Quick Facts

General
 
  • Toronto residents have more university education than any other country in the world based on the percentage of the population with a university degree
  • There are about 60 different languages and cultures represented in Ontario
  • Ontario is home to over 12.5 million people
  • Ontario received 50 per cent of all overseas visitors to Canada in 2005
  • Ontario has Canada's largest tourism industry, accounting for 43 per cent of Canada's total visitors and 35 per cent of Canada's tourism revenues
  • Ontario's industries range from cultivating crops, to mining minerals, to manufacturing automobiles, to designing software and leading-edge technology
Geographical
 
  • Ontario is home to Niagara falls
  • Four of the five great lakes are in Ontario: Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
  • The largest city in Ontario is Toronto with 5.3 million people, over half the people in Toronto were born in another country.
  • Toronto is the 5th largest city in North America behind Mexico City, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
  • There are over 250,000 lakes in Ontario, they make up one-third of the world's fresh water.
  • Wasaga Beach is the longest freshwater beach in the world.
  • There are six national parks in Ontario:
    • Bruce Peninsula National Park.
    • Fathom Five National Marine Park (a National Marine Conservation Area).
    • Georgian Bay Islands National Park.
    • Point Pelee National Park.
    • Pukaskwa National Park.
    • St. Lawrence Islands National Park.
  • Ontario's 280 provincial parks attract about 10 million visits each year.
  • Ontario's provincial parks showcase everything from urban experiences to the ultimate wilderness experiences.
  • Ontario's parks and protected areas totals 9.5 million hectares of land.
  • The Niagara Peninsula is Canada's largest wine growing region and is blessed by a unique micro-climate facilitated by the interaction of the Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario.
Music
 
  • Many well known bands are from Ontario including
  • K'naan
  • K-Os
  • Kardinal Official
  • Broken Social Scene
  • The Constantines
  • Junior Boys
  • Metric
  • Avril Lavigne
  • Alexisonfire
  • Billy Talent
  • Sum 41
  • The Band
  • Our Lady Peace
  • The Tragically Hip
  • Jully Black
Entertainment and Performing Arts
 
  • Cultures and traditions from around the world thrive and are celebrated in Ontario, home to world-famous festivals such as Toronto's Caribana and Kitchener-Waterloo's Oktoberfest, and Ottawa's Fringe Festival.
  • Throughout the year, cultural events and festivals are held across the province celebrating significant events in local communities.
  • Pride week is the one of the largest organized Gay Pride festivals in the world, featuring several stages with live performers and DJs, several licensed venues, and the Pride Parade.
  • Caribana is a Caribbean Carnival-style event that has been billed as North America's largest street festival, frequented by over 1.3 million visitors each year for the festival's final parade.
  • Each year the Canadian Opera Company mounts an impressive roster of six fully staged productions, plus concerts.
  • The Royal Ontario Museum holds almost six million objects making it one of the largest museums in North America.
  • The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the top film festivals in the world featuring everything from Hollywood productions to independent and international cinema.
  • Ontario is host to many theatre festivals.
  • Stratford Festival of Canada.
  • Shaw Festival.
  • Summerworks.
  • Toronto Fringe Festival.
  • Ottawa Fringe Festival.
  • There are over 22,000 restauraunts, bars and caterers in Ontario.
  • The Niagara Grape and Wine Festival hosts a spectacular show to honour award winning wines and icewines.
Famous Ontarians
 
  • Dr. Roberta Bondar - Canada's first female astronaut
  • Frederick Banting and Charles Best - developed insulin, winning the Nobel Prize in 1923
  • J. Naismith - invented Basketball
  • Emily Stow - the first woman doctor in Canada in 1867
  • Wayne Gretzky - regarded as the greatest hockey player to ever play in the NHL
  • Karen Kain - famous ballerina
  • Dan Aykroyd and Jim Carey - actors/comedians