ONTARIO
         

Confederation date: July 1, 1867
         

Population:          11,410,046  (2001)
         

License plate: Yours  to Discover
         

Capital:  Toronto
         

Name Origin
         
         Rivers make up one fifth ( 1/5 ) of this province's territory, therefore Ontario was 
         named after the Iroquois word Kanadario which means Sparkling Water.
         
         
Province's Motto
         
         UT INCEPIT FIDELIS SIC PERMANET
         (Loyal she began and loyal she remains)
         
         
Province's symbols
         
         Bird: Common Loon
         Gemstone:  Amethyst
         Colours:  Yellow and Green
         
         
         
         

People

        

        You can thank J.D. Millar for our roads being safer today. Back in 1930, when 
        he worked at the Ontario Department of Highways, he was the one to suggest 
        that the white lines be painted on the streets. The first ones appeared near the 
        Ontario-quebec border.

        

        

        McIntyre's 
        expensive drink

        

        Sandy McIntyre (1869-1973) was a prospector during the northern Ontario gold 
        rush.  He discovered what would later became the McIntyre Mine near Timmins.  
        How rich was he when the mine eventually produced over $230 million in gold?  
        Not very.  He sold his stake in 1909 for $25 to buy liquor!  It's said that he spent 
        his time in local bars bemoaning his lack of judgement.



        City with a 'Heart of Gold'

        
         In 1909, prospector Harry Preston tripped over a rock.  The fall scraped moss 
        from the rock.  This exposed rich ore under the moss. And so that's how a large 
        vein of gold was found.  And that's how Timmins became known as The City 
        With a Heart of Gold.


        Also in 1909, Benny Hollinger, a barber, staked where is now the Hollinger Mine 
        in Timmins.

        

        

        Ontario's own 'yellow brick road'

        
        The main road that crosses through Kirkland Lake is made of gold!  That's 
        because the construction crew made the mistake of picking material from  the 
        wrong pile.  Instead of the waste pile, they collected from the pile 
        waiting to be milled.  And so, in 1930, Government Road became famous for its Mile 
        of Gold.



        Madoc's talc

        
        Talc is used not just for talcum powder, but also for soap, lubricant, rubber, paper,
        and electric insulator.  And the only talc mine in Canada is in Madoc, a small farming 
        community in eastern Ontario.  Since 1906, the mine has made  over 1,260,000 tonnes
        of talc!

Still on the Books


        People can be arrested for swearing or insulting another person in any Provincial  Park.

        

        In Kanata, even if it's in your driveway, you can't have a trailer or a boat where  your neighbours can see it.

        

        In Toronto, releasing ten or more balloons filled with lighter-than-air  gases within  a twenty four hour period is against the law.

        

        In Kingston it is against the law to slide or skate over ice on the streets or sidewalks.

        

        In Kingston it is a violation to throw bullets, hammers, or missiles on any public streets.

        

Environment

        

        Hay fever sufferers will find Ontario is the worst place to be. The growing 
        conditions there are perfect for ragweeds, and they spring-up abundantly 
        throughout the province. To make things worse, the plant's pollen travels 
        up to 300km!

        
        Windsor is the most humid city in North America with the highest average 
        vapour pressure of 1.78 kilo pascal during June, July and August.

        
        The city with the most days per year with thunderstorms is London, with 
        a total of 36!

        

Tourist  Attractions

        
        Golfers enjoy their sport at the River Valley Golf and Country Club located near 
        Stratford.  One of the main attractions are the caddies.  That's because they're 
        Lamas.  They can be seen carrying up to two sets of golf clubs but if you 
        overload them, they'll simply lie down, and not move.

Cochrane, Ontario

This town has quite a history in itself and so many interesting tourist attractions, that 
I've decided to devote a whole page to it.  Click here to read all about it!


Still a Mystery


        The Death of Tom Thompson

        
        On July 18, 1917, famous Canadian landscape painter Tom Thompson died 
        in Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park. The 39-year-old was found 8 days later with 
        a bruise on his temple, fishing line wrapped around his ankle, and absolutely 
        no water in his Longs.  His canoe was also never found.

        To this day, no one has ever been able to discover the truth about Tom 
        Thompsons death.

        Foul play, or not?

        

Did you know...

        
         That Toronto can boast having the longest street in the world? At 1900 km, 
         Yonge St. is an impressive drive that leads all the way to the Minnesota border.

        

In the News

    

        Near Hamilton, on March 17, 1857 a great western train with 90 passengers 
        aboard, cruising at a reasonably modest speed, passed the aging wooden 
        swing bridge across the outlet to the Desjardins Canal when it gave way.  The 
        engine plummeted through 61 cm of ice before it reached the water. The 
        baggage car slid sideways crashing against the shore.  Two passenger cars 
        dove into the 20 metre abyss -- the first car, carrying many  passengers, 
        slammed the ice and broke partially through  into the frigid water, and most of its 
        occupants died on impact; the second car landed erect (upright), killing ten of 
        its passengers and injuring many more. Aided only by locomotive lamp,  many 
        volunteers from Hamilton worked around the clock in the freezing cold, 
        only to save thirty people, for sixty had already perished.

        

        On February 12, 1990, the Straza's Tyre King's storage depot for used tires,  
        was devastated by a vindictive act that had harmful consequences for the 
        environment.  Sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide filled the air,  causing 
        hundreds of people within five km to flee their homes in order to avoid 
        poisonous air.  Over forty firefighters engulfed the tires in water and foam in 
        hopes of diminishing the blaze.  There was so much oil from the melting tires 
        that it was seeping into the soil, tainting the nearby groundwater.

        

FOOD

        
        Well ... it's a wickedly delicious, fresh, hot, pastry treat — shaped like the water
         slapping end of ... a Beaver ! ! !
       
        Based on an ancient North American Voyageur recipe, these wildly delicious 
        pastry treats were first introduced to Ottawa in 1978 by the Hooker family when 
        they established the first permanent BeaverTails® store in Ottawa's historical 
        Byward Market where it still thrives as a landmark today.

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Page last updated on February 18, 2007