Portal:Ontario
The Ontario Portal
Ontario (/ɒnˈtɛərioʊ/ ⓘ on-TAIR-ee-oh; French: [ɔ̃taʁjo]) is the southernmost province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it is home to 38.5 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by total area (after Quebec). Ontario is Canada's fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area of all the Canadian provinces and territories. It is home to the nation's capital, Ottawa, and its most populous city, Toronto, 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. states of (from west to east) Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Almost all of Ontario's 2,700 km (1,700 mi) 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 1 km (5⁄8 mi) of actual land border, made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border.
The great majority of Ontario's population and arable land is in Southern Ontario, and while agriculture remains a significant industry, the region's economy depends highly on manufacturing. In contrast, Northern Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and heavy forestation, with mining and forestry making up the region's major industries. (Full article...)
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The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge stood from 1855 to 1897 across the Niagara River and was the world's first working railway suspension bridge. It spanned 825 feet (251 m) and stood 2.5 miles (4.0 km) downstream of Niagara Falls, where it connected Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York. Trains used the upper of its two decks, while pedestrians and carriages used the lower. The bridge was the idea of Canadian politicians, and it was built by an American company and a Canadian company. It was most commonly called the Suspension Bridge, although other names included Niagara Railway Suspension Bridge, Niagara Suspension Bridge, and its official American name of the International Suspension Bridge.
The bridge was part of Canadian politician William Hamilton Merritt's vision to promote trade within his country and with its neighbor the United States. Many argued that a suspension bridge could not support the safe passage of trains, including bridge builders. Nonetheless, the bridge companies hired Charles Ellet Jr., who laid a line by a kite across the 800-foot (240 m) chasm and built a temporary suspension bridge in 1848. Ellet left the project after a financial dispute with the bridge companies, who hired John Augustus Roebling to complete the project. By 1854, his bridge was nearly complete, and the lower deck was opened for pedestrian and carriage travel. On March 18, 1855, a fully laden passenger train officially opened the completed bridge.
The Suspension Bridge was a border crossing between Canada and the United States, and it played significant roles in the histories of the Niagara region and the two countries. Three railway lines crossed over the bridge, connecting cities on both sides of the border. The Great Western Railway, New York Central Railroad, and New York and Erie Rail Road differed in track gauge; the bridge used a triple gauge system to conserve space, overlapping two tracks on top of each other and using a rail of each to form the third track. The railroads brought a large influx of trade and tourists into the region around the Niagara Falls. In the time leading to the American Civil War, the Underground Railroad helped slaves in the United States escape across the Suspension Bridge to freedom in Canada. After the war, the bridge became a symbol of inspiration to Americans, encouraging them to rebuild their country and pushing them to quickly industrialize their nation. (Full article...)General images
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Underground Railroad monument, Windsor (from Southern Ontario) -
Typical Great Lakes beach (from Southern Ontario) -
Queens Theological Hall (from Eastern Ontario) -
Downtown Ottawa (from Eastern Ontario) -
Forests, lakes, and rivers dominate much of the Northern Ontario landscape. (from Northern Ontario) -
Ottawa in 2005 (from Southern Ontario) -
Thousand Islands (from Eastern Ontario) -
Science North in Sudbury. (from Northern Ontario) -
North Bay is often considered to be the "Gateway" to Northern Ontario (from Northern Ontario) -
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Highway 401 at the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto (from Southern Ontario)
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Surrounding areas
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Cody Douglas Hodgson (born February 18, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centreman who is currently on a professional tryout with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League.
Hodgson played at the major junior level for four seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). After being selected tenth overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, Hodgson won the William Hanley Trophy (OHL's most sportsmanlike player), the Red Tilson Trophy (OHL player of the year), the CHL Player of the Year Award, and his first Team All-Star honours for the 2008–09 season. While training in the 2009 off-season, Hodgson suffered a back injury that required him to take an entire year off of hockey in order to fully recover. In 2010–11, he played his professional rookie season with the Canucks' minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL). The season also marked his debut at the NHL level with the Canucks and he went on to participate in the team's run to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. During his rookie season the subsequent year, Hodgson was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres at the 2012 trade deadline. He announced his retirement in 2016 after he was diagnosed with malignant hyperthermia. Hodgson unretired in 2024 and signed a tryout with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. (Full article...)Selected image
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A view of Ruskview, Ontario in 2017, an unincorporated rural community in Mulmur Township, Dufferin County, Ontario -
Downtown Ottawa is the central area of Ottawa -
Waterloo, Ontario taken from the North East corner of the Uptown Parkade -
The Niagara Falls are voluminous waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. -
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Sunset on North Tea Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario Canada -
The CN Tower, located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a communications and observation tower standing 553.3 metres (1,815 ft) tall. -
A panoramic view of Hamilton, Ontario
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Did you know? -
- ... that in 1987, Royal Society of Canada fellow Kathryn Brush was one of the first women to be hired for a full-time position in art history at the University of Western Ontario?
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- Help expand stub articles: There are numerous stub articles relating to Ontario. You can help by expanding them. See Ontario stubs for a list. Also, for geographical (places) stubs, refer to:
- Eastern Ontario: Eastern Ontario geography stubs
- Toronto: Toronto geography stubs
- Ottawa: Ottawa stubs - All stubs relating to Ottawa in general
- Northern Ontario: Northern Ontario geography stubs
- Western Ontario: Western Ontario geography stubs
- Golden Horseshoe: Golden Horseshoe geography stubs
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