-Ontario is one of the provinces in Eastern Canada
-It is the second-largest province.
-Quebec is east, Manitoba is to the west, Great Lakes are south.
-Ontario's capital city ( and largest city ) is Toronto (over 4.5 million).
-The capital of Canada (Ottawa) is in southern Ontatio.
-flower - Trillium, tree - Eastern White Pine, bird -Common Loon
-The Iroquoians called Ontario "Kanadario" meaning "sparkling water."
-Ontario's motto is "Loyal it began, loyal it remains".

PEOPLE

-first people : Huron, Iroquois, Neutral, Ojibwa, Cree, Ottawa, Nipissin, and Algonquin.
-Ontario is the home of about 11 million people.
-Most of the people live in the southern part of the province.
-The largest city is Toronto.
-Over half of the people in Toronto were born in other countries.
-Many are of Italian, German, Chinese, Portuguese, Indian, Polish and Caribbean origin.

HISTORY

-The Ojibwa, Nipissing and Algonquin lived in the north.
-The Huron, Neutral, Petun and Mississauga lived in the south.
-French explorer named Brule lived with the Hurons.
-Jesuit missionaries came in 1639 and set up missions.
-Forts were build by the French.
-Loyalists fled the U.S. in 1781 and settled on the north shore of Lake Ontario.
-The land was divided into Upper Canada (Ont.) and Lower Canada (Que.).
-York (now Toronto) became the capital of Upper Canada.
-Ontario became a province in 1867.
-During WW1 manufacturing grew in Ontario (1914-1918).
-After WWII the automobile industry grew.

WATER AND LAND

-Four of the five Great Lakes are in Ontario. (Superior, Huron, Erie, Ontario)
-St. Lawrence River and the Ottawa River are names of two long rivers.
-Ontario is divided into three regions :
-Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, Canadian Shield and Hudson Bay Lowlands
-Hudson Bay Lowlands : wetlands and small bushes
-Candian Shield : rocky with forests, minerals and water (hyrdo-electric power)
-Hudson Bay Lowlands and the Shield cover 90 percent of Ontario.
-Great Lakes-St.Lawrence Lowlands : good soil for farming
-There are five National parks and over 260 Provincial Parks.
-Niagra Falls (a part of the Niagra River) is in Ontario.
-In one second Niagra Falls pours out enough water to fill two large swimming pools.

RESOURCES AND INDUSTRY

-mining: zinc, nickel, platinum, uranium, oil, natural gas, copper, gold, silver, iron ore.
-main producer of nickel, cobalt, salt, and magnesium in Canada.
-Toronto has a large financial district (stock exchange).
-steel mills; factories make automobiles and auto parts.
-large pulp and paper industry (the second largest in Canada)
-newsprint is sold to other parts of the world.
-grain farms, fruit and vegetable farms, livestock and dairy farms
-vineyards and wineries

IMPORTANT PEOPLE and EVENTS

-Dr.Roberta Bondar became Canada's first female astronaut.
She spent 8 days in orbit on the space shuttle Discovery (1992).
-Banting and Best developed insulin, a drug for people with diabetes.
They received the Novel Prize (1923)
-J.Naismith invented the game of basketball. He used peach baskets at first.
-Emily Stow became the first woman doctor in Canada in 1867.
-Wayne Gretsky the famous hockey player came from Brantford.