Once constituted as a province, Ontario proceeded to assert its economic and legislative power. In 1872, the lawyer Oliver Mowat became premier and remained as premier until 1896. He fought for provincial rights, weakening the power of the federal government in provincial matters, usually through well-argued appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. His battles with the federal government greatly decentralized Canada, giving the provinces far more power than John A. Macdonald had intended. He consolidated and expanded Ontario's educational and provincial institutions, created districts in Northern Ontario, and fought to ensure that those parts of Northwestern Ontario not historically part of Upper Canada (the vast areas north and west of the Lake Superior-Hudson Bay watershed, known as the District of Keewatin) would become part of Ontario, a victory embodied in the Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889. He also presided over the emergence of the province into the economic powerhouse of Canada. Mowat was the creator of what is often called Empire Ontario.

Beginning with Sir John A. Macdonald's National Policy (1879) and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1875-1885) through Northern Ontario and the Canadian Prairies to British Columbia, Ontario manufacturing and industry flourished. However, population increase slowed after a large recession hit the province in 1893, thus slowing growth drastically but only for a few short years. Many newly arrived immigrants and others moved west along the railroad to the Prairie Provinces and British Columbia.

Mineral exploitation accelerated in the late 19th century, leading to the rise of important mining centres in the northeast like Sudbury, Cobalt and Timmins. The province harnessed its water power to generate hydro-electric power and created the state-controlled Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, later Ontario Hydro. The availability of cheap electric power further facilitated the development of industry. The Ford Motor Company of Canada was established in 1904. General Motors of Canada Ltd. was formed in 1918. The motor vehicle industry would go on to become the most lucrative industry for the Ontario economy.

In July 1912, the Conservative government of Sir James P. Whitney issued Regulation 17 which severely limited the availability of French-language schooling to the province's French-speaking minority. French-Canadians reacted with outrage, journalist Henri Bourassa denouncing the "Prussians of Ontario". It was eventually repealed in 1927.

Influenced by events in the United States, the government of Sir William Hearst introduced prohibition of alcoholic drinks in 1916 with the passing of the Ontario Temperance Act. However, residents could distill and retain their own personal supply, and liquor producers could continue distillation and export for sale, which allowed Ontario to become a hotbed for the illegal smuggling of liquor into the United States, which was under complete prohibition. Prohibition came to an end in 1927 with the establishment of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario by the government of George Howard Ferguson. The sale and consumption of liquor, wine, and beer are still controlled by some of the most extreme laws in North America to ensure that strict community standards and revenue generation from the alcohol retail monopoly are upheld. In April 2007, Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament Kim Craitor suggested that local brewers should be able to sell their beer in local corner stores; however, the motion was quickly rejected by Premier Dalton McGuinty.

The post-World War II period was one of exceptional prosperity and growth. Ontario, and the Greater Toronto Area in particular, have been the recipients of most immigration to Canada, largely immigrants from war-torn Europe in the 1950s and 1960s and after changes in federal immigration law, a massive influx of non-Europeans since the 1970s. From a largely ethnically British province, Ontario has rapidly become very culturally diverse.

The nationalist movement in Quebec, particularly after the election of the Parti Québécois in 1976, contributed to driving many businesses and English-speaking people out of Quebec to Ontario, and as a result Toronto surpassed Montreal as the largest city and economic centre of Canada. Depressed economic conditions in the Maritime Provinces have also resulted in de-population of those provinces in the 20th century, with heavy migration into Ontario.

Ontario has no official language, but English is considered the de facto language. Numerous French language services are available under the French Language Services Act of 1990 in designated areas where sizable francophone populations exist.

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Government

The wordmark of the Government of Ontario, featuring a stylized version of the provincial flower, the trillium. This wordmark was introduced in late 2007.

The previous wordmark of the Government of Ontario, which was in use from the late-1960s until 2007 (not counting the lettering used here).

The Ontario Legislature Building at Queen's Park.

The British North America Act 1867 section 69 stipulated "There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting of the Lieutenant Governor and of One House, styled the Legislative Assembly of Ontario." The assembly has 107 seats representing ridings elected in a first-past-the-post system across the province. The legislative buildings at Queen's Park in Toronto are the seat of government. Following the Westminster system, the leader of the party holding the most seats in the assembly is known as the "Premier and President of the Council" (Executive Council Act R.S.O. 1990). The Premier chooses the cabinet or Executive Council whose members are deemed "ministers of the Crown." Although the Legislative Assembly Act (R.S.O. 1990) refers to members of the assembly, the legislators are now commonly called MPPs (Members of the Provincial Parliament) in English and députés de l'Assemblée législative in French, but they have also been called MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly), and both are acceptable. The title of Prime Minister of Ontario, while permissible in English and correct in French (le Premier ministre), is generally avoided in favour of "Premier" to avoid confusion with the Prime Minister of Canada.

Further information: Monarchy in Ontario and Executive Council of Ontario

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Politics

Main article: Politics of Ontario

Ontario has traditionally operated under a three-party system. In the last few decades the liberal Ontario Liberal Party, conservative Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and social-democratic Ontario New Democratic Party have all ruled the province at different times.

Ontario is currently under a Liberal government headed by Premier Dalton McGuinty. The present government, first elected in 2003, was re-elected on 10 October 2007.

Federally, Ontario is known as being the province that offers the strongest support for the Liberal Party of Canada. The majority of the party's present 106 seats in the Canadian House of Commons represent Ontario ridings. As the province has the most seats of any province in Canada, earning support from Ontario voters is considered a crucial matter for any party hoping to win a Canadian federal election.

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Slogans

In 1967, in conjunction with the celebration of Canada's centennial, the song "A Place to Stand" was introduced at the inauguration of Ontario's pavilion at the Expo 67 World's Fair, and became the background for the province's advertising for decades.

In 1973 the first slogan to appear on licence plates in Ontario was "Keep It Beautiful." This was replaced by "Yours to Discover" in 1982^[31], apparently inspired by a tourism slogan, "Discover Ontario," dating back to 1927.^[32] (From 1988 to 1990,^[33] "Ontario Incredible"^[34] gave "Yours to Discover" a brief respite.)

In 2007, a new song replaced A Place to Stand after four decades. "There's No Place Like This" (Un Endroit Sans Pareil) is featured in current television advertising, performed by Ontario artists including Molly Johnson, Brian Byrne, Tomi Swick (from Hamilton) and Keshia Chante (born in Ottawa). ^[35]

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Famous Ontarians

The singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director Neil Young was born in Toronto and spent part of his childhood in Omemee, a town he memorialized in his song "Helpless" (written for Young's band Crazy Horse but most famously recorded on the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu). The first lines of the song read, "There is a town in north Ontario / With dream comfort memory to spare / And in my mind I still need a place to go / All my changes were there."

Other famous artists originating from Ontario include musician Avril Lavigne (Napanee), Rush (Toronto), Sum 41 (Ajax), Billy Talent (Toronto), Our Lady Peace (Toronto), Alexisonfire (St. Catharines), The Tragically Hip, (Kingston), Three Days Grace (Toronto), singers Paul Anka, Keisha Chante, and Alanis Morissette (all from Ottawa), Gordon Lightfoot (Orillia), musician Shania Twain (Timmins), comics Jim Carrey (Newmarket), John Candy, Russell Peters, Mike Myers, music band Barenaked Ladies, wrestler Trish Stratus, and rapper Kardinal Offishall were all either raised or at one time resided in Scarborough, formerly an incorporated city which now makes up the eastern section of Toronto.

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See also

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Notes

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References

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External links

Find more about Ontario on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Dictionary definitions
	Textbooks
	Quotations
	Source texts
	Images and media
	News stories
	Learning resources

• Government of Ontario also at Ontario.ca
• Tourism Ontario
• Ontario Travel webpage
• Historical and Genealogical Resources of Ontario historical census, birth marriage and death records, immigration, settlement, biography, cemeteries, burial records, land records, First Nations and more
• Historic Bridges in Ontario. Features numerous photos, detailed information, and maps.
• Map
• Ontario MPP Contact Information
• CBC Digital Archives - Ontario Elections: Twenty Tumultuous Years
• Province of Ontario from The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Ontario weather reviews - Press releases issued by Environment Canada

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Coordinates: 50°42′N 86°3′W / 50.7, -86.05 (Ontario)