Ontario, located in the south of Hudson Bay, is the second largest province of Canada, covering 1.068.582 sq km. Northern Ontario is included in the Canadian Shield, a region of ancient granite rock, splashed with lakes, abundant in forests and mineral resources. Southern Ontario, sparsely covered with argil and sand, is bordered by four of the country’s Great Lakes in an extension of 3700km.
Agriculture is the main activity in the temperate southwest, where the crops include wheat, barley, garden-beet, grapes and tobacco. Approximately half of the Canadian manufactured goods come from Ontario, mainly from the meridional region, between Hamilton and Oshawa. Steel, automobiles, electronics and chemicals are other important productions.
The capital of Canada, Ottawa, is located in Ontario, which is the most populated province (10 million inhabitants), as well as the largest city of the country and provincial capital, Toronto.
Ontario’s main touristic attractions include Niagara Falls and 250 000 lakes.
Ottawa
The city of Ottawa (“the place where the rivers meet”), located in the Province of Ontario, is the capital of Canada and the seat of the country’s Federal Government.
In the 19th century, Queen Victoria of England designated the city as the capital of Canada, with the declaration of the “British Act of North America”, and Ottawa became independent from the British Crown.
Ottawa is the fourth largest Canadian city, with a population of nearly one million inhabitants. It has 230 sq km of urban area (8.3%), approximately 2.530 sq km of rural area (91.7%) and 110km length.
The city’s educational system is the highest in the country - nearly 50% of its population has post-secondary courses, certificates or diplomas. It has become a centre for high-technology industry, which has grown 74% during the last 7 years. Ottawa has also an active work force of 78.000 in modern technologies, 73.000 in Federal Government, 70.000 in health care and education, and 57.000 in business. It is the largest orchard city, with a higher agriculture income than Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary all together.
Ottawa has 33 libraries, 37 swimming pools and 73 community centres. The city has more than 400 elementary and secondary schools, 8 universities and colleges. It has also more than 400 industrial parks, 360 bridges and 900km of municipal sewerage system.
The metropolitan area of Ottawa is connected to the city of Hull, Québec. Hull is situated opposite Ottawa, on the Québec side of the Ottawa River, behind the Parliament buildings, crossing Alexandria Bridge. Ottawa is located at approximately four hours by car from Toronto (60 minutes by plane) and at two hours from Montreal.
In winter, Ottawa hosts the Winterlude Festival, where the visitors can enjoy the ice-sculpture contests and skate on the frozen Rideau Canal, near Parliament Hill. Ottawa also hosts the most important festivities on Canada Day.