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Golden Horseshoe

Golden horseshoe

The Golden Horseshoe is a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario in southern Ontario, Canada. The built-up region extends from Niagara Falls at the eastern end of the Niagara Peninsula, wraps around Lake Ontario west to Hamilton, and then east again across the northwest shore of Lake Ontario, past Toronto to the east of, approximately, Oshawa. The Golden Horseshoe is home for over 8 million people. The "horseshoe" part of the region's name is derived from the characteristic horseshoe shape with Hamilton or Burlington roughly in the centre and Niagara Falls and Oshawa at either end. The "golden" part is historically attributed to the region's wealth and prosperity, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. (An alternative explanation often quoted attributes it to its bright, or "golden", appearance from space, as a result of city lights; however, the name predates satellite photography.) A July 13, 2004 report from the provincial Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal entitled Places to Grow coined the term Greater Golden Horseshoe, extending the boundaries west to Waterloo Region, north to Barrie, and east to Peterborough. A subsequent edition released February 16, 2005 broadened the term further, adding Brant, Haldimand and Northumberland Counties.

External links


- [http://www.pir.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/cma_4_35657_1.html Places to Grow]
- [http://www.pir.gov.on.ca/userfiles/page_attachments/Library/4/3.pdf Population breakdown of Greater Toronto Area and Greater Golden Horseshoe] Category:Geography of Ontario Category:Metropolitan areas of Canada

Industrialisation

Industrialization (or industrialisation) or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state. This social and economic change is closely intertwined with technological innovation, particularly the development of large-scale energy production and metallurgy. Industrialisation is also related to some form of philosophical change, or to a different attitude in the perception of nature, though whether these philosophical changes are caused by industrialisation or vice-versa is subject to debate. When capitalised, Industrial Revolution refers to the first known industrial revolution, which took place in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Second Industrial Revolution describes later, somewhat less dramatic changes which came about with the widespread availability of Electric power and the Internal-combustion engine. Pre-industrial economies often rely on sustenance standards of living, whereby large portions of the population focus their collective resources on producing only what can be consumed by them, though there have also been quite a few pre-industrial economies with trade and commerce as a significant factor, enjoying wealth far beyond a sustenance standard of living. Famines were frequent in most pre-industrial societies, although some, such as the Netherlands and England of the 17th and 18th centuries and the ancient Classical civilisation were able to escape the famine cycle through increasing trade and commercialisation of the agricultural sector. Many third world countries began industrialisation under the influence of either the United States or the USSR during the Cold War. This effort has been successful in many East Asian countries and less successful in other areas (excluding some late industrialisers in Europe that were already progressing fast before the second world war). The currently prevailing "development paradigm" in the international development community (which means the World Bank, OECD, many United Nations departments and some other such organisations) is poverty reduction, which pays attention to economic growth as such, but does not pay attention to industrialisation policies and does not speak about industrialisation.

References


- Bernal, John Desmond. Science and Industry in the Nineteenth Century. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1970.
- Derry, Thomas Kingston and Trevor I. Williams. A Short History of Technology : From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900. New York : Dover Publications, 1993.
- Hobsbawm, Eric J.. Industry and Empire : From 1750 to the Present Day . New York : New Press ; Distributed by W.W. Norton,1999.
- Kranzberg, Melvin and Carroll W. Pursell, Jr. editors. Technology in Western civilization. New York, Oxford University Press, 1967.
- Landes, David S. The Unbound Prometheus : Technical Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present. 2nd ed.. New York : Cambridge University Press, 2003.

See also


- Automation
- Newly industrialised countries
- History of the Soviet Union: Stalinist industrialisation

External links


- [http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours/GE_P4_4_EN.html Winds of Change: Reforms and Unions] — The impacts of industrialization in Canada (illustrated with many late 19th photographs) Category:Industry Category:ISBN needed ko:산업화

Ontario

:This article describes the Canadian province. For other usages, see Ontario (disambiguation). Ontario is the most populous and second-largest in area of Canada's ten provinces. It is found in east-central Canada. Its capital is Toronto. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is also located in Ontario. Ontario has a population (July 1, 2005) of 12,541,410, representing approximately 37.9% of the total Canadian population (Ontarians) and an area of 1,076,395km² (415,598 sq. mi.).

Geography

Ontario is bounded on the north by Hudson Bay and James Bay, on the east by Quebec, on the west by Manitoba, and on the south by the American states of Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Ontario's long American border is formed almost entirely by lakes and rivers, starting in Lake of the Woods and continuing to the Saint Lawrence River near Cornwall; it passes through the four Great Lakes on which Ontario has coastline, namely Lakes Superior, Huron (which includes Georgian Bay), Erie, and Ontario (for which the province is named; Ontario itself is an Iroquois word meaning "beautiful lake" or "beautiful water"). There are approximately 250,000 lakes and over 100,000 kilometres of rivers in the province. The province consists of three main geographical regions:
- the thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, a mainly infertile area rich in minerals and studded with lakes and rivers; sub-regions are Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario.
- the mostly unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the extreme north and northeast, mainly swampy and sparsely forested; and
- the temperate, and therefore most populous region, the fertile Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Valley in the south where agriculture and industry are concentrated. Southern Ontario is further sub-divided into four regions; Western Ontario (sometimes called Southwestern Ontario), Golden Horseshore, Central Ontario and Eastern Ontario. The Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern section, its northern extent is parts of the Greater Toronto Area at the western end of Lake Ontario. The Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies 90 per cent of the surface area of the province; conversely Southern Ontario contains 94 per cent of the population (see article Geography of Canada). Point Pelee National Park is a peninsula in southwestern Ontario (near Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan) that extends into Lake Erie and is the part of Canada's mainland furthest south. Pelee Island in Lake Erie is even further south. Both are south of 42°N slighty further south than the northern border of California.

Demographics

The major racial/ethnic groups in Ontario are:
- European: 80.9% (Major groups: English, Irish, Scottish, French, German, Italian)
- South Asian: 4.9%
- Chinese: 3.7%
- Black: 3.6%
- Aboriginal: 1.7%
- Filipino: 1.3%
- Latin-American: 0.9%
- Other: 3.0% Increasing immigration from all parts of the world, especially to Toronto and its environs, is rapidly diversifying the province's ethnic makeup. About five per cent of the population of Ontario is Franco-Ontarian. 10 largest municipalities by population

Weather

Franco-Ontarian The weather in Ontario is very diverse. The south, including Greater Toronto Area receives very hot, humid weather in the summer, as the stronger the Bermuda high pressure over the Atlantic Ocean, the more warm, humid air is transported northward from the the Gulf of Mexico. Severe thunderstorms peak in frequency in June and July, most notably in Southwestern and Central Ontario. Northwestern Ontario also receives short periods of hot weather and severe storms. In the winter, lake effect snow squalls affect three primary areas in Ontario known as the "snow belts", the Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario on the east end of Lake Superior; much of the Georgian Bay shoreline including Killarney, Parry Sound District, Muskoka and Simcoe County; the Lake Huron shore from east of Sarnia northward to the Bruce Peninsula. Wind whipped snowsqualls or lake effect snow can affect areas much further inland, as far as 100km or greater from the shore but the heaviest snows usually occur within 20km from the shoreline. At other times, all regions of the province may encounter snow squalls.

Economy

Ontario's rivers, particularly its share of the Niagara River, make it rich in hydroelectric energy. This competitive advantage, as well as excellent transportation links to the American heartland, has contributed to making manufacturing the principal industry, found mainly in the Golden Horseshoe region, the most industrialized area in Canada. Important products include motor vehicles, iron, steel, food, electrical appliances, machinery, chemicals, and paper. Ontario surpassed the American state of Michigan in car production, assembling 2.696 million vehicles in 2004 (see Canada-United States Automotive Agreement). Some economists believe that the North American Free Trade Agreement has led to a decline in manufacturing in part of North America's manufacturing "Rust Belt" that includes a portion of Southern Ontario from roughly Windsor through to St. Catharines (south of Toronto). This area and the Greater Toronto region contain the bulk of the auto sector in the province. As a result of steeply delcining sales, on November 21, 2005 General Motors announced massive layoffs at production facilities across North America including two large GM plants in Oshawa and a drive train facility in St. Catharines by 2008 resulting in 8,000 job losses in Ontario alone. Uncertainty also looms for money losing Ford Motor Co. and an announcement on cutbacks is likely in the coming weeks. Toronto is the centre of Canada's financial services and banking industry. Surburban cities Brampton and Mississauga are large product distribution centres, in addition to having automobile related industries. The information technology sector is also important, especially around Markham, Waterloo and Ottawa. Mining and the forest products industry, notably pulp and paper, are important to the economy of the Canadian Shield of Northern Ontario. Nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2003 was an estimated C$494.229 billion (40.6% of the Canadian total), larger than the GDP of Austria, Belgium or Sweden. Broken down by sector, the primary sector is 1.8% of total GDP, secondary sector 28.5%, and service sector 69.7%. Further economic information on provincial GDP etc. at [http://www.2ontario.com/welcome/oo_000.asp Ontario Facts]

Agriculture

Gross Domestic Product] Once the dominant industry, agriculture occupies a small percentage of the population. The number of farms has decreased from 68,633 in 1991 to 59,728 in 2001, but farms have increased in average size. Cattle, small grains and dairy were the common types of farms in the 2001 census. The fruit, grape and vegetable growing industry is located primarily on the Niagara Peninsula and along Lake Erie. The Ontario origins of Massey-Ferguson Ltd., once one of the largest farm implement manufacturers in the world, indicate the importance agriculture once had to the Ontario economy (see Geography of Canada for more detail).

History

Pre-1867

Before the arrival of the Europeans, the region was inhabited both by Algonquian (Ojibwa, Cree and Algonquin) and Iroquoian (Iroquois and Huron) tribes. The French explorer Étienne Brûlé explored part of the area in 1610-12. The English explorer Henry Hudson sailed into Hudson Bay in 1611 and claimed the area for England, but Samuel de Champlain reached Lake Huron in 1615 and French missionaries began to establish posts along the Great Lakes. French settlement was hampered by their hostilities with the Iroquois, who would ally themselves with the British.
Image:Ontario.jpg
Map of Ontario, showing CMA's and CA's
The British established trading posts on Hudson Bay in the late 17th century and began a struggle for domination of Ontario. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years War by awarding nearly all of France's North American possessions (New France) to Britain. The region was annexed to Quebec in 1774. From 1783 to 1796, the United Kingdom granted United Empire Loyalists leaving the United States following the American Revolution 200 acres (0.8 km²) of land and other items with which to rebuild their lives. This measure substantially increased the population of Canada west of the Ottawa River during this period, a fact recognized by the Constitutional Act of 1791, which split Quebec into The Canadas: Upper Canada west of the Ottawa River, and Lower Canada east of it. John Graves Simcoe was appointed Upper Canada's first Lieutenant-Governor in 1793. American troops in the War of 1812 invaded Upper Canada across the Niagara River and the Detroit River but were successfully pushed back by British and Native American forces. The Americans gained control of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, however, and during the Battle of York occupied the Town of York (later named Toronto) in 1813. Not able to hold the town, the departing soldiers burned it to the ground. After the War of 1812, many settlers from the British Isles immigrated to Upper Canada, and began to chafe against the aristocratic Family Compact that governed the region, much as the Château Clique ruled Lower Canada. Accordingly, rebellion in favour of responsible government rose in both regions; Louis-Joseph Papineau led the Lower Canada Rebellion and William Lyon Mackenzie led the Upper Canada Rebellion. For more on the rebellions of 1837, see History of Canada. Although both rebellions were crushed, the British government sent Lord Durham to investigate the causes of the unrest. He recommended that self-government be granted and that Lower and Upper Canada be re-joined in an attempt to assimilate the Québécois. Accordingly, the two colonies were merged into the Province of Canada by the Act of Union (1840), with Ontario becoming known as Canada West. Parliamentary self-government was granted in 1848. Due to heavy immigration the population of Canada West more than doubled by 1851 over the previous decade, and as a result for the first time the English-speaking population of Canada West surpassed the French-speaking population of Canada East. A political stalemate between the French- and English-speaking legislators, as well as fear of aggression from the United States during the American Civil War, led the political elite to hold a series of conferences in the 1860s to effect a broader federal union of all British North American colonies. The British North America Act took effect on July 1, 1867, establishing the Dominion of Canada, initially with four provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. The Province of Canada was divided at this point into Ontario and Quebec so that each linguistic group would have its own province. Both Quebec and Ontario were required by section 93 of the BNA Act to safeguard existing educational rights and privileges of the Protestant and Catholic minorities. Neither province had a constitutional requirement to protect its French- or English-speaking minority. Toronto was formally established as Ontario's provincial capital at this time.

From 1867 to 1896

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 tenaciously 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 the National Policy (1879) and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1875-1885) through Northern Ontario and the Prairies to British Columbia, Ontario manufacturing and industry flourished.

From 1896 to the present

Mineral exploitation began in the late 19th century, leading to the rise of important mining centres 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. In 1904, the Canadian automobile industry was launched in what is now Windsor, Ontario with the establishment of the Ford Motor Company of Canada. General Motors of Canada Ltd. was formed in 1918. The motor vehicle industry would become the major industrial component of 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. 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 of liquor and beer is still tightly-controlled by the state to ensure that the maximum revenues go to the provincial treasury. 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. Changes in federal immigration law have led to a massive influx of non-Europeans since the 1980s. From a largely ethnically British province, Ontario has now become very culturally diverse. The nationalist movement in Quebec, particularly after the election of the Parti Québécois in 1976, contributed to driving many businesses out of Quebec to Ontario, and Toronto surpassed Montreal as the largest city and economic centre of Canada. According to the provincial government website, English is Ontario's official language, although French language rights have been extended to the legal and educational systems under the French Language Services Act of 1990.

Government

1990 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 103 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 currently 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 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.

Politics

Territorial evolution 1788-1899

Executive Council in Northwestern Ontario.]] Land was not legally subdivided into administrative units until a treaty had been concluded with the native peoples ceding the land (see Royal Proclamation of 1763). In 1788, while part of the Province of Quebec (1763-1791), southern Ontario was divided into four districts: Hesse, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, and Nassau. In 1792, the four districts were renamed: Hesse became the Western District, Lunenburg became the Eastern District, Mecklenburg became the Midland District, and Nassau became the Home District. Counties were created within the districts. By 1798, there were eight districts: Eastern, Home, Johnstown, London, Midland, Newcastle, Niagara and Western. By 1826, there were eleven districts: Bathurst, Eastern, Gore, Home, Johnstown, London, Midland, Newcastle, Niagara, Ottawa, and Western. By 1838, there were twenty districts: Bathurst, Brock, Colbourne, Dalhousie, Eastern, Gore, Home, Huron, Johnstown, London, Midland, Newcastle, Niagara, Ottawa, Prince Edward, Simcoe, Talbot, Victoria, Wellington and Western. In 1849, the districts of southern Ontario were abolished by the Province of Canada and county governments took over certain municipal responsibilities. The Province of Canada also began creating districts in sparsely populated Northern Ontario with the establishment of Algoma District and Nipissing District in 1858. The northern and western boundaries of Ontario were in dispute after Confederation. Ontario's right to Northwestern Ontario was determined by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1884 and confirmed by the Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. By 1899, there were seven northern districts: Algoma, Manitoulin, Muskoka, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, and Thunder Bay. Four more northern districts were created between 1907 and 1912: Cochrane, Kenora, Sudbury and Temiskaming.
- [http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/maps/districts.htm Early Districts and Counties 1788-1899]

See also


- Canada
- Franco-Ontarian
- Legislative Assembly of Ontario
- List of Ontario-related topics
- List of cities in Canada
- List of Ontario premiers
- List of Lieutenant Governors of Ontario
- List of communities in Ontario
- List of Ontario counties
- List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
- List of Ontario Universities
- List of Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology
- Northern Ontario
- Northwestern Ontario
- Ontario Court of Appeal
- Coat of Arms of Ontario
- Order of Ontario
- Timeline of Ontario history
- Ontario Academic Credit

External links


- [http://www.gov.on.ca/ Government of Ontario]
- [http://atlas.gc.ca/rasterimages/english/maps/reference/provincesterritories/ont_new.pdf Map]
- [http://www.ontariotenants.ca/government/mpp.phtml Ontario MPP Contact Information]
- [http://www.ontarioghosttowns.com/ Ontario Ghost Towns and Abandoned Places]
- [http://www.historicbridges.org/b_s_ont.htm Learn about and see photos of historic bridges in southwestern Ontario]
- zh-min-nan:Ontario ko:온타리오 주 ja:オンタリオ州 simple:Ontario

Niagara Falls, Ontario

right right Niagara Falls, Ontario (2001 population 78,815) is a city located on the Niagara River, in the Golden Horseshoe region. It lies across the river from Niagara Falls, New York, and was incorporated on June 12, 1903. Niagara Falls station is served by VIA Rail and Amtrak trains connecting it to Toronto and New York City. The city is dominated by the Niagara Falls waterfalls on the Niagara River connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The natural spectacle brings in hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city yearly. The city has built a tourist area surrounding the falls to increase the city's appeal as a vacation destination and prolong stay times. These attractions include viewing and observation based activities like the Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls and Skylon Tower observation. Other attractions include the Clifton Hill tourist area, casinos Casino Niagara and the Fallsview Casino, natural attractions like the Niagara gorge, as well as historic sites from the War of 1812.

History

The Niagara Falls area has seen continuous settlement since the 17th century, first by the Iroquois and then by Europeans who were drawn to the immense falls. Tourism started in the early 19th century and has always been the city's main industry. The town now boasts an enormous number of hotels for its size. As well as the obvious attractions of the falls, Niagara Falls markets itself as a honeymoon destination and is self-proclaimed as the honeymoon capital of the world.

Economy

For most of its history, Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been dependent on the tourism industry. It is a more popular destination then Niagara Falls, New York, in part due to the better view of the falls from the Canadian side. In the mid-1990s the Ontario government opened a Casino Niagara, and then opened a second casino (Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort) in 2004. The casino business has been successful in attracting American tourists with the currently lower Canadian dollar. Because the economy is so dependent on the tourism trade, the income levels of residents are lower than most cities in Ontario.

Demographics

Racial make-up
- White: 93.4%
- Aboriginal: 1.1%
- Chinese: 1.0% Relgious make-up
- Roman Catholic: 42.0%
- Protestant: 36.8%
- Christian Orthodox: 2.8%
- Other Christian: 2.4%
- No religion: 14.1% Culture
- Niagara Falls has a considerable Italian-Canadian community (roughly 9% in 2001). In 1999, 2,200 Niagara Falls residents said they speak Italian at home.

Area Attractions


- Casino Niagara
- Fallsview Casino
- Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls - Tourist area
- Marineland, Ontario - Aquatic theme park
- Welland Canal
- Niagara Botanical Garden
- Flower Clock
- Maid of the Mist
- Skylon Tower
- Spanish Aerocar

Communities


- Chippawa
- Stamford
- Fallsview
- Lundy's Lane
- Niagara Falls

Local Media

Newspapers
- [http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca The Niagara Falls Review]
- [http://falls.niagaracommunitynewspapers.com The Niagara News - Niagara Falls Edition] Online News
- [http://www.onlineniagara.com OnlineNiagara.com]
- [http://www.thegrapevine.ca thegrapevine.ca - Niagara News Source] Radio
- 101.1 FM [http://www.wild101.com Wild 101]
- 105.1 FM [http://www.river.fm The River] In addition, numerous tourist and travel advisory stations are available off-air in the Niagara area.

External links


- [http://www.city.niagarafalls.on.ca/ Official Website of the City of Niagara Falls]

- [http://www.cliftonhill.com/ Official Website of Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls]
- [http://www.casinoniagara.com/ Official Website of Casino Niagara]


North: Niagara-on-the-Lake
West: Thorold, Welland
Niagara Falls East: Niagara River
South: Port Colborne, Fort Erie
Category:Niagara Falls, Ontario Category:Niagara Falls

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a city with over half a million inhabitants located in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is the 10th largest city in Canada. Its nicknames — all relating to its waning days as a major industrial centre — include the Ambitious City, Steel Town, the Hammer, Hammertown, and the Lunchbucket City. However, health care has outstripped heavy industry — exemplified by the twin steel giants of Stelco and Dofasco — as the largest employer. Moreover, the education, government, services and technology sectors have all dramatically developed as heavy industry has declined. Also belying its unfounded reputation as cultural wasteland, Hamilton has built on its historical and social background. Unusual and interesting attractions include a flying museum ([http://www.warplane.com Canadian Warplane Heritage]), a stately residence of a premier of the Province of Canada (Dundurn Castle), a functioning nuclear reactor at McMaster University, a horticultural haven (Royal Botanical Gardens) and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Geography and Climate

Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and Lake Ontario, and as such is sometimes known as Head of the Lake (not to be confused with Lakehead). The two major physical features are Burlington Bay marking the northern limit of the city and the Niagara Escarpment running through the middle of the city across its entire breadth, disecting the city into 'upper' to 'lower' parts. The escarpment is in many places an almost vertical wall of limstone shale with many waterfalls and creeks &mdash going it; including Stoney Creek, Redhill Creek, Grindstone Creek, Spencer Gorge Waterfall and Chedoke Creek — flow over the Escarpment and into the Harbour or Lake Ontario. On average the mountain is 4-5km inland from the Lake Ontario shoreline and at its edge affords some spectacular views of the city and harbour. Outside of the city this feature is more commonly known as Hamilton Mountain, or to locals just "the mountain". Burlington Bay, part of Lake Ontario, also known as Hamilton Harbour, seperates Hamilton from neigbouring Burlington. The harbour is enlcosed, except for the ship canal entrance, by the land below the Burlington Bay-James N. Allan Skyway which are the Hamilton and Burlington beaches respectively. The climate of Hamilton is humid continental and relatively mild compared with most of Canada, albiet cold enough in winter. The average January temperature is -3.6C (26.5F) but most days rise just above freezing making for slushly conditions when snow is present. Winter snowfall averages 113cm (44") with great year-to-year variation. The average July temperature is 22.5C (72.5F) and humidity is usually high during the peak of summer. It might be noted that the climate of the lower city is in general much more sheltered and milder than on top of "the mountain", which is has a shorter growing season and, in winter, more snowsqualls. Summer rains can be heavy but in general severe weather is rare, one notable exception occured November 13, 2005 when a tornado that lifted off a school gymnasium roof injuring two students. Environment Canada confirmed a F1 tornado struck the area, this was the latest date in the year that a confirmed Tornado touched down in Canada.

Demographics

According to the mid-2001 census, the population estimates there were 662 401 people residing in Hamilton, located in the province of Ontario, of whom 48.8 per cent were male and 51.2 per cent were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.8 per cent of the resident population of Hamilton. This compares with 5.8 per cent in Ontario, and almost 5.6 per cent for Canada overall. In mid-2001, 14.2 per cent of the resident population in Hamilton were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2 per cent in Canada, therefore, the average age is 37.8 years of age comparing to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada. In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Hamilton grew by 6.1 per cent, compared with an increase of 6.1 per cent for Ontario as a whole. Population density of Hamilton averaged 482.9 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 12.6, for Ontario altogether. At the time of the census in May 2001, the resident population of the Hamilton city authority had 490 268 people, but had 662 401 when encompassing the Greater Hamilton Area compared with a resident population in the province of Ontario of 11,410,050 people.

Racial Breakdown

Throughout the city, historic Irish and British influences are evident especially among street, names, city sectors, and racial make-up. According to Statcan, over 1 in 3 Hamiltonians have British Isles origin. Ever since the 1800's and early 1900's, the city of Hamilton had massive increase in population mostly due to British and Irish settlers. However, large waves of other Europeans came in due to the world wars as well as economic prospects, in the burgeoning steel industry. Even though Hamilton is largely White, the ethnic communities are diverse and include descendants of original British and Irish settlers, as well as Italian, German, French, Polish, and eastern Europeans who settled during the city's early 20th-century industrial boom. This Metropolitan has the largest concentration of Serbians in Ontario. The eastern side of the city contains a large Asian community and the area has in recent years has seen exponential growth due to immigration.
- White: 582,355 or 90.7%
- Asian: 13,780 or 2.1%
- Black: 10,830 or 1.6%
- Chinese: 8,455 1.2%
- mixed race: 6,760 or 1.0%
- (based on single responses) The fastest growing groups in the city is the Asian, mixed race, and Polish. Many immigrants from India and Pakistan are often settling, not in the city centre, but in suburban communities of Hamilton, like the community of Stoney Creek. The mixed race population is quickly growing because interracial marriages especially between Whites, and Blacks are increasingly common.

Religious Groups

Christianity is the main religion in Hamilton. Protestantism is barely ahead of Catholicism and is expected to decline, while Roman Catholicism has strenghtened due to mostly Eastern European and Filipino population growth.
- Protestant: 242,940 or 37.0%
- Roman Catholic: 232,435 or 35.4%
- other Christian: 32,760 or 5.0%
- Muslim: 12,880 or 1.9%
- Buddhist: 4,725 or 0.6%

Old Hamilton

The term "old city of Hamilton" is used throughout this article to describe the city before amalgamation in 2001, which then had 331,100 residents. Downtown began and remains around Gore Park and the intersection of King and James Streets. Central Hamilton extends from the base of the Mountain north to Barton Street, west to Chedoke Creek or Dundurn Street, and east to approximately Wentworth Street or Sherman Avenues. West Hamilton or the west end begins at Dundurn Street or Chedoke Creek. East Hamilton or the east end begins at approximately Ottawa Street or Kenilworth Avenue. North Hamilton or the north end begins at Barton Street or the CN tracks. As city limits expanded to include the Mountain, the retronym for the city below the Escarpment became the Lower City (now often just referred to as downtown). The east/west divide line for the mountain is Upper James Street, and the east/west divide line for downtown is James Street. The south Mountain begins at approximately Limeridge Road or the Lincoln M. Alexander Expressway. For other former municipalities of Hamilton-Wentworth Region, before amalgamation, please consult: City of Stoney Creek, Town of Dundas, Town of Flamborough, Town of Ancaster and Township of Glanbrook. They have all maintained their identities as neighbourhoods and municipal government wards in new Hamilton.

Attractions

wards Despite its reputation as a blue-collar, lunch-bucket town, Hamilton has a large variety of historical, cultural and educational attractions in addition to more conventional or lowbrow ones.

Historical attractions

wards
- [http://www.warplane.com/ Canadian Warplane Heritage], static and flying museum, Mount Hope airport
- [http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/culture-and-rec/MUSEUMS/dundurn/default.asp Dundurn Castle], including the Hamilton Military Museum and Dundurn Park, west end
- [http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/culture-and-rec/MUSEUMS/steam/default.asp Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology], east end
- Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Heritage Museum, downtown
- [http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/culture-and-rec/MUSEUMS/whitehern/default.asp Whitehern Historic House & Garden], downtown
- [http://www.fwio.on.ca/Contribute/erland_lee/erland_lee.asp/ Erland Lee House], birthplace of Women's Institutes, Upper Stoney Creek
- [http://www.battlefieldhouse.ca/ Battlefield House Museum], Stoney Creek

Cultural attractions


- [http://www.artgalleryofhamilton.on.ca/ Art Gallery of Hamilton], downtown
- [http://www.mcmaster.ca/museum/ McMaster Museum of Art], west end
- [http://www.hecfi.on.ca/hp/hamplace.htm/ Ron V. Joyce Centre for the Performing Arts at Hamilton Place], downtown
- [http://www.theatreaquarius.org/ Theatre Aquarius], downtown
- [http://www.web.net/~owahc/ Ontario Workers Arts and Heritage Centre], north end
- [http://www.hamiltontheatre.com/ Hamilton Theatre Inc], musical theatre
- [http://www.hamilton.ca/culture-and-rec/MUSEUMS/children's/default.asp Hamilton Children's Museum], east end
- [http://www.greenventure.ca Green Venture EcoHouse], east end
- [http://www.brottmusic.com Brott Music Festival] Hamilton, Dundas, Ancaster, Burlington
- [http://www.nationalacademyorchestra.com National Academy Orchestra of Canada] Hamilton, Dundas, Ancaster, Burlington

Outdoor attractions


- [http://www.hamiltonwaterfront.com/ Hamilton Waterfront], Hamilton Harbour
- [http://www.hamiltonnature.org/localspecies/waterfalls_intro.htm Hamilton's 66 Waterfalls], Along Escarpment
- Royal Botanical Gardens, west end [http://www.rbg.ca/]
- [http://www.conservationhamilton.ca/parks/visit/westfield.asp Westfield Heritage Centre], Flamborough
- Bruce Trail, Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Dundas, Flamborough
- [http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/Parks/Trails/HamBran.asp Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail], Hamilton, Dundas, Ancaster
- [http://www.conservationhamilton.ca/parks/visit/dundas_valley.asp Dundas Valley Conservation Area], Dundas

Educational attractions


- McMaster University, west end [http://www.mcmaster.ca/]
- Mohawk College, Mountain [http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/homepage.html/]
- Hillfield Strathallan College, Mountain [http://www.hillstrath.on.ca/]
- [http://www.redeemer.on.ca/ Redeemer University College], south-west Mountain
- [http://www.dvsa.ca/ Dundas Valley School of Art], Dundas
- [http://georgespvanier.csdcso.on.ca/ École secondaire Georges-P.-Vanier], west end
- [http://pavillondelajeunesse.csdcso.on.ca/ École élémentaire Pavillon de la jeunesse]
- Columbia International College [http://www.cic-TotalCare.com], west end

Popular attractions

(see also Sports below)
- [http://www.hessvillage.com/ Hess Village], a popular summer patio hangout. Many bars, clubs and restaurants feature live music and attractions all year round. Hess Street, downtown.
- African Lion Safari, Flamborough
- [http://www.flamborodowns.com/ Flamboro Downs], horse racing as well as car racing, Flamborough
- [http://www.footballhof.com Canadian Football Hall of Fame], downtown
- [http://www.hamrca.on.ca/parks/visit/confederation.asp/ Confederation Park], featuring water park, east end, Stoney Creek

Economy and environment

Industrial economy and environment

By the 1940s, the ecological cost of pollution had taken its toll on Hamilton: heavy metals made fish from the Bay inedible, air pollution made breathing difficult and industrial dumps (notably the Lax lands) contaminated land. People recognized there was a problem, but two decades of economic depression and war left them with no stomach to face the costly investments and social changes to fix it. Veterans returned to the factories just in time to see the founding strike of Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers of America at Stelco, one of four major ones in 1946. Labour peace ensured by the Rand formula, established by Mr. Justice Ivan Rand when he settled the Ford strike in Windsor, allowed the industrial economy to grow. Studebaker set up shop in Hamilton, shutting down in 1966 as its last car factory. Despite the promise shown in the booming 1960s, signs of trouble were beginning to show. The Harbour dredging scheme (including its associated political scandal) and reports by the International Joint Commission revealed that a few more decades of pollution had all but destroyed the marine environment. In the early 1980s. Hamilton had entered the economic downturn common to most steel towns in the developed world, such as Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but survived relatively well. But a couple of bitter strikes at Stelco did not help matters. The days of heavy industry were numbered. In the last decade, Hamilton's heavy industry continued to decline — a fact highlighted when Stelco recently filed for bankruptcy protection, though Stelco has returned to profitability in more recent quarters. Non-unionized Dofasco is doing only somewhat better. However, decreased industrial activity and increased pollution control measures have combined to dramatically increase water and air quality, and to allow Hamilton to showcase its fine natural attributes in a better light. For those employed in or relying on the industrial sector, it is grim news indeed.

Cultural economy

As the industrial economy has faltered, the local economy by necessity became much more diversified. However, this process was made possible by decisions taken as early as the 1930s as discussed above. Attempts at nourishing and spreading cultural economic activities paid off. Dundurn Castle was refurbished as Centennial project. Local TV station CHCH introduced Canadians to Smith & Smith, which featured Steve and Morag Smith (the former better known from his stint as Red Green). Hamilton became a moderately important film and television adjunct of the Toronto film market. Although never entirely out of the music eye, Hamilton gave birth or havens to a number of successful musicians of various genres over the years. Jazz-blues musicians The Washingtons were popular in the 1940s, and brother Jackie Washington continues to perform. Folksinger Stan Rogers was born in Dundas, where he lived until his death in 1982. The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra under Boris Brott, although often troubled financially since his departure as Music Director in 1990, achieved wide renown as one of Canada's finest orchestras. The eponymous Brott Music Festival, founded in 1988 is Canada's largest orchestral music festival and is a cornerstone cultural activity of the summer months. It joins the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Philharmonic, Theatre Aquarius and Opera Hamilton as one of the City's the leading arts organizations. Among the rock-pop acts formed in Hamilton or by Hamiltonians were: Teenage Head, Forgotten Rebels, Junkhouse, and Appleton. Furthermore, Daniel Lanois, a solo artist in his own right and producer for U2, lived in Hamilton and recorded at Grant Avenue Studios. The [http://www.sonicunyon.com/indexok Sonic Unyon] label started fostered the Hamilton sound in the early 1990s. Hamilton hosted several cultural and craft fairs since the 1970s, notably Festival of Friends and Earthsong, which made it a major tourist destination. Unfortunately, these fair trade venues and celebrators of world music declined in quality and ultimately disappeared, and their replacements have yet to find their niches.

Other economy

The growth of post-secondary education — heralded by the arrival of McMaster University from Toronto in 1930 and the foundation of Mohawk College in 1967 — led to numerous direct and indirect jobs in education and research. The addition of a medical school at McMaster in the late 1960s built upon local health care strengths to such an extent that health care has outstripped industry as the region's primary employer. A business collaboration between a Canadian hockey player and a retired Hamilton policeman began quietly in 1965 at 64 Ottawa Street North. After the player's untimely death, an ambitious expansion scheme of the retiree's led Tim Hortons Donuts to become an enormously successful food retailer selling doughnuts, coffee and light snacks. Founder Ron Joyce sold the business to the Wendys fast food empire, but not before bestowing his name on Hamilton Place. Wendys An enthusiasm for urban renewal gripped Hamilton, as it did most other cities in North America, in the 1960s and early 1970s. Historic buildings, including Old City Hall and the original farmers market, were destroyed to make way for wider streets, more parking and large shopping centres. Hamilton's penchant for one-way streets and synchronized traffic lights, only recently reconsidered and slightly modified, date from just before this period. Outside the industrial sector, a brutal recession from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, combined with the accelerated tendency to relocate commercial activity in the cheaper suburbs, devastated the downtown core, and many small businesses. Qualified or failed attempts at reviving the central business district included the restoration of the Gore Park fountain, the proposed conversion of vacant office space into condominium apartments and allowing two-way traffic on certain downtown streets for the first time in half a century. More dramatic and successful have been the greening projects of Hamilton undertaken since the 1990s: The Lax lands on Bay Street North were capped with clay and landscaped into a beautiful park, remediation began at Cootes Paradise in west Hamilton, a waterfront trail linking these two places was built, abandoned railway right-of-ways in both the east end and west end were converted to multi-use paths.

Politics

Politically, Hamilton is known for producing groundbreaking, colourful and left-wing politicians — illustrated by the polarizing and erratic career of Sheila Copps. Locally, though, the big political stories have included the controversial amalgamation of Hamilton with its suburbs in 2001, and the destruction of green space around the Red Hill Valley to make way for the Red Hill Creek Expressway.

Municipal politics

Hamilton has had a city charter since 1846. In 1974, it combined with the Wentworth County and the latter's other towns and townships to form the two-tier municipal federation of Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth. Portions of the former county became part of Burlington and Cambridge. The old city of Hamilton was represented at regional council by one councillor each from its two-councillor wards; the other municipalities by their mayors and an additional regional councillor each. The regional chair was appointed by the Ontario government rather than by the residents or the regional councillors. After a successful drive to make the office elective, the point became moot in 2001. Municipal powers were divided or shared in turn by the city and the county (or its constituent parts besides Hamilton). For instance, the city and county continued their separate boards of education, while the police service and social services became regional responsibilities, and fire service and business licensing remained second-tier responsibilities. In 2001, over the vociferous but hitherto futile objections of rural and suburban voters, the former two-tier Hamilton-Wentworth region was amalgamated into a one-tier city called Hamilton like one of its predecessor governments. New ward boundaries coincided substantially or exactly with old Hamilton's wards and the former municipal boundaries of its suburbs. As in most Ontario cities, incumbent councillors and mayors tend to be re-elected in municipal elections marked by low turnout. However, in the 1940s, Hamilton City Council was presided over by Sam Lawrence, a unionized worker called the Labour Mayor. However, for most of the time, moderates of the centre-right or centre-left — such as Lloyd D. Jackson in the 1960s and Robert Morrow in the 1980s — presided over council. [http://www.hpl.ca/Local/SPCOLL/mayor48.shtml Victor "Vic" Copps] was a popular centre-left mayor in the 1970s. While taking part in the [http://www.aroundthebayroadrace.com Around the Bay Race] in 1976, he suffered a stroke which incapacitated him. His wife Geraldine Copps served as a city councillor after that unfortunate event. Copps Coliseum is named after him rather than his daughter, Sheila Copps.

Provincial politics

New Hamilton has historically been represented by four to six MPPs or MLAs in the Ontario legislature. Old Hamilton was always suspicious of its larger neighbour and provincial capital, Toronto and had a reputation for being highly unionized. These factors combined to electing working class and left wing MPPs, often from the New Democratic and Liberal parties, who frequently achieved notoriety if not power outside Hamilton. Liberal MPP Lily Munro was caught in the Patti Starr scandal which contributed to Premier David Peterson's electoral defeat in 1990. So often under- or unrepresented in at Queen's Park, the old city of Hamilton boasted that each of its three MPPs were ministers in the NDP government of Bob Rae in the 1990s. In contrast, the former suburbs and rural precincts of old Hamilton voted for less radical and less noteworthy Conservative representatives, including government backbenchers for Rae's successor, Mike Harris. The Harris government's forced amalgamation of Hamilton was highly controversial among suburban and urban Hamilton voters. It also made provincial riding boundaries and names automatically coincide with those at the federal level, reducing new Hamilton's representation at Queen's Park, the Provincial Legislature, in Toronto, by one member.

Federal politics

Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker appointed the late Ellen Fairclough as Secretary of State, making her Canada's first female cabinet minister, in 1957. A downtown provincial office building is named in her honour. John Munro, a Trudeau era Liberal cabinet minister and a sometime husband of Lily Munro, was the subject of political innuendo and criminal allegations dismissed after an RCMP probe. He came in fourth in the first mayoral election for amalgamated Hamilton. The Hamilton International Airport was renamed in his honour. Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Joe Clark appointed Lincoln "Linc" Alexander, the first Black Canadian MP, as Minister of Labour in his short-lived government. Alexander later became Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, another first for blacks in Ontario and Canada. Ironically for a man who never learned to drive, Linc was honoured by having the long-awaited Mountain east-west expressway named after him. Sheila Copps, daughter of Victor and Geraldine, was a Liberal candidate, first for the Ontario legislature and then for the House of Commons, where she represented Hamilton East from 1984 until 2000. She was a leading and vociferous member of the Liberal Party of Canada Rat Pack while the Liberals were in opposition until 1993. An early and strong supporter of the leadership of Jean Chrétien, she served in several posts including Deputy Prime Minister. When Paul Martin assumed the prime ministership, Copps' star waned as she was excluded from cabinet and lost her bitter nomination campaign in her re-districted riding.

History

This section summarizes the full entry found at History of Hamilton, Ontario, and stops in 1945.

History to 1913

The Iroquois Confederacy or Five (later Six) Nations first occupied the land now covered by Hamilton. French explorers made transient visits to the area, but major European settlement did not begin until United Empire Loyalists arrived around the American Revolution and War of 1812. In the latter conflict, Britain defeated American invaders at the Battle of Stoney Creek in what is now Hamilton. Immediately after the war, in 1815, George Hamilton laid out a townsite in Barton Township which eventually outstripped close rivals like Dundas. Hamilton was incorporated as a police village in 1833 and as a city in 1846. Hamilton was part of (and served as seat for) Wentworth County since its creation in 1816. By 1851, the county acquired its final composition of townships: Ancaster, Barton, Beverly, Binbrook, East Flamborough, West Flamborough, Glanford and Saltfleet. In the second half of the 1800s, Hamilton became identified and self-identified with [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/industrial/ heavy industry], billing itself as the Ambitious City and the Birmingham of Canada. It became a hotbed of working class activism, and in 1872 the cradle of the Nine Hour Movement which urged the universal limitation of working hours to nine per day. The easy access to limestone from the Niagara Escarpment, coal mined in Appalachia, iron ore mined from the Canadian Shield and export markets through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system made Hamilton an important iron and steel producing city. Diverse steel works combined to form the Steel Company of Canada in 1910 and the Dominion Steel Casting Company in 1912.

History 1914–1945

Hamiltonians participated in the First World War as combatants, but due to Col. Sir Sam Hughes' mobilization plans for the Canadian Expeditionary Force, there were no major battles associated purely with Hamiltonians. Heavy industry boomed as the Canadian and British governments' war-driven demands for steel, arms, munitions and textiles increased. War profiteering by manufacturers dampened some of the mood, but generally Hamiltonians pulled together. After the Great War the school-building boom continued, including Memorial School, Allenby School and Earl Kitchener School. In the Roaring Twenties hundreds of low-rise apartment buildings, of three to four stories and six to ten units, grew up across the city, especially in the east end. The Great Depression of the 1930s hit Hamilton hard, with the simultaneous and prolonged decline in domestic consumption and international trade in finished industrial goods and building supplies dried up. When the Second World War began, Hamiltonians like most Canadians welcomed the spike of economic demand but not its cause. In this war, the Canadian Army mobilized its territorially recruited militia units. As a consequence, Hamilton lost hundreds of its young men on a single day in 1942, when the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry [http://www.rhli.ca/] was effectively wiped out at Dieppe. Read more of [http://warmuseum.ca/cwm/newspapers/intro_e.html The Hamilton Spectator's] coverage of the war. Hamilton also gave The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) to the cause.

Sports

Over the years and into the present, Hamilton has been prominent in several fields of sporting ventures and venues. The Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League play at Ivor Wynne Stadium in the east end. Notable residents and former players include Angelo Mosca. The CFL's annual Eastern Division Labour Day classic pits the Hamilton Tiger-Cats against perennial rivals the Toronto Argonauts. Oddly, for many years before his death, Harold Ballard owned both the Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the NHL franchise in rival city Toronto. The team's prowess has fallen dramatically from its glory days in the 1960s and early '70s, when it was a powerhouse. In recent decades, Hamilton has yearned and lobbied for a National Hockey League franchise. It has been continually disappointed, despite building Victor K. Copps Coliseum downtown on Bay Street North. The sports and entertainment arena, named for a former mayor and father of Sheila Copps, has hosted the World Junior Championship Games and is home ice for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League. The Hamilton Tigers played in the NHL during the early '20s. The [http://www.aroundthebayroadrace.com/ Around the Bay Race] circumnavigates Hamilton Harbour or Burlington Bay. Although it is not a proper marathon, it is the longest continuously held long distance foot race in North America. The local newspaper also hosts the amateur Spectator Indoor Games. Hamilton is twinned with Flint, Michigan, and its amateur athletes compete in the [http://www.internationalgames.net/canusa.htm Canusa Games], held alternatively there and here since 1957. Hamilton hosted the very successful World Road Cycling Championship Games in 2003. World Road Cycling Championship Games The Hamilton Golf Club in Ancaster hosted the 2003 Canadian Open golf championship in which Bob Tway won. The traditional course layout, designed by famed course architect Hary Colt, proved very popular with touring pros and will again host the Canadian Open in 2006. Since 2002 the Hamilton Thunder have played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL). They play at the Brian Timmis Stadium right next to the larger Ivor Wynne Stadium. The Hamilton Steelers played in the Canadian Soccer League during the late '80s and early '90s. The Hamilton Thunderbirds play in the Intercounty Baseball League. Hamilton were the hosts of the first Commonwealth Games (then called British Empire Games) in 1930, and bid unsuccessfully for the Commonwealth Games in 2010, losing out to New Delhi in India

Transportation

Air

John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport is located on the Mountain at Mount Hope in the former Glanbrook Township. Scheduled passenger service is provided by WestJet, who for several years used the airport as their primary point of access to Southern Ontario over the more expensive Toronto Pearson International Airport, CanJet (ends July 2005), and Air Canada Jazz (starting Fall 2005); other airlines also offer vacation charters. The airport is also a major lower-cost alternative to Pearson for cargo air service.

Rail

CN serves Hamilton for lifting and setting off traffic for the Rail America (Southern Ontario Railway Shortline), but as heavy industry declined and the preferred mode of transportation changed to road, the number of branch lines and feeder tracks has declined dramatically. Until the early 1970s, the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway offered passenger service and since the late 1980s GO Transit has offered sporadic passenger train service from its James Street North station. In the late 1990s, GO Transit operations were consolidated at the refurbished Art Deco building on Hunter Street which formerly served as the TH&B station. The nearest VIA Rail Canada station is Aldershot in west Burlington.

Bus

Hamilton has good bus connections with cities in southern Ontario and western New York. GO Transit offers frequent and reliable express bus service to Toronto, now from the TH&B station and formerly from King William Street. Various other companies, such as Greyhound, Trentway Wagar and McCoy offer less frequent service to St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Dunnville, Buffalo, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Brantford and London. Within the city, the HSR or [http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/CityandGovernment/CityServices/Transit/ Hamilton Street Railway] offers good service in the lower city (especially on east-west routes), reduced service on the Mountain and skeletal service outside the old city of Hamilton (except for Dundas, which is served about as well as the Mountain).

Highways and expressways

The following controlled access highways and expressways serve Hamilton:
- Queen Elizabeth Way, north Hamilton and Stoney Creek
- Highway 403, Ancaster and west Hamilton
- Highway 6, Flamborough, Hamilton and Glanbrook
- Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, ‘The LINC,' Mountain
- Burlington Street (upper deck), north Hamilton There are several other current or former Ontario highways in Hamilton, but they are not divided, controlled access highways. The controversial Red Hill Creek extension of the LINC is under construction, and will join the existing mountain portion of the LINC with the QEW in east Hamilton.

City streets

All of the old city of Hamilton is on a broken great grid pattern, with major north-south streets spaced approximately one mile apart. Great grid streets on the Mountain bear the name of their lower city counterparts with the prefix "Upper" except for Garth Street, which would be Upper Dundurn Street if the pattern held. East-west streets on the Mountain are pretty regular, while those in the lower city (especially major ones) are very irregular. King and Main Streets run approximately parallel to one another though they intersect at the Delta. They are usually one way streets in opposite directions, so they are best conceptualized as a single very wide boulevard and are envied by other Ontario cities for their usually effecient flow of traffic.

City Neigbourhoods

Former towns before amalgamation in 2001 are indicated below, all other neighbourhoods part within old city boundaries; Lower Mountain (below Escarpment)
- Dundas (former town)
- Westdale
- North End
- Central
- Corktown
- The Delta
- Barton Street
- Normanhurst
- Rosedale
- Greenhill
- Stoney Creek (lower portion of former town) Upper Mountain (above Escarpment)
- Flamborough (former town)
- Waterdown (formerly part of Flamborough)
- Glenwood Heights (formerly part of Flamborough)
- Ancaster (former town)
- Hill Park
- Inch Park
- Hampton Heights
- Ryckmans Corners
- Stoney Creek (upper portion of former town)
- Fruitland (formerly part of Stoney Creek)
- Mount Hope, Ontario | Mount Hope (formerly part of Glanbrook Twp. - John C. Munro Int'l Airport located there)
- Glanbrook (former township)

External links


- [http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/CityandGovernment/ The City of Hamilton]
- [http://hamilton.ontariotenants.ca Hamilton Community Information and apartments for rent]
- [http://www.hamiltonhockey.com The New City of Hamilton Hockey Directory] simple:Hamilton, Ontario

Toronto, Ontario

:For other uses, see Toronto (disambiguation). Toronto is Canada's largest city and the provincial capital of Ontario. Toronto's population is 2,518,772, and the population of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is 5,603,686 (Statistics Canada, 2004). Residents of Toronto are called Torontonians (in French: Torontois). The city is part of the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, a densely populated region of around 8 million people. Approximately one-quarter of the Canadian population lives within the Golden Horseshoe, and about one-sixth of all Canadian jobs lie within the city limits. Toronto is a global city, exerting significant regional, national, and international influence, and is one of the world's most multicultural cities. Toronto is Canada's financial centre and 'economic engine,' as well as one of the country's most important cultural, art, and health sciences centres. In January 2005, it was designated by the federal government as one of Canada's cultural capitals. It is one of the safest cities to live in North America: its violent crime rate is lower than that of any major US metropolitan area and is one of the lowest in Canada. The current City of Toronto was – in 1998 – amalgamated from its six prior municipalities and regional government. The current mayor of Toronto is David Miller. His predecessor, and first mayor of the amalgamated city, was Mel Lastman. The last mayor of the pre-amalgamated city was Barbara Hall. __TOC__

History

The Toronto area was home to a number of First Nations groups who lived on the shore of Lake Ontario. The first European presence was the French trading fort Fort Rouillé established in 1750. The first large influx of Europeans was by United Empire Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution. In 1793 Toronto, then known as York, was named capital of the new colony of Upper Canada. The city steadily grew during the nineteenth century, becoming one of the main destinations of immigrants to Canada. In the second half of the twentieth century Toronto surpassed Montreal as the economic capital of Canada and as its largest city.

Demographics

Montreal Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. In 2004, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ranked Toronto second, behind Miami, in its list of world cities with the largest percentage of foreign-born population. Though ranking first, Miami's foreign-born population is mostly Hispanic, whereas Toronto's is significantly more diverse. Toronto also ranked ahead of Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York City, Singapore, and Sydney. Toronto represents a multicultural mosaic. The 2001 Canadian census indicates 42.8% of Toronto's population being of a visible minority. In March 2005, Statistics Canada projected that the visible minority proportion will comprise a majority in both Toronto and Vancouver by 2012. A majority of Torontonians still claim their ethnic origins as from Britain and Ireland, either in whole or in part, with significant numbers of Chinese, Italians, Vietnamese, South Asians, and others in the city. This has yielded a unique combination of communities and neighbourhoods that are often strikingly different from one another. Roman Catholicism is the largest faith in the city, accounting for 31.4% in 2001, followed by the Anglican Church (21.1%) and other Christian denominations (8.8%), but the city has significant Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and other communities; 18.8% had no religious affiliation. While English is the predominant language (51.8%) spoken by Torontonians, Statistics Canada reports that other language groups are significant including Chinese and Italian. Only 1.4% of city residents claim French (Canada's other official language) as their mother tongue. Source: [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3520005&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=toronto&SearchType=Contains&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=]

Geography and climate

French

The City of Toronto covers an area of 641 km² (247 square miles) and is bounded by Lake Ontario to the south, Etobicoke Creek and Highway 427 to the west, Steeles Avenue to the north, and the Rouge River to the east. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) extends beyond the city boundaries and includes the regional municipalities of Halton, Peel, York and Durham. The GTA is part of a larger, natural ecosystem known as the Greater Toronto Bioregion. This ecosystem is bounded by Lake Ontario, the Niagara Escarpment, and the Oak Ridges Moraine, and includes several watersheds that drain into Lake Ontario. It is also located at the northern extent of the Carolinian forest zone. Toronto's climate is moderated by Lake Ontario; its climate is among the mildest in Canada east of the Rocky Mountain range. It receives less snowfall during the winter than most other Canadian cities, and mild periods occur throughout the winter due to regular melting, so there are periods with little or no snow on the ground. However, recent years have shown a trend towards varying winter weather. During the winter months, daytime high temperatures average just at or below freezing, average January maximum is -1°C (30°F) (although residents usually endure two or three bitter cold snaps each year). Due to its location the northwest shore of Lake Ontario it is not so prone to heavy, wind whipped lake effect snow squalls experienced more often in nearby American cities such as Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse, NY or elsewhere in Southern Ontario, e.g. Barrie and London. Despite this, there is usually at least one or more heavy snowfalls with at least 20 cm (8") during each winter season. They are often accompanied by strong east or north-east winds fetching additional moisture from Lake Ontario. Average winter snowfall is 133 cm (52"). Summer maximum temperatures typically range from 25–32°C (77–90°F) and are usually accompanied by moderate to high humidity, though temperatures as high as 36°C (97°F), and sometimes higher, are not unexpected. Such intense "heat waves" generally last no more than a few days, and are usually coupled with high humidity and smog. In recent years, air pollution has become a greater problem on many summer days, mostly of as a result of vehicular exhaust and transported air pollution from heavy industry in the Midwest US and Southern Ontario. There was a record 52 days with "smog warnings" over the summer of 2005, far exceeding the previous annual record of 28 days in 2001. Sunshine is abundant through summer, but severe thunderstorms are a regular occurrence and can popup quickly, especially west and north of the city. In August 2005 there were two such heavy storms that created havoc, the first occurred on August 2, 2005 and is thought to have a played a contributing factor in the Air France Airbus crash landing into a ravine that afternoon. The second happened on the afternoon of August 19, 2005 in what has been described as a "once in a hundred year" event, up to 183mm (over 7") of rain fell in parts of the northern end of the city in under a couple of hours. Numerous roadways and bridges were washed out and insurance claims from backed up sewers and flood damage has exceeded $400 million. Spring and Autumn feature varied, changeable weather with typically alternating periods of dry, sunny weather and rain. Nights are generally cool, but frosts are rare in the city. Snow can fall in early spring or late fall but usually melts quickly or even before making contact with the ground. Along the Lake Ontario shoreline, spring days tend to be much cooler than further inland, whereas from late summer to early winter, nights are warmer the closer you are to lake. The highest temperatures in Toronto was 41°C (105°F) recorded on 3 consecutive days from July 7-July 9, 1936. The coldest -33°C (-25°F) was recorded on January 10, 1859. Annual average precipitation is 834mm (32.8").

Government

precipitation] precipitation] precipitation] Torontonians elect representatives to the federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government. 22 Members of Parliament (MPs) representing Toronto sit in the House of Commons in Ottawa, and another 22 Members of Ontario's Provincial Parliament (MPPs) sit in the Legislative Assembly in Queen's Park, located in Toronto. Being Ontario's capital, many provincial offices are located in the city. Toronto's local government consists of 44 elected councillors (representing around 55,000 people each), who along with the mayor, make up the Toronto City Council. Toronto elects a new government every three years, in November. The City of Toronto represents the fifth largest municipal government in North America, and has an operating budget of $7.1 billion CDN. This operating budget is comprised of $2.5 billion dollars of funds from the Government of Ontario for purposes they mandate such as Toronto Public Health, $2.0 billion for special purpose bodies including the Toronto Public Library and Toronto Zoo, $1.7 billion of directly controlled money, and $0.9 billion for capital financing and non-programs [http://www.toronto.ca/budget2005/pdf/2005op_wheremoneygoes.pdf]. The current municipal government is rooted in the creation of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto (known more popularly as "Metro") in 1954. This new regional government, which encompassed the smaller communities of East York, Etobicoke, Forest Hill, Leaside, Long Branch, Mimico, New Toronto, North York, Scarborough, Swansea, Toronto, Weston, and York, was created in light of the need for more coordination of city services. The postwar boom resulted in suburbanization, and it was felt that a coordinated land use planning strategy, as well as shared services, would be more efficient. These thirteen townships, villages, towns, and cities continued to exist independently of the regional government, and continued to provide some local services to their residents. Gradually, the Metro government began taking over management of services that crossed municipal boundaries, most notably highways, water, and public transit. On January 1, 1967, several of the smaller municipalities were amalgamated with larger ones, reducing their number to six. Forest Hill and Swansea became part of Toronto; Long Branch, Mimico, and New Toronto joined Etobicoke; Weston merged with York; and Leaside amalgamated with East York. This arrangement lasted until 1998, when the regional level of government was abolished and the six municipalities (Toronto, Etobicoke, North York, East York, York, and Scarborough) were amalgamated into a single municipality or "megacity". Many people criticised this change, which came on top of a massive "downloading" of provincial services to the municipal level, with little to no new revenue available. A plebiscite indicated that a majority of the citizens of Toronto opposed amalgamation, but criticisms were raised about the leading nature of the question asked. In Canada (and Ontario), plebiscites are not legally binding. The Province of Ontario under Premier Mike Harris had the power to ignore the result and did so. Mel Lastman, the long-time mayor of North York before the amalgamation, was the first mayor of the new "megacity" of Toronto. Politically, Toronto is often perceived, especially by Torontonians themselves, to be a "liberal" city by North American standards. It has been described by many experts as even the most liberal city in North America surpassing the liberal bastions of San Francisco and Boston. Torontonians often perceive themselves to be more progressive and left-wing then other Canadians, although it is debatable whether this is, in fact, the case. While Toronto is in many ways quite progressive, on many points (willingness to vote for openly gay politicians, support for official bilingualism, support for drug-liberalisation, support for the New Democratic Party) other areas of the country, even quite rural regions, have been more progressive than Torontonians. In terms of electoral politics, Toronto has recently been a Stronghold for the Liberal Party both federally and provincially, except in the downtown area which tends to support the NDP provincially. The Conservatives have no Toronto members in either the federal or provincial legislatures, although, most of the right wing members of the Liberal Party are from Toronto. Toronto supported the right wing government of Mike Harris during the 1995 and 1999 Ontario elections, and a right wing Mayor, Mel Lastman during the 1997 and 2000 Toronto elections. Recently, prominent federal politicians including Paul Martin and later Jack Layton (NDP leader and for 20 years a Toronto City Councillor) began promising a "new deal for cities", and large banks began issuing papers on it. As of July 2005, signs point to some degree of awareness towards the problems facing the city by the two senior levels of governments, though willingness to address them remains uncertain.

Economy

Toronto City Council in the heart of