Ontario

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Ontario Flag Coat of arms Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin) ("Loyal she began, loyal she remains") Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Largest metro Greater Toronto Area Official languages English (de facto) Demonym Ontarian Government Type Constitutional monarchy Lieutenant Governor David Onley Premier Kathleen Wynne (Liberal) Legislature Legislative Assembly of Ontario Federal representation (in Canadian Parliament) House seats 106 of 308 (34.4%) Senate seats 24 of 105 (22.9%) Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st, with QC, NS, NB) Area  Ranked 4th Total 1,076,395 km2 (415,598 sq mi) Land 917,741 km2 (354,342 sq mi) Water (%) 158,654 km2 (61,257 sq mi) (14.7%) Proportion of Canada 10.8% of 9,984,670 km2 Population  Ranked 1st Total (2012) 13,505,900 Density (2012) 14.72 /km2 (38.1 /sq mi) GDP  Ranked 1st Total (2011) C$654 billion Per capita C$43,847 (6th) Abbreviations Postal ON ISO 3166-2 CA-ON Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4 (most of province) Eastern: UTC-5 (No DST) (Atikokan) Central: UTC-6/-5 (Most of NW Ontario) Postal code prefix K L M N P Flower White Trillium Tree Eastern White Pine Bird Great Northern Loon Website www.ontario.ca Rankings include all provinces and territories

Ontario i/ɒnˈtɛərioʊ/ is one of the provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province by an impressive margin, accounting for nearly 40% of all Canadians, and is the second largest province in total area. Ontario is fourth largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto.

Ontario is bordered by the province of Manitoba to the west, Hudson Bay and James Bay to the north, and Quebec to the east, and to the south by the U.S. states of Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. All but a small part of Ontario's 2,700 km (1,677 mi) border with the United States follows inland waterways: from the west at Lake of the Woods, eastward along the major rivers and lakes of the Great Lakes/Saint Lawrence River drainage system. These are the Rainy River, the Pigeon River, Lake Superior, the St. Marys River, Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River from Kingston, Ontario, to the Quebec boundary just east of Cornwall, Ontario.

Ontario is sometimes conceptually divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontario's population and its arable land is located in the south. In contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated.