ONTARIO

the second largest province of Canada, situated between Hudson and James bays to the north and the St. Lawrence RiverGreat Lakes chain to the south, and bordered by the provinces of Quebec to the east and Manitoba to the west. Ontario occupies an area of 412,581 square miles (1,068,580 square km), a figure that includes 68,491 square miles (177,390 square km) of inland water. Toronto is the capital of the province, in the southeast of which is also located the national capital, Ottawa. Ontario is Canada's demographic and economic centre and is a major force in national politics. Southern Ontario was originally settled by Iroquoian tribes who lived in longhouses in fortified villages and cultivated corn (maize). To their north and west the nomadic Algonquin, Ojibwa, and Cree Indians lived primarily by hunting and fishing. With the arrival of the French in Quebec in 1608, the Huron, an Iroquoian tribe, began to trap beaver and trade the pelts to the French. Southern Ontario became a vital link between the French settlements in Quebec and their fur-trading posts in the Mississippi River region. The main French forts in the region were Fort Frontenac (present-day Kingston, Ont.), Fort Niagara, and Fort Detroit. There was relatively little French settlement of the area, however. Ontario was ceded by France to Britain in 1763 at the conclusion of the French and Indian War. In 1784 about 10,000 American loyalists emigrating from the newly independent United States were resettled by the British along the northern shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie and along the St. Lawrence River. They became the core of Ontario's future population. In 1791 the Quebec colony, of which Ontario had hitherto been a part, was divided into a French-speaking province (called Lower Canada) and a new English-speaking province called Upper Canada. Upper Canada received a representative government, an established church, and a colonial administration modeled along English lines. From 1815 to 1841 the province was dominated by the Family Compact, a coalition of supporters of the Anglican church and of the land endowments used to support that church in the province. In 1841 the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada were united, and Upper Canada became known as Canada West. The Canadian federation was formed in 1867, and Canada West became the province of Ontario. Through the rest of the 19th and 20th centuries, Ontario developed economically and enjoyed a fairly high level of prosperity under moderately conservative provincial governments. The province has two geographic regions. Northern Ontario occupies the area north of the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa rivers; the mouth of the French River on Georgian Bay marks its southwestern boundary. Northern Ontario's 350,000 square miles (900,000 square km) have a rocky and rugged terrain with thick forests, bogs, and lakes; the region has extensive mineral reserves. Southern Ontario is suitable for both agriculture and industry. It covers less than 10 percent of the province but is the centre of Canada's population, urban development, and industry. Until the end of the War of 1812, Ontario's white settlers were mostly loyalists from the United States, along with Quakers and Mennonites from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There was a heavy wave of British immigration to the province between 1815 and 1850. The phase of European immigration between 1896 and 1914 brought Germans, Scandinavians, Russians, Poles, Ukrainians, and Italians. Another wave of immigration came after World War II and centred on industrial areas. The province's small American Indian population is rural. Ontario's black population comprises descendants of slaves and immigrants from the United States and West Indies. The skilled work force has been depleted by emigration to the United States. Most employment and economic activity are concentrated in manufacturing industries and services. Agricultural settlement is more frequent in southern Ontario, which is an important farming region. The principal cash crop is tobacco, though the main activities of most farms are dairying and livestock raising. Large quantities of grain are imported from the United States. The Niagara Peninsula and the Holland Marsh north of Toronto are the chief fruit- and vegetable-growing regions, while Kent and Essex counties are the province's chief centre for the production of grain (mostly corn and soybeans). Ontario is Canada's chief mining province and one of the world's main producers of nickel. Significant quantities of copper, iron ore, zinc, gold, and uranium are also mined. The province employs half of Canada's work force and is the leading manufacturing province. Automobile production increased threefold in the late 1960s and 1970s. Other leading manufactures include textiles, furniture, processed foods, industrial machinery, electrical goods, farm implements, rubber and synthetics, and aircraft. Although the federal government dominates economic planning, the provincial government has increasingly stimulated industrial research and development. Ontario is governed by the Legislative Assembly, which selects the premier, or prime minister. The premier names his own Executive Council, or Cabinet. A lieutenant governor, whose duties are ceremonial, is designated by the governor-general. There are three political parties: the Progressive Conservative, the Liberal, and the New Democratic. The last, founded in 1961, is an amalgamation of a socialist group and sections of the trade-union movement. Primary and secondary education in the province is free and compulsory through grade 13, with public and Roman Catholic schools operating in conjunction. There are 21 degree-granting universities, of which the University of Toronto is preeminent, and 22 colleges of applied arts and technology. There is comprehensive medical insurance for all residents. Both Toronto and Ottawa have symphony orchestras, museums, and art galleries. Stratford is famous for its annual Shakespeare Festival. Pop. (1991) 10,084,885. county, western New York state, U.S., located southeast of Rochester and bounded by Seneca Lake to the east, Canandaigua Lake to the southeast, and Hemlock Lake and Honeoye Creek to the west. The northern part of the county comprises a lowland region, while the southern section contains more hills and larger stands of hardwood trees. Other bodies of water are Canadice and Honeoye lakes, Flint Creek, and Canandaigua Outlet. Recreational areas include Harriet Hollister Spencer State Park and Bristol Mountain ski resort. Seneca and Cayuga Indians of the Iroquois Confederacy inhabited the region in the 18th century, though most were defeated by a military expedition led by U.S. Major General John Sullivan in 1779. Ontario county was created in 1789, the name derived from an Iroquoian word meaning beautiful lake. Located at the northern tip of Seneca Lake, Geneva is the home of the paired Hobart College (founded as an academy 1796; reestablished as a college 1822) for men and William Smith College (1906; opened 1908) for women. The resort city of Canandaigua is the county seat. The main components of the economy are tourism and agriculture (corn , wheat, oats, and vegetables). Area 644 square miles (1,669 square km). Pop. (1990) 95,101; (1996 est.) 99,634. second largest province of Canada in area. It occupies the strip of the Canadian mainland lying between Hudson and James bays on the north and the St. Lawrence RiverGreat Lakes chain to the south. It is bordered to the east by the province of Quebec and to the west by Manitoba. It covers a total area of 412,581 square miles (1,068,580 square kilometres) and is the most populous Canadian province, representing more than one-third of Canada's total population. Ontario is also the nation's wealthiest province, having a substantial share of the country's natural resources and its most mature and diversified industrial economy. It is at once Canada's economic pacemaker and a major force in national politics. Some Ontarians call it the Empire Province, while to those Canadians living outside its boundaries its preeminent position and the influence of Toronto, the provincial capital, and Ottawa, the national capital, have constituted a not infrequent source of regional resentment. city, Malheur county, eastern Oregon, U.S. It lies at the juncture of the Snake and Malheur rivers, 60 miles (96 km) west of Boise, Idaho. A gateway to the Oregon cattle country, it grew after the building of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1884 and was named for the Canadian province. The city has food-processing industries based on the potatoes, sugar beets, alfalfa, onions, and corn (maize) grown in the region, which is irrigated by the Owyhee and Malheur rivers. A tourist centre, the city is close to an area of rugged canyon terrain. Lake Owyhee (created by Owyhee Dam, 192832) is nearby. Treasure Valley Community College was opened there in 1962. Inc. 1914. Pop. (1990) 9,392. city, San Bernardino county, southern California, U.S. It is situated in the RiversideSan Bernardino portion of the consolidated Los Angeles metropolitan area. Named for the province of Ontario in Canada, it was settled in 1882 by George and William Chaffey, who irrigated the land for citrus and vineyard cultivation. After the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1887, Ontario became a fruit-processing and shipping point. The city's industrial development includes the manufacture of electrical appliances, aircraft parts, steel, and plastics. The Ontario Motor Speedway (1970) is the scene of the annual California 500 auto race. Ontario International Airport serves the area east of Los Angeles. Inc. city, 1891. Pop. (1990) 133,179. Additional reading Ontario: A Bicentennial Tribute (1983), is an illustrated work on the province. Geoffrey Matthews (ed.), North of 50: An Atlas of Far Northern Ontario (1985), offers informative maps. Other geographic works include L.J. Chapman and D.F. Putnam, The Physiography of Southern Ontario, 3rd ed. (1984); Jacob Spelt, The Urban Development in South-Central Ontario (1955, reissued 1972), on settlement patterns; and K.J. Rea, The Prosperous Years: The Economic History of Ontario, 19391975 (1985). F.F. Schindeler, Responsible Government in Ontario (1969, reprinted 1973), treats the structure of the government. The government's development is analyzed in Christopher Armstrong, The Politics of Federalism: Ontario's Relations with the Federal Government, 18671942 (1981). Education is discussed in Robin Harris, Quiet Evolution: A Study of the Educational System of Ontario (1967). General histories are Ontario Historical Society, Profiles of a Province (1967); and Gerald M. Craig, Upper Canada: The Formative Years, 17841841 (1963, reissued 1984). Topical histories include John Webster Grant, A Profusion of Spires: Religion in Nineteenth-Century Ontario (1988); and Donald M. Wilson, The Ontario & Quebec Railway: A History of the Development of the Canadian Pacific System in Southern Ontario (1984). S.F. Wise The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica