoll, Ontario

Eastern Ontario

 * Perth, Ontario
 * Haliburton, Ontario
 * Smiths Falls, Ontario
 * Carleton Place, Ontario
 * Arnprior, Ontario
 * Renfrew, Ontario
 * Gananoque, Ontario
 * Brighton, Ontario
 * Trenton, Ontario
 * Killaloe, Ontario
 * Eganville, Ontario
 * Port Perry, Ontario
 * Pakenham, Ontario
 * Pembroke, Ontario
 * Almonte, Ontario
 * Kemptville, Ontario
 * Cobden, Ontario
 * Hawkesbury, Ontario
 * Rockland, Ontario
 * Embrun, Ontario
 * Cobourg, Ontario
 * Port Hope, Ontario
 * Collins Bay, Ontario
 * Petawawa, Ontario
 * Deep River, Ontario
 * Greater Napanee, Ontario
 * Russell, Ontario
 * Prescott, Ontario

Northern Ontario

 * Wawa, Ontario
 * Kirkland Lake, Ontario
 * Kenora, Ontario
 * Bracebridge, Ontario
 * Huntsville, Ontario
 * Kapuskasing, Ontario
 * Dryden, Ontario
 * Nipigon, Ontario
 * Temiskaming Shores, Ontario
 * Elliot Lake, Ontario
 * Mattawa, Ontario
 * Parry Sound, Ontario
 * Fort Frances, Ontario
 * Gravenhurst, Ontario

Counties

 * Brant County, Ontario - see also County of Brant Wikia
 * Bruce County, Ontario
 * Dufferin County, Ontario
 * Elgin County, Ontario
 * Essex County, Ontario
 * Frontenac County, Ontario
 * Grey County, Ontario
 * Haliburton County, Ontario
 * Hastings County, Ontario
 * Huron County, Ontario
 * Lambton County, Ontario
 * Lanark County, Ontario
 * Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario
 * Lennox and Addington County, Ontario
 * Middlesex County, Ontario
 * Northumberland County, Ontario
 * Perth County, Ontario
 * Peterborough County, Ontario
 * Prescott and Russell County, Ontario
 * Renfrew County, Ontario
 * Simcoe County, Ontario
 * Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County, Ontario
 * Wellington County, Ontario

Districts

 * Algoma District, Ontario
 * Cochrane District, Ontario
 * Kenora District, Ontario
 * Manitoulin District, Ontario
 * Nipissing District, Ontario
 * Parry Sound District, Ontario
 * Rainy River District, Ontario
 * Sudbury District, Ontario
 * Thunder Bay District, Ontario
 * Timiskaming District, Ontario

Parliament
Ontario has (2015 election) 121 seats out of 338 in Parliament.