Ontario

Canada

Ottawa Parliament Hill Ontario is Canada's most populous and second-largest province, home to the Canadian capital city of Ottawa, and Toronto, which is Ontario's capital and Canada's largest city. Ontario is bordered by the province of Quebec to the east, by the Great Lakes and the United States to the south, and by Manitoba to the west.

While southern Ontario is Canada's dominant population centre, the north only has a few cities, with most of it being boreal forest extending to the Hudson Bay and the Arctic.

In addition to being Canada's most populous province, it is also a major tourist destination, especially around the Niagara Falls. More than 90% of the population resides in the four regions that make up Southern Ontario, which covers a much smaller land area than the expansive north, making them worlds apart in topography and local culture. Due to its massive size, Ontario can provide the visitor with access to Canada's most populous city, Toronto; the world's largest freshwater lake, Lake Superior; and even a polar bear park in the Arctic Circle. While English is the first language of most people, one will find historic French speakers and some signage in French, many other immigrant languages in the greater Toronto area, and First Nations peoples' native tongues still being spoken, though dwindling.

The Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton and the Niagara Peninsula are usually described as the Golden Horseshoe. These are, together with Southwestern Ontario, described as "Southern Ontario".

Ontario has many cities. Here are nine of the major ones.

  • Toronto. — Canada's largest city and capital of Ontario with 6.1 million people
  • Ottawa. — Canadian capital with 1.19 million people
  • Niagara Falls.
  • Kingston. — historic and beautiful
  • Hamilton.
  • Kitchener.
  • London.
  • Windsor. — across the river from Detroit
  • Thunder Bay.

Toronto. — Canada's largest city and capital of Ontario with 6.1 million people

Ottawa. — Canadian capital with 1.19 million people

Niagara Falls.

Kingston. — historic and beautiful

Hamilton.

Kitchener.

London.

Windsor. — across the river from [[Detroit]]

Thunder Bay.

  • Niagara Region. — premier wine region
  • Lake Huron Beaches — including Grand Bend, Sauble Beach, and Wasaga Beach, the world's longest freshwater beach.
  • Bruce Peninsula. — southwestern Ontario's last major forested area, home to a National Park, and endpoint of the Bruce Trail
  • Algonquin Provincial Park. — a huge, isolated expanse of rugged backcountry forests and lakes
  • Thousand Islands. — countless stop-offs, some with castles, on the St Lawrence River bordering New York
  • Rideau Canal. — connecting Kingston and Ottawa
  • St. Joseph Island. — a pretty place to break up the 24h drive across northern Ontario

Niagara Region. — premier wine region

Bruce Peninsula. — southwestern Ontario's last major forested area, home to a National Park, and endpoint of the Bruce Trail

Algonquin Provincial Park. — a huge, isolated expanse of rugged backcountry forests and lakes

Thousand Islands. — countless stop-offs, some with castles, on the St Lawrence River bordering New York

Rideau Canal. — connecting Kingston and Ottawa

St. Joseph Island. — a pretty place to break up the 24h drive across northern Ontario

English is the official language of Ontario, and is widely spoken throughout the province. French is spoken in some parts of the province especially along the border in eastern and northern Ontario, and has been officially recognized as a minority language by the provincial government. Services are available in both English and French at all federal and provincial government offices, and some municipal government offices. Many large and small businesses, especially in Ottawa, offer services in French although this is not always mandated by statute. The closer one gets to Quebec, the more likely one is to be able to receive service in French in stores, restaurants and other businesses. Some banks and ATMs also offer service in Chinese, particularly in Ottawa and Toronto.

More than 95% of the Ontarian population is fluent in English and/or French. More than 91% of the population is fluent in English.

  • Old Fort William in Thunder Bay, a historical fort with the best historical reenactments available in Ontario
  • Lake Huron Lighthouses along Southwestern Ontario's Lake Huron coastline
  • The National Capital Region in Ottawa
  • Take in the view from the CN Tower in Toronto
  • Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, +1 705 526-7838. 1.5 hours north of Toronto on Hwy. 12. French Jesuits settled here for 10 years until they fled in 1649 after attacks from the Iroquois.
  • Explore the Historic Nipissing Road now part of the Great (Trans Canada) Trail. You can drive the road as well as hike it. See Magnetawan.

  • Bruce Trail — the oldest and longest marked footpath in Canada
  • Rideau Canal — a scenic waterway linking Kingston and Ottawa
  • Windsor-Quebec corridor

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, +1 705 526-7838. 1.5 hours north of [[Toronto]] on Hwy. 12. French Jesuits settled here for 10 years until they fled in 1649 after attacks from the Iroquois.

Explore the Historic Nipissing Road now part of the Great (Trans Canada) Trail. You can drive the road as well as hike it. See [[Magnetawan]].

  • Hike the Sleeping Giant, a series of mesas that resemble a human figure, near Thunder Bay
  • Visit Niagara Falls.
  • Visit and hike through Temagami's Old Growth Forest, climb the Fire Tower and canoe Lake Temagami.
  • Dive around or take a boat tour of shipwrecks at Fathom Five National Marine Park at Tobermory
  • Camp at Bruce Peninsula National Park.
  • Visit Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater lake island in the world.
  • Visit one of Ontario's freshwater sandy beaches: Wasaga Beach, Sauble Beach or Grand Bend in Southwestern Ontario; Pancake Bay Provincial Park in Northern Ontario. Also visit these Ontario Parks for great beaches: Sandbanks, Lake Superior, Awenda, Charleston Lake, and the Pinery.
  • Hike the Bruce Trail (or portions of it) from Niagara Falls to Tobermory, or the Ontario sections of the Trans Canada Trail.
  • Visit Point Pelee National Park and Pelee Island, the southernmost point in Canada.
  • Camp and canoe at one of the province's extensive Provincial Parks: Algonquin Park, Quetico.
  • Ride one of several heritage railways in Ontario operated by rail-fans using vintage rail equipment.
  • Follow the Wine Road from Exit 78 on QEW to Niagara-on-the-Lake (map) and visit some wineries.
  • Try Walleye and Bass fishing in Ahmic Lake in Magnetawan.
  • Mississauga offers a wide amount of biking/hiking trails with beautiful views of trees, birds, and the Credit River, despite being in the Greater Toronto Area. Hardly crowded at all and easy terrain.
  • Watch large commercial ships climb the Niagara Escarpment using the Welland Canal.
  • Craft brewers tour. Visit craft brewers of Ontario
  • Visit maple sugar shacks. Old Credit Brewery

Try Walleye and Bass fishing in Ahmic Lake in [[Magnetawan]].

Craft brewers tour. Visit craft brewers of Ontario

Visit maple sugar shacks.

The Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, Golden Horseshoe, and Niagara Falls/Niagara Region each offer you a wide variety of Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Latin American, Japanese, fast food, and French cuisines (all formal and informal). Toronto and Ottawa have large immigrant populations, and have an unusually high variety of quality specialty cuisines, that cater to Western, Asian, European palates.

Visit Gluten-Free Ontario for a list of restaurants/bakeries in Ontario that offer gluten-free food.

In Ontario, the legal drinking age is 19. In Southern Ontario, you will find a great variety of beer and spirits at your disposal, while in Northern Ontario your options are usually limited to the most common North American standards. Drinking in public is discouraged by law in Ontario and most parts of Canada, exceptions being licensed patios and the like.

Beer is available from the Beer Store (run by Molson, Labatt and Sleeman), while beer, wine and other alcohol is available from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, commonly called the LCBO (run by the government). In Northern Ontario, you will typically only see the LCBO (and this will also be the case in some rural areas of Southern Ontario). Alcohol in a grocery store is very rare; beer was introduced to a handful of large grocery stores in 2015. A few rural villages unable to support a free-standing liquor store operate an LCBO agency as a sideline in an existing store. You will never find alcohol in convenience stores in Ontario. You can also buy wine at the Wine Rack in some areas; some of these outlets are attached to large supermarkets. Alcohol may not be easily available outside of LCBO and Beer Store hours, so stock up on alcohol ahead of holidays and store closures.

Of course, pubs and bars are no rarity in Ontario. In nearly every community, you will be able to find at least one tavern or bar. A domestic bottled beer will typically cost around $3.50 and a cocktail-type drink around $4.50 or more. Expect the prices to vary, with prices being much higher in urban centres. Drinks are served "smart-serve" in Ontario, so they will never be made free-pour, every (single) serving of liquor, beer and wine would have approximately the same amount of alcohol (though in reality, particularly strong beers or wines will have more alcohol per serving)

Ontario has an active beer culture that has blossomed in Southern Ontario in particular. Below are some of the breweries you can expect to find.

Everywhere:

  • Labatt, a macrobrewery found across Canada
  • Molson, a macrobrewery found across Canada

Golden Horseshoe:

Eastern Ontario:

Southwestern Ontario:

Central Ontario:

Northern Ontario:

Much like the popularity of smaller, regional breweries, brewpubs have become increasingly popular in some cities throughout Ontario. These brew unique beers within the restaurant that supposedly reflect local tastes and matches some of the dishes offered.

The Niagara region, home to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake, is Ontario's premier wine-production region. Wine is also produced at 13 wineries in Essex County and Pelee Island, Canada's most southern point, and there are also some wineries in Prince Edward County in Eastern Ontario.

Ontario has a comparatively young wine industry that is expanding rapidly. Ontario, and Canada in general, is renowned for its consistent and unique ice wines. It is also gaining increasing recognition for its world-class premium table wines.

Its wine regions are right in the middle of the northern grape-growing belt – between 41° and 44° north. That puts southern and eastern Ontario just south of the famous Bordeaux Region in France, and parallel with northern California wine regions. Ontario is considered a "cool climate region" – which means at harvest time grapes are blessed with more concentrated flavours and balanced acidity which makes them wonderfully food friendly. That's why cooler climate wines typically have a livelier flavour than those from hotter climates.

The Vinters Quality Association (VQA) is an association of wineries that provide insight into the quality of Ontario wines. When purchasing wine made in Ontario, look for a "VQA" logo on the bottle - this tells you the wine has been approved by the association. Keep in mind that there are still many wines that are not certified, but lack of certification does not necessarily mean a poor wine; wines made from some varieties of grapes are automatically excluded from VQA consideration.

In Ontario, the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is 13% (5% federal, 8% provincial). Exceptions do apply. Basic necessities such as hygiene products, unprocessed fruits, vegetables and meat, bread (6 or more) and children's clothing are tax-exempt. Fast food which is under $4 are charged only at 5% tax. As is the case for rest of Canada, visitors cannot claim tax refund on their purchases.

Smoking any substance is prohibited in indoor workplaces in Ontario - including bars and restaurants, the workplaces of bartenders, waiters, and chefs. Depending on the city, it might or might not be legal to smoke on a restaurant's patio.

In Ontario, Supreme Court rulings have made it difficult to convict on charges of marijuana possession, and police are generally lenient towards possession of up to 30 grams. Legislation is expected to pass in the federal parliament to legalize recreational marijuana as soon as August 2018, but buying, selling, and using recreational marijuana remains illegal until then. Tourists are advised to avoid smoking marijuana in public areas, though relative to most of the world, the risk of criminal prosecution is minimal.

Quebec, to the east, is the nearest populated area of Canada and presents an interesting contrast to Ontario.

  • Ohio is directly south, ferries are available to Sandusky and Cedar Point.

[[Ohio]] is directly south, ferries are available to [[Sandusky]] and [[Cedar Point]].