Ontario Geography

• Shield and Hudson Bay Lowlands
• resource hinterland
• subartic: long and coldered winters, shorter and cooler summers

• rocky terrain with little arable land for agriculture + short growing season
• low elevation (no hydro), but forested for logging, scenic for tourism, mineral wealth

• poorly drained plain
• muskeg and permafrost
• hunting and trapping
• inhabited mostly by Cree

• Great Lakes and St Lawrence Lowlands
• central in Canada and close to USA industrial core
• 93% of the provinces’s population lives in this area

• longest growing season in Canada
• moderate continental climate: long and warm summer from May-Sept and frigid winter (Nov-March)

• significantly smaller acreage than Western Can (1/8th) with diversified crops
• crops: grain corn, barley, winter wheat, soybeans, grapes, veggies, tobacco, dairy
• southwest of Toronto has a longer growing season and more fertile soil than to the east

west of Toronto

west of Toronto

• west of Toronto, 65 km between Hamilton and Niagra
• grows fine grapes and makes fine wine

largest single market in Canada with highest population in all provinces and high GDP, but higher unemployment rates which shows the effects of recession

• province’s wealth shaken by economic downturn in 2008, especially with car industry
• forestry and manufacturing are stalled in the old economy
• received equalization payment for the first time in 2009

• US imported less goods following financial crisis in 2008
• low-cost Chinese manufactured goods undercut Can goods and displaced local business
• Western Canada and BC benefited from Chinese commodity boom -> econ growth
• Canadian dollar is high, increasing cost of exports, so less goods are exported
• province is in heavy debt and unable to lead the country out of recession

• requires US economy to recover
• fresh directions and investments
• negotiating with the US Republican party and working against their protectionist view on imports

• if the province reinvents itself, it could recover its economic position in Canada
• if the province stagnate, it could become similar to the Rust Belt in the States

• economic boom in Western Can and BC supported by foreign manufacturing firms
• ON could restructure its manufacturing to support the economics in other provinces

manufacturing shifts to low-cost countries means that developed countries cannot compete with manufacturing costs (because they actually have to pay their workers a decent wage), which leads to factories closing and moving to Mexico etc.

• farmland is being taken over by urban landscapes
• primarily because farmland is priced at a much lower value than urban land

company seeks to turn extremely fertile farmland and soil into a quarry to mine resources for building roads and highways

• car dependency in the province, despite efficient engines, it is not enough
• thermoelectric plants burn coal for energy, and moving away from coal has been slow

• causes: industrial run-off, chemicals from farms, and livestock waste
• commitment with the US to maintain (and restore) water quality of the Great Lakes

drinking water was contaminated with e. coli bacteria from farm waste, resulting in seven deaths and many illnesses

• global warming leading to declining water levels, mean retracting shorelines and water erosion
• exotic species introduction push out native species and negatively impact fisheries
• exotic species examples: sea lampreys, zebra mussels

• pre-war: forested wild for fur traders and First Nations
• post-war: settlement of Brit loyalists, Americans, Europeans, and 6 Nations along the upper St. Lawerence creating a Brit agricultural colony called Upper Canada

• distinctly separated Canada and the US
• American settlers stopped coming to Upper Canada
• most settlers after the ware were from the UK

• previously known as Upper Canada until Act of Union in 1841 until Confederation in 1867
• most arable land was cleared in the Great Lakes Basin
• land shortage led farmers to migrate to Manitoba, the Shield, and the States
• most of the power was in rural communities (only 20% of the population in urban centres)

• important to the process
• borders have been extended three times since Confederation

• manufacturing boosted in 1850s when Britain allowed free trade with US
• in 1866 US let the treaty lapse, so government placed high tariffs on imported goods
• manufacturing in ON flourished, as factories grew and demand for ON products was increased across Canada
• however, outside of ON, it was still cheaper for provinces to get goods from US due to high Can transportation costs and higher manufacturing scale in US
• beginnings of Western alienation and Maritime dissatisfaction with Confederation

• treaties were largely unnumbered and took place hundreds of years ago
• fuzziness of facts makes it difficult to settle disputes and slow pace has led to protests

• land was taken from Stony Point Indians in 1942 to create a training camp for WWII and not returned
• protests in 1993 over repeated stonewalling by Ottawa led to a sniper shooting an unarmed person
• the government promised to immediately return the land, but still in limbo in 2010

• land claims by Six Nations go back to 1784 and continue with land surrenders in the next century, but without clear records
• protesting ended and negotiation began, but hit an impasse in 2009 because the government rejected the the monetary claim

• largest economy and population of 6 regions
• average personal income is significantly larger than national average
• greatest cluster of major cities, universities, and technology centres
• most Members of Parliament
• central to both east-west and north-south trading routes across Canada and US
• manufacturing and financial centre (even after the downturn)

• knowledge based economy that is less dependent of labour costs
• creative class of workers attracted to interesting cities, and ON has a high concentration of those
• shift towards green energy (but green energy costs more and the cost is a deterrent to development)

• the province produces more than Canada can use
• 80% of manufactured goods are exported to the US

• 1965
• guarantee that Can auto plants wouldn’t close
• economies of scale (NAFTA and integration with North American market)
• Canadian consumers paid less for cars
• higher wages and benefits for workers

• 2001
• Toyota and Honda (Japanese companies) got more of the market share in NA
• foreign companies shipping cars and parts to Can
• globalization impacts Can auto market more and more
• recession -> drying up of ON principle market

• southern Ontario, especially in between all the Great Lakes for easy transport to US and Canada
• Asian companies are opening more plants in ON

• just-in-time: components made in small batches and delivered quickly (impeded by delays at border)
• outsourcing: assembling factories commission parts manufacturers to make parts at a lower cost

• high worker productivity
• health-care program (so the company isn’t responsible, the government is)
• weak Canadian dollar

• along the trans-Canada and Canadian Pacific Railline
• Canadian National rail line and northern link of trans-Can
• main centre for mineral mining in Canada

• mineralized belt in northern ON
• nickel, copper, platinum, and chromite (Black Thor) to make stainless steel
• but mineral mining is a non-renewable resource that typically only lasts for about 20 years
• agreements and treaties need to be made with First Nations who live in the area
• transportation (road or rail) need to be developed

• agin population
• out-migration, esp of young people
• few immigrants
• small and rapidly growing Cree and Métis population
• long distances between major industries

• old technology in pre-WWII mills with high levels of toxic waste
• fluctuations in US demand for softwood, with extremely low prices resulting in higher exportation tax

• most urbanized province, 85%
• 10 of the 25 largest Can cities
• Toronto is the largest city in Canada
• fastest growing: guelph, oshawa, toronto
• slowest growing: st catharines, niagara, sudbury, thunder bay

• the western loop around Lake Ontario, including Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Toronto, and Oshawa
• names for it’s high economic performance over the years
• 1/4 of total Canadian population lives in this area

predominately Indian, Chinese, Italian, Philippine, and UK (in that order)

• both Fr and Eng are used
• fourth largest metropolitan area in Canada (Ottawa-Gatineau)
• major employer is the Federal government, and there are offshoot companies that provide goods and services
• pulp mills, Silicon Valley

• Lake Erie to Lake Huron
• auto-part plants and high-tech firms
• Technology Triangle of tech development in the universities in Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge

• Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario
• mnemonic for Great Lakes
• Sergeant Major Hates Eating Onions (west to east)