Discover HOCKEY CULTURE
+
The birthplace of hockey is widely contested. There is some early evidence of the sport in Europe, Windsor, Nova Scotia, and Great Bear Lake in the Arctic. However, Kingston, Ontario was officially declared the birthplace of ice hockey by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1943. Canadian Hockey received its unofficial theme song in 1973 with Stompin’ Tom Connor’s tribute, featuring the verse “Oh! The good old hockey game!”
Discover the Amazing Trillium
+
The white trillium is the emblem and official flower of Ontario. Although not illegal to pick, it is protected in provincial parks and by conservation authorities. Interestingly, the trillium is one of many plants whose seeds are spread primarily by ants and mice - a process called myrmecochory. This helps keep the trillium genetically diverse and resistant to disease.
Discover the WILDLIFE
+
From black bears, cotton tail rabbits, walrus & flying squirrels; Ontario’s varied climate & vast wilderness support an incredible array of wildlife. More than 3,300 species of plants, 160 species of fish, 80 species of amphibians & reptiles, 400 species of birds, & more than 80 species of mammals. In Ontario’s southernmost regions, you will find prickly pear cactus & sassafras trees, while even polar bears & woodland caribou roam our northern tundra..
Discover our Underground Railroad
+
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the help of abolitionists. Estimates show that tens of thousands of slaves found freedom in Upper Canada (today’s Southern Ontario) via what was called the “freedom train,” on its way to “the Promised Land” of Canada.
Discover our ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE
+
The 1950s & 60s were a period of exceptional economic & infrastructure growth. In 1954, Canada’s first subway opened in Toronto. In 1965, the signing of the U.S.-Canada Autopact boosted Ontario’s biggest manufacturing industry. Industrialization had changed Ontario forever. Back in 1901, 60% of the population was rural. By 1981, less than 20% lived outside of cities. In 1901, 80% of Ontarians were native-born. By 1981, only 65% could claim Ontario as their birthplace.
Discover the ENTIRE PROVINCE
+
Home to more than 13 million, Ontario spans more than a million square kms & is larger than France & Spain combined. Our most northern communities are the same latitude as London, England & our most southern are parallel to Barcelona & Rome. Manitoulin Island in Georgian Bay is the world’s largest freshwater island.
Discover MCINTOSH REDS
+
Every McIntosh apple grown and eaten today is a direct descendent of a single tree discovered in 1811 by John McIntosh on his farm in Dundela, a hamlet near Morrisburg, Ontario. McIntosh’s son established a nursery and promoted the new species, which even then had its distinctive red and green skin, white flesh, and tart flavour. Apples remain one of Canada’s most important fruit crops, and the McIntosh variety is an Ontario original.
Discover ONTARIO’S HIGHWAYS
+
From 1930 to 1993, Ontario’s primary highways were known as the King’s Highways. Currently, they are numbered 2 to 427. The Ministry of Transportation never designated a Highway 1, and some say this was done to avoid any conflict between Ontario’s larger towns vying for the number one route.
Discover our HISTORY
+
The first Europeans to visit Ontario arrived by boat. French explorers Etienne Brulé and Samuel de Champlain followed the St. Lawrence River into Lake Ontario in the early 1600s. Henry Hudson sailed in from the north claiming the Hudson Bay for Britain in 1611. The French & British were keenly interested in Ontario’s fur trade & set up their base in the south, where the climate supported farming & the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence offered a natural transportation route.
Discover our MAPLE SYRUP
+
Maple syrup was first collected by Native Americans, First Nations & later by European settlers. In cold climates, sugar, red or black maple trees store starch in their stems & roots before the winter. Maple syrup is a product of the starch being converted to sugar, which rises as sap in the spring. Canada produces most of the world’s maple syrup. Besides being poured over waffles & pancakes, it is used in baking, preparing desserts or as a flavoring agent in making beer.
Discover ONTARIO’S GREENBELT
+
Ontario’s Greenbelt is an area of 1.8 million acres of permanently protected and celebrated green space, farmland, communities, forests, wetlands, and watersheds. The Greenbelt surrounds the province’s populated Golden Horseshoe and is vital to the quality of life in southern Ontario. There are approximately 7,000 farms in the Greenbelt, producing apples, peaches, lettuce, beets, parsnips, and enough carrots to provide every man, woman, and child in Canada with 4 pounds/year.
Discover the FALLS
+
The Niagara Falls were created at the end of the last ice age, when receding glaciers and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment towards the Atlantic Ocean. On average, almost 4 million cubic feet of water falls over the crest line every minute. The massive force of this flow has caused the crest to erode over time: 11 kilometres southward over the course of its history!
Discover ONTARIO’S SETTLERS
+
The American Loyalists that fled north to Quebec and modern-day Ontario after the American Revolution in 1783 are known today as the United Empire Loyalists. Canada provided a safe-haven for these refugees, including thousands of Iroquois and pro-British Native Americans. The arrival of the Loyalists contributed to the division of Canada into Upper and Lower provinces, and ultimately influenced our peaceful path to independence.
Discover the GREAT LAKES
+
Holding 20% of the world’s surface fresh water, the Great Lakes; Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie & Ontario are a collection of freshwater seas located on the Canada – U.S. border. They form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface and volume. The lakes are sometimes referred to as the North Coast.
Discover ONTARIO’S MIGRANTS
+
Ontario is a temporary home to a great number of migrant birds that nest in the province’s diverse habitats. Bobolinks are long-distance migrants that breed in Southern and Central Ontario’s grasslands before travelling to South America for the winter, but changes in land use patterns have affected Bobolink populations. Ontario supports one-fifth of the total population of Bobolinks and has a responsibility to the world to protect and care for this species.
Discover BEAVER TAILS
+
Beaver Tails are a fried dough pastry that resemble a beaver’s tail. They were sold first in Ottawa by Grant and Pam Hooker, after a family recipe. Beaver Tails recently received national media attention when, on the day of Barack Obama’s first visit to Ottawa, the US president stopped at Ottawa’s ByWard Market on his way to the airport to pick up the local snack.
Keep a clear view when driving. Do not put anything in your windows that will block your view.
Helping the world survive
60 minutes of free WIFI