Ontario Ontario

Ontario – Your Best Guide To This Amazing Canadian Province

Ontario, Canada, is one of every of the largest provinces of Canada. It is home to a number of the attractive and most inhabitable cities on the planet like Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Burlington, and plenty of different cities.

There are many places to go around in Ontario, Canada if you want to. Ontario targets many immigrants looking to move into Canada besides provinces like British Columbia and Quebec.

There is more to say about Ontario than any other province in Canada. As many experts say, Ontario is the seat of the national economy and the national politics of Canada.

It has a reputation for being the costliest province in Canada. It has a dense concentration of natural resources and minerals that sustain a productive industrial activity in Ontario. Being a home to some of the biggest cities in Canada, Ontario has a lot of opportunities to offer to incoming people.

Ontario is a prosperous province to live in Canada. Its cities like Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, and Oakville are some of the expensive cities in the area; on the other hand, these cities also provide some of the best financial opportunities that help you to sustain yourself well in such seemingly expensive cities.

Ontario
Photo by Jan Weber on Unsplash

If you are looking to move to Ontario, Canada, to start a new life for yourself, this is one of the best travel guides, which will give you all the necessary things that you need to know before arriving in Ontario. From the opportunities that are abundantly available to the life that you can make yourself here.

So, let’s begin with your Best Guide to Ontario, Canada.

General Facts & Features of Ontario Canada

How did Ontario Get Its Name?

Ontario has been named after the largest lake in Ontario, Canada, Lake Ontario. The name Ontario translates to a big lake in the Iroquoian language, spoken by the old native settlers of this region in Canada. It also means a beautiful lake in the language.

Population

Ontario is the second-most populous province in Canada, with an area of nearly one million square kilometers in size larger than the European nations of France and Spain. It has 14,745,040 people as per the latest census taken in the 2nd quarter of 2020.

Native Population of Ontario

The Algonquians, Iroquians, and the Hurons are some of the native populations that inhabited the region of Ontario for thousands of years. These indigenous populations slowly were wiped off from the land due to invasions and pandemics that followed the first European settlements in Ontario, Canada.

European Settlers

The first European settlers to arrive in Ontario were the British and French in the 17th century. The British eventually dominated most of Ontario after the Seven Years’ War, in which the British won over the French. Due to this, the Eastern half of Ontario is predominantly French while the Western half is English.

Oliver Mowat

Oliver Mowat was the first premier of the province of Ontario. Once Ontario was given full status of provincehood, Ontario under Oliver Mowat started to become an economically powerful province within Canada.

Due to Sir Oliver Mowat’s efforts, the Canadian bureaucracy became largely de-centralized. Provincial governments secured a fair share of power from the centralized federal government.

Manufacturing Hub

Ontario, through the years, has established itself as the manufacturing hub of Canada. It accounted for nearly 50% of Canada’s annual manufacturing ability every year.

The Northern Ontario province is filled with natural resources, and mining and lumbering are some of the significant economic activities of the area.

Population density and concentration of minerals

While the population density is mainly concentrated around the Southern side of the province, all the mineral and natural resources are concentrated around the Northern side.

Ottawa

The province is home to the nation’s capital Ottawa. The capital of Ontario is Toronto; it is the most expensive city in Canada to live in. Toronto is the seat of the nation’s and the state’s economic activity.

Expensive and Affordable Cities

While Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Oakville, and Burlington are some of the most expensive cities, cities like Thunder Bay, Windsor, Sudbury, London, and Kitchener are affordable cities in Ontario, Canada.

Niagara Falls

In Ontario, Canada, the iconic Niagara Falls you might remember seeing in wallpapers and calendars posters. A city in Ontario called Niagara Falls is named after these waterfalls.

Sault Ste Marie

It is a natural choice; centrally settled in Ontario, poised within the middle of the splendid Great Lakes and strategically placed in the center of North America.

The International Bridge links our stunning city district city to our sister city. Marie, Michigan, creates a global flavor while providing easy accessibility from south-western Ontario and, therefore, the mid-west states.

It encompasses a name as an excellent place to meet. Settled on the shore of the St. Marys River, connecting Huron and Lake Superior, the town is at the “heart” of the good Lakes and, therefore, the intersection of I-75 from the south and the Trans Canada route from the east and west.

The rich, lush forests of the realm offer a vibrant background in any season; the excellent greens of summer supply hikers, bikers, and campers with an ideal setting for fresh air enjoyment.

About Georgian Bay In Ontario

It is a vast realm of green and blues and a land of dreams. It’s the bay area of Huron situated in Ontario, Canada. Gregorian Bay has proudly earned the “sixth great lake” title with 5792 sq. miles around its ambit.

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has created Gregorian Bay in the vicinity of its biosphere reserve.

It conjointly acts as a freshwater playground for boaters, kayakers, and anglers. Canada boasts one hundred ninety kilometers (120 mi) long stretch by eighty kilometers (50 mi) wide.

It’s encircled by districts of Manitoulin, Sudbury, Parry Sound, and Muskoka in a very clockwise manner. Georgian Bay Islands embody over 30,000+ islands and settlements like Collingwood, Owen Sound, etcetera.

Manitoulin Island

The beautiful Island is a distinctive scenic region, where Native life and legend meld with European history to provide a memorable vacation experience.

The island city of Manitowaning was the primary European settlement, while Wikwemikong remains the sole unseeded Indian Reserve in Canada.

C.N. Tower

C.N. Tower, additionally referred to as Canadian National Tower, is a broadcast and telecommunications tower in Toronto. Standing at the height of 1,815 feet (553 meters), it had been the world’s tallest detached structure till 2007, once it was surpassed by the Burj Dubai building in Dubayy (Dubai), U.A.E.

Construction of C.N. Tower began in Feb 1973 and concerned quite 1,500 workers; the tower was completed in February 1974, and therefore finished the attachment of the antenna in April 1975.

1st opened to the general public on June 26, 1976, C.N. Tower was engineered by the Canadian National Railway Company and was at the start in privately owned.

However, transferred ownership of the tower to the Canadian government in 1995; a public corporation currently manages it.

Toronto Islands

It is additionally known as the Island or Toronto Island Park – is found in Lake Ontario. The Island is about 5kms long from Ward Island to Hanlan’ Point.

The Island is a gaggle of fifteen islands inter-connected by pathways and bridges. You’ll walk from one finish of the Island to the other.

The National Historic site of Canada: Algonquin Provincial Park

Established in 1893, Algonquin was the primary park in Canada and {also the} forerunner of Ontario’s in-depth park system.

Its rugged lakeshores and rushy slopes have long attracted many artists and outside enthusiasts, fostering an intense feeling for the park across the province and the nation.

Several ways currently used across Canada to administer useful parks and justify nature to the general public were developed here. Algonquin also became a spotlight for discussing ostensibly conflicting objectives, like geographic area protection versus recreation promotion; forest conservation versus work activity.

Heritage worth

It was designated a national historical website in 1992. It’s established attributable to its contributions to the park management its pioneering development of park interpretation programs. It has played a role as an inspiration to artists like the cluster of Seven; it has competed in giving Canadians a way of Canada.

The heritage worth of this site resides within the cultural landscape, comprised of an outsized natural space of forests and water inhabited with native flora and fauna, in occasional vacation structures, and its illustration of park management.

A range of facilities is made to accommodate human enjoyment of the park. Park management techniques developed at Algonquin were applied at national and provincial-parks across Canada.

Algonquin acted as a trying-ground for problems such as geographic area protection versus recreation promotion; and forest conservation versus logging activity.

Forest management techniques have enclosed logging regulation, hearth hindrance and control, and aid reforestation.

Life management policies have banned, commissioned, or otherwise restricted hunting and fishing within the park and have applied numerous policies of intervention and conservation to the park’s fish and game.

Algonquin’s rugged lakeshores and rushy slopes have attracted cottagers, tourists, artists, and geographic area enthusiasts, fostering an intense feeling for the park across the province and, therefore, the nation.

Accessibility began with a route through the park in 1896 and the resultant development and promotion of recreational facilities.

The rugged beauty of Algonquin Park galvanized several artists, together with members of the cluster of Seven, whose paintings side to the park sparks reputation.

Railway firms and different personal enterprises erected hotels and lodges. People engineered summer cottages on chartered land, and park management marked, mapped, and maintained interior water routes, portages, and campsites for canoe-trippers and wilderness campers.

Automobile inhabitancy and seafaring facilities were added once roads were developed across the park.

What are Some of the Best Cities to Live in Ontario, Canada?

As we said earlier, Ontario has some of the best cities in the world to live in. These cities offer a great quality of life, excellent education for children and students, and many business opportunities for people to earn enough money to live a decent independent life.

In this list below, we have curated a list of the 10 best cities you can choose from to live in.

1) Ottawa

Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, is undoubtedly one of the best cities in entire Canada and Ontario to live in for people.

Being the country’s capital city, do not assume that this is more suitable for only national politicians who have their businesses centered around the city.

Ottawa has a pretty low unemployment rate at 4.5%, an excellent average income of $61,000, and a median household income of $91,000. Who hates to live in the capital city of one of the best countries in the world.

2) Toronto

Toronto is the capital city of Ontario, Canada, and ranks as one of the best metropolitan cities globally and Canada. Toronto is also the most expensive city in Canada and Ontario.

The city has a population of 2,731 571 people. Toronto is one of the cities in the world with a high standard of living; the city has been developing a broad entrepreneurial scene supporting lots of new startup companies.

We call it fondly the “Silicon Valley of Canada.” Toronto has an average household income of at least $83,000. Toronto is a multicultural city, with half of its population born outside Canada.

Nearly 49% of the total city’s population belongs to visible minorities.

3) Hamilton

Hamilton is one of the leading industrial centers in Canada and the most industrialized city in Ontario, Canada. Hamilton is home to several notable manufacturing corporations in the world.

Hamilton is the center of the Golden Horseshoe region in Ontario, consisting of highly industrialized cities in Ontario. It has an average household income of $75,000.

It has a population of 536,917 people. Hamilton has become a friendly destination as a hub for young entrepreneurs.

4) Oakville

Oakville is a city that has been consistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in Ontario. Oakville is also an industrialized city hosting companies like Ford, its headquarters, and manufacturing plants.

If you are working in Toronto but cannot afford to live in an expensive city like that, we suggest you choose to make your home at Oakville as it is more pocket friendly and provides a significantly high standard of living.

Oakville is just 38kms with a half an hour drive from Toronto. It currently has 193,832 people and is the largest township in Ontario, Canada.

5) Burlington

Burlington is one of the cities parts of Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe region. So, Burlington is close to other major cities like Oakville, Hamilton, Toronto, and Mississauga; whether it is for a vacation or business, other major cities are less than an hour’s reach from Burlington.

From Burlington to Toronto, it is 59kms; 45 minutes drive; Oakville is 24kms; 18 minutes and Hamilton is 18kms; 15 minutes. This city is the best place to raise your family comfortably.

The average household income is $88,084, and the population is 192,294.

6) Cobourg

Cobourg is a relatively tiny town in Ontario, Canada, with less than 20,000 at 19,763. The city is located bordering the northern side of Lake Ontario.

Though far from other major cities, the town offers its residents a peaceful and hustle-free life. It is an excellent place for many Canadian residents to own a vacation home in this city.

It has an average household income of $70,321. Cobourg, after all, is not a wrong choice of place to live in Ontario.

7) Waterloo

Waterloo city is famous worldwide for its top universities in Canada, like the University of Waterloo and Wilfred Laurier University.

Waterloo is another central technological and manufacturing hub in Canada. The city has a population of approximately 114,000 and an average income of $87,662.

8) Kitchener

Kitchener and Waterloo, together referred to as “K.W.,” are Twin Cities due to their proximity to one another. Kitchener is one of the most affordable cities in Ontario, Canada, to live in.

The city provides a decent standard of living to its residents. Kitchener has 470,015 people and an average household income of $81,900. Kitchener has improved a lot today from what it was previously, and it is still becoming better and better every day.

9) London

Do not confuse this London city with that London city in England, UK. Ontario has its own in London. London is far away from towns like Hamilton, Toronto, Oakville by approximately 100kms.

London was one of the critical manufacturing hubs until 2008; following the economic recession in 2008, the manufacturing industry started declining.

Now technological services are the other quickly growing alternative in London. So London, in recent times, has been busy creating its entrepreneurial scene. The city has a population of 383,825 people.

For more information on London, Ontario, click here

10) Windsor

Windsor is one of the cheapest places to live in Ontario, with a significantly good standard of living. The city has a population of 234,000 and an average household income of $59,000.

Windsor provides a family-friendly environment with low crime rates and unemployment rates. Windsor is a pretty decent city for a decent life.

Cost of Living in Ontario, Canada

In one of our previous articles, we wrote briefly about the cost of living in Ontario, Canada.

Ontario is a vast province, so the Cost of residing in each city differs significantly; easy example, the cost of renting a single-bedroom apartment in Hamilton might be $900, while the rent costs in a city like Toronto are around $2,200.

Toronto is the most expensive city in Ontario, as well as in Canada.

For a family of four in Thunder Bay, Ontario, the average Cost of living is approximately $4,100, and for a single person, it might be roughly $2,000.

You can very easily find a separate bedroom apartment for $1,200 in London, Ontario, in Ottawa for at least $1,400, and in cities like Windsor and Sudbury for the least of $800.

Double bedroom costs in Toronto may easily cost you around $2,500. Toronto, in general, is less affordable for middle-class families.

In aspects like Sales Tax, each province charges its sales tax percentage on consumers like Provincial Sales Tax and Good and Services Tax; in Ontario, the Harmonised Sales Tax (a combination of G.S. and PST) is at 13% while other provinces charge a 15%. The taxes in Ontario, Canada, are comparatively lower.

While Toronto might not be the best option in terms of affordability, other cities like Ottawa, Hamilton, Waterloo, Kitchener, and London are suitable options for affordability.

Toronto might be more ideal for the business class people as they might more efficiently manage the cost of living in Toronto.

Try looking for cities near Toronto that have comparatively a lesser charge of living and just as opportunities as in Toronto. Again cities like Waterloo, Hamilton, Kitchener, and Oakville are some of the most decent cities in Ontario to live at.

Working in Ontario, Canada

Suppose you are a foreigner wanting to move into Ontario, Canada, for work. In that case, you can try yourself through the Provincial Nominee Program of Ontario or called the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program collaborates with Canada’s Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada to select suitable immigrant workers with eligible knowledge and practical skills in any particular trade.

There are three main categories under ONIP in which the foreign workers are selected. They are:

1) Employer Job Offer category 

If you already got a job offer from an established and verified Canadian-based employer, you are eligible to apply under this category. This category has further three streams; they are:

a) Foreign Worker Stream

Under this stream, specific workers with relevant theoretical knowledge and practical skills are picked up to work in Ontario, Canada. To apply for the Foreign Worker stream, you must include several documents like your identity documents, status documents, employer documents, job offer, and work history documents. Along with all this, you must have the most updated resume of all your records.

To know more about the documents, check OINP Documents Checklists: Foreign Worker Stream.

b) International Student Stream 

Suppose an international student who has recently finished their academics from any recognized colleges around Canada or Ontario is looking to seek a job and work in Ontario itself. In that case, they are eligible under the required conditions of this stream.

Applicants must have finished at least half of their studies in Canada; they must have applied for this stream within two years of graduation and must be employed in a full-time job classified under National Occupation Classification as 0, A, B.

c) In-Demand Skills Stream 

 Under this In-demand skill stream, workers classified under the National Occupation Classification as C, D are eligible. These occupations are nurse aides, transport truck drivers, painters, assemblers, inspectors, general laborers, and other professions that do not reacquire immense theoretical and practical knowledge.

The number of occupations is 23 under this stream, out of which 13 are outside the Greater Toronto Area. For more information on this, click here Ontario Employer Job Offer Category: In-Demand Stream

2) Express Entry 

Under the Express Entry category, three main streams target foreign nationals who possess a particular set of skills that makes them ideal to be part of Ontario’s labor Force.

a) Human Capital Priorities Stream

The Human Capital Priorities Stream is also a part of the Express Entry stream. So, to appear for the Human Capital Priorities Stream, one must have an active and updated profile in Express Entry Canada to get Notifications of Interest from OINP. Once you have received the notification on interests, you can submit the relevant applications for the OINP.

b) Ontario French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream

It is mandatory to maintain an active and updated Express Entry profile system for this. The minimum required qualification for appearing under this stream is to possess at least intermediate to professional language proficiency in languages like English or French.

c) Ontario Skilled Trade Entry

Maintaining an active and updated Express Entry profile is mandatory to appear under this stream. Those foreign nationals who possess relevant skills as per the National Occupation Classification and work experience in Ontario, Canada, can apply for Ontario Skilled Trade Entry.

3) Human Capital Category

The Human Capital Category has two main streams the Master’s Degree Stream and the Ph.D. Stream.

a) Master’s Degree Stream

Under this stream, foreign nationals with a Master’s degree in one of the recognized universities around Ontario will be granted to work in Ontario, Canada, under an employer-based in Canada.

Once candidates receive approval under this category, they are eligible to apply for Permanent Residency in Canada.

This stream is not aligned with the Express Entry system, so candidates applying under it will have to wait until one year until their application processes are done rather than the six-month processing time of Express Entry applications.

The stream opens only two times a year and is kept open until all the slots are filled. You need not have a ready job offer from an employer to apply under this stream.

You must be a resident of Ontario, Canada. At the same time, you use, at least one year of academics must be done in a university that is recognized in Ontario, Canada, and must have an intent to settle in Ontario in Canada.

More importantly, applicants have to apply within two years of finishing their Graduation in Canada.

For more information on this, visit Masters Graduate Stream- OINP

b) Ph.D. Graduates Stream

Under this Ph.D. Graduate stream, students who have finished their Ph.D. degrees in Ontario can apply for under this stream. The rules to happy are more similar to that of the regulations under Master’s Graduates Stream.

For more information about this, visit Ontario OINP Ph.D. Graduate Stream

What More Should You Know?

Almost all the essential things that you need to know about Ontario, Canada, and your visit to this place have been covered in this article.

Ontario, Canada, is a fantastic place in Canada with a lot more opportunities than anywhere in Canada. Whether it is education or work, Ontario has a wide variety and scope of choices for you to choose from freely without any pressures. I hope this travel guide helps you!

Last Updated on by Sanjana

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