Ontario Day

• As of 2024, Ontario represents over 38 per cent of Canada's population with over 16 million residents and is the single-Largest contributor to Canada's national GDP, contributing nearly 40% or $1.1 trillion.

• The Wataynikaneyap Power Project was completed in 2024 and is the Largest Indigenous-Led infrastructure project in Canada, and the most far-reaching remote First Nations grid connection initiative in Ontario's history.

• Established in 1901, the Algoma Iron, Nickel and Steel Company (later Algoma Steel) in Sault Ste. Marie became a major Canadian steel producer, supplying everything from munitions to automotive parts.

• Opened in 1829, the 43.5 km Long Welland Canal provided a crucial trade and commerce corridor by Linking Port Weller on Lake Ontario to Port Colborne on Lake Erie.

• As of 2024, the forestry sector has contributed over $20 billion to Ontario's economy and supports more than 128,000 direct and indirect jobs: many in Indigenous, rural and Northern communities.

• Known as the birthplace of hard rock mining in Canada, Cobalt Lake saw the discovery of silver in 1903, sparking the Cobalt Silver Rush. The Cobalt Mining Camps, renowned worldwide for their rich deposits of pure silver, significantly contributed to the growth of Ontario's mining industry.

• Ontario has a Long history of being one of the top auto-producing jurisdictions in North America, which has made the sector an essential part of Ontario's economy. As of 2019, the auto sector contributed $13.9 billion in GDP to the provincial economy and employed 100,000 people in both the assembly and parts manufacturing.

• Ontario's electrical grid is almost 100% carbon-free due to strategic investments in nuclear energy, which made up 51% of all energy generated in Ontario as of 2025.

• Ontario has a significant share of Canada's highest-quality farmland, and its agriculture and food production sector is the largest and most diverse in Canada, crucial to the provincial and national economy and food security.

• On July 24, 1874, Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans patented an electric light bulb in Toronto, Ontario, that was sold to Thomas Edison in 1879.

• Established in 1893, Algonquin Park was the first provincial park in Canada. Originally proposed by the Ontario Department of Crown Lands to preserve important headwaters and protect wildlife and forests.

• Founded in 1900 by a group of private citizens, the Art Gallery of Ontario is one of the largest art museums in North America, with over 90,000 works in its collection and a physical facility of 583,000 square feet.

• The discovery of insulin in 1921 in a University of Toronto laboratory was a significant, life-saving medical breakthrough.

• Invented at the Royal Canadian Air Force institute of aviation medicine, the "Franks Flying Suit Mark II" first saw use by the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm in 1942. The G-suits worn by aviators and astronauts are based on this design.

• In the 1960s, the Yukon Gold potato was developed at the University of Guelph for its disease resistance and growing performance in North America.

• An Artificial Intelligence (Al) workshop at the University of Western Ontario in 1973 resulted in the establishment of one of the world's first national Al organizations - now known as the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Association I Association pour l'lntelligence Artificielle au Canada (CAIAC).

• In 1976, the CN Tower, world's tallest free-standing structure at that time (555 m/1,815.3 ft), built by Canadian National Railway, opened in downtown Toronto, Ontario.

• Founded in Waterloo, Ontario, Research in Motion (RIM) introduces the first BlackBerry device in 1999 - considered a breakthrough wireless email solution for professionals.

• Beginning its operations in 1998, Sudbury's SNOLAB is a world-famous science lab known for its work in particle physics and its low-radioactivity environment. It has attracted new research projects in dark matter, life sciences, nuclear safety, and quantum technology.

• In 1917, Ontario became the fifth province in Canada to grant women the right to vote provincially.

• Proclaimed in 1944, the Racial Discrimination Act made Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to prohibit publishing or displaying symbols that expressed racial or religious discrimination.

• The Ontario Human Rights Code, which established the first comprehensive provincial human rights framework in Canada, was enacted in 1962.

• The Franco-Ontarian flag was first flown in Sudbury on September 25, 1975.

• In 1967, the Caribbean community hosted the first Caribana in Toronto, now one of North America's largest Caribbean cultural festivals.

• The Chiefs of Ontario draws its roots from a 1975 joint committee of Ontario's four major First Nation organizations to provide unified representation to the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations). The Chiefs of Ontario emerged to collectively address regional, provincial, and national priorities affecting First Nations in Ontario.

• The Metis Nation of Ontario is established in 1993 as a Metis-specific governance structure through the will of Metis people and Metis communities in Ontario.

• On June 10, 2003, Ontario became the first province in Canada to license and register same-sex marriage.

• On June 13, 2005, Ontario passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA); a landmark law to remove barriers for people with disabilities.

• In 2016, Ontario passed the first legislation of its kind in Canada declaring the first full week of November as Treaties Recognition Week.

Supplementary to Ontario milestones, the following list of notable Ontarians has been included for reference.

• Lincoln Alexander became a Member of Parliament on June 25, 1968, representing Hamilton West. He was appointed Minister of Labour, becoming the Government of Canada's first Black Cabinet Minister. In September 1985, he became Ontario's 24th lieutenant-governor.

• Jean Augustine became the first Black woman elected as a Member of Parliament on October 25, 1993, representing Etobicoke-Lakeshore. From 2007 to 2015, she was Ontario's first-ever Fairness Commissioner.

• Ontario's first Indigenous Lieutenant Governor was the Honourable James K. Bartleman, a member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. He served from 2002 to 2007 and was also a diplomat and an author.

• Charles Best, together with Frederick Banting, revolutionized the treatment of Diabetes with their discovery of insulin in 1921.

• Born and educated in Ontario, Roberta Bondar is Canada's first woman in space after a mission on board the Discovery shuttle in 1992.

• Ontario and Canada's first Black Member of Provincial Parliament, Leonard Braithwaite, pushed for the Separate Schools clause on racially segregated schools to be officially removed from provincial education policy. He represented the riding of Etobicoke from 1967 until1975. A month after Braithwaite's first speech at Queen's Park addressing segregated schools in the Act, former premier Bill Davis amended the Act to repeal this provision.

• Representing the riding of Hamilton West, Ellen Fairclough was the first female Federal Cabinet Minister (1957-62).

• Ontario's first Deaf teacher, Samuel Greene, taught at the Ontario School for the Deaf (currently Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf) in Belleville when it opened in 1870 until his passing in 1890. He developed a progressive and highly successful method of teaching that used sign language and written English. His legacy lives on through the Ontario Association of the Deaf (formerly known as the Ontario Deaf-Mute Association), a non-profit organization supporting the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community in Ontario, which he cofounded in 1886.

• Tim Horton was a professional hockey player and a member of four Stanley Cup winning teams with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is now best remembered for co-founding the Tim Hortons franchise in 1964.

• Thomas Charles Longboat (Gagwe:gih) was an Onondaga distance runner from Ohsweken, Six Nations of the Grand River. He pioneered marathon running as an international sport, becoming the first Indigenous person to win the Boston

Marathon in 1907.

• Agnes Macphail was the first woman elected as a Member of Parliament on December 6, 1921, representing the riding of Grey County.

• David Onley was Ontario's 28th Lieutenant Governor, and the first person with a disability to serve in that role. A former journalist and longtime champion for accessibility and disability rights, he was the inaugural chair of the Ontario's Accessibility Standards Advisory Council and led the 2019 legislative review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

• Born in Bowland's Bay, Ontario, George "Chief" Armstrong was one of the most prominent Indigenous athletes of his era. As team captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Armstrong scored the final goal to win the 1967 Stanley Cup and is the longest-serving team captain with 12 seasons under his belt.

• Alex Trebek was born a Franco-Ontarian in Sudbury, Ontario. He began his broadcasting career at the CBC with programs like Music Hop and Reach for the Top. He was most well-known as the long-time host of the TV game show Jeopardy!

• Known as the Canadian Van Gogh, Tom Thompson is one of the most prolific artists in Canadian history. Although not a member of the Group of Seven, Thomson introduced future members to the Canadian landscape. His paintings, including The West Wind and The Jack Pine are icons of Canadian culture.

• Sir Arthur Currie was the first Canadian commander of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. After the war, Currie became principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University.

• Sir Isaac Brock, known as the "Hero of Upper Canada," was a Commander of Upper Canada during the War of 1812. He died defending Upper Canada from American invasion during the Battle of Oueenston Heights.

• Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief prior to the War of 1812. Aligned with the British, Tecumseh is remembered as the leader of the Indian Confederacy that formed to resist American intrusion and capture of Indigenous land. His protection of Indigenous lands and cultures was pivotal in turning the tide of the War of 1812.

• Laura Secord was a Loyalist during the War of 1812. Although she did not fight in the war, she became aware of an American plan to attack on British forces at Beaver Dam and walked over 30 kilometers to warn British Lieutenant James FitzGibbon. She is widely considered as an icon of courage, devotion, and loyalty.