HealthForceOntario | Everything you always wanted to know about Living in Ontario

Ontario 101

If you’re thinking about moving to Ontario, congratulations! Ontario is a province of opportunity. It’s where you’ll find a breadth of lively cities and charming rural towns, each with their own sense of community and unique distinction. Find your opportunity in Ontario and you’ll discover the balance between work, and a lifestyle that works for you.

Where are we?
Who lives here?
What's in a name?
Natural Wonders
What else have we got?
We're big on the indoors too!
Or maybe your thing is major league sports!
The Weather

Where are we?
Ontario is one of the largest of Canada’s 10 provinces, located in central Canada between Manitoba and Quebec. Ontario is bounded by Hudson Bay and James Bay to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York to the south. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is located in Ontario. So is Toronto, Canada’s largest city and major business centre, which has a population of more than 4.5 million.

Who lives here?
Ontario is home to more than 12 million people—one-third of Canada’s population—and is one of the most ethnically diverse places on the globe. Ontarians come from some 200 countries and speak more than 130 languages.

Educating your children
Ontario’s excellent public education system includes over 4,000 elementary schools and 870 secondary schools. Half of Ontario residents over the age of 25 have completed post-secondary schooling. Our post secondary institutions include 20 universities and 25 colleges of applied arts and technology.

What’s in a name?
In fact, the province takes its name from the Iroquois word Skanadario, meaning "beautiful lake" or "sparkling water." This refers to Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes that when combined touch Ontario along 3,000 kilometers of shoreline.

Natural Wonders
Ontario is an incredibly beautiful province with a wide diversity of ecosystems. Six national parks and 104 provincial parks offer dramatically different landscapes, from beaches to boreal wilderness to rugged granite, and cascading water to Arctic tundra. With 250,000 lakes and 100,000 km of rivers, Ontario has unlimited water adventures for the canoeist, kayaker, rafter and scuba diver. Ontario also has some of the best freshwater fishing experiences anywhere in the world, like the Atikokan bass classic. Tie your flies and cast away or hop a floatplane for the ultimate wilderness angling adventure.

What else have we got?
Frankly, we’ve got a lot. Here’s a sampling:

Manitoulin Island, the world’s largest freshwater island with more than 100 inland lakes.
Niagara Falls, where 155 million litres of thundering, rainbow-hued waters plunge 17 stories into the Niagara River every minute.
Fathom Five National Marine Park, Canada’s first underwater park and one of North America’s premier diving destinations.
Wasaga Beach The longest (14 km) freshwater beach in the world.
The Chapleau Game Preserve The world’s largest (700,000 hectare) game preserve is home to moose, black bear, fox, lynx, timber wolf and deer.
Lake Huron’s North Channel stretches 160 nautical miles from Sault Ste. Marie to Killarney and is considered one of the world’s best sailing passages.

We’re big on the indoors too!
Across Ontario there are diverse and engaging exhibitions in nearly 60 public art galleries and more than 250 museums. In our nation’s capital of Ottawa, for instance, you’ll find:

The National Gallery of Canada which houses the world’s finest collection of Canadian art as well as international paintings, sculptures and photography.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization, where major art collections t are joined by an inspired chronicle of the human experience.
The National Arts Centre, the only bilingual, multidisciplinary performing arts centre in North America, sets the stage for contemporary Canadian dance, theatre and the famed National Arts Centre Orchestra.

And in Toronto, there’s…

The Art Gallery of Ontario, featuring works from their permanent collection of 25,000 pieces, including the world’s largest collection of sculptures by Henry Moore...
The Royal Ontario Museum, Canada’s largest public museum, boasts one of the western world’s finest collections of Chinese art…
The Canadian Opera Company mounts an impressive roster of operas each year…
And the internationally celebrated National Ballet of Canada.

In the quaint town of Kleinburg, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection is home to Canada’s renowned Group of Seven, as well as Emily Carr, David Milne and acclaimed Inuit artists.

In Niagara-on-the-Lake, the heart of Ontario’s wine country, Canada’s finest acting ensembles bring the social satire of George Bernard Shaw to the stage at the Shaw Festival. In Stratford you can take your seat at any of the Stratford Festival’s four stages to watch great actors bring Shakespearean drama to life.

Or maybe your thing is major league sports. If that’s the case, welcome to paradise. Check it out…

National Hockey League (Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators)
Major League Baseball (Toronto Blue Jays)
American Hockey League (Toronto Marlies, Hamilton Bulldogs)
Canadian Football League (Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats)
National Basketball Association (Toronto Raptors)
National Lacrosse League (Toronto Rock)
Major League Soccer/Professional Soccer (Toronto Lynx, Toronto FC)

Oh yes, there’s more
If you love golf, you’ll be glad to hear Ontario is home to more than 800 spectacular golf courses, including six of the top 10 in Canada.

Tennis buffs can watch the world’s top-ranked players battle it out at the Tennis Masters Championships.

Speed freaks can thrill to the thunder of high-performance racing machines at the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto.

Okay, let’s talk about the winter.
We’re not going to beat around the bush on this one: It can get cold in some parts of Ontario. Temperatures can vary up to 20ºC (68ºF) on any given day, from an average in January of -24ºC (75ºF) in northern Ontario, to a relatively balmy -4ºC (39ºF) in southwestern Ontario. And the snow: annual snowfalls east of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay can exceed 339 cm (134 in.), while other parts of the province may only see a few centimetres.

The good news
There are a lot of heartwarming ways to get outside and enjoy the winter...

cross-country ski along majestic forest trails
lace up a pair of skates for a glide over the glass-like surface of a frozen lake
travel on one of the 46,000 km of interconnected groomed snowmobile trails

And ice fishing is hot, too!

But our summers (June-September) are a magical time in Ontario filled with beautiful sunny days when we head outdoors to a favourite park, campground, cottage, resort or friends’ place. In southern Ontario in particular, temperatures can climb to 30ºC (85ºF).

In spring and fall, we have mild daytime temperatures and cool nighttime temperatures. The bright, fragrant flowers of spring and the show of blazing red, yellow and orange autumn foliage make both these seasons exceptionally inspiring!

And did you know? Toronto's CN Tower, constructed in 1976, is the world's tallest freestanding structure, standing 553 metres (1,815 feet). Under the shadow of this monolithic structure nestles Canada’s entertainment capital with theatres, restaurants, nightspots, shopping and other great attractions.

Want more? Check out http://www.ontariotravel.net