A Look at Canada

Central Canada

Key Words Ontario Quebec St. Lawrence Seaway Canadian Shield Niagara Falls

Central Canada is made up of Ontario and Quebec. More than half the people in Canada live in cities and towns in southern Quebec and Ontario, close to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. This area is the industrial and manufacturing heartland of Canada. Together, Ontario and Quebec produce more than three-quarters of all Canadian manufactured goods.

The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway

There are five Great Lakes between Canada and the United States. They are Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world. The Great Lakes have been an important waterway for thousands of years. Aboriginal peoples and fur traders first used them to create trading networks in North America. Ships from all over the world reach the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean by travelling along the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Great Lakes also provide freshwater for people and industries around their shores.

The Canadian Shield

The land in northern Quebec and Ontario is part of the Canadian Shield, a rock formation that is millions of years old. Canada is one of the world’s leading producers of minerals because of the rich deposits of gold, silver, nickel, zinc, copper and iron ore found in the ancient rock of the Shield. The Shield is covered by forests, and part of Canada’s major pulp and paper industry relies on the trees of this region. Some of the vast freshwater resources of the Shield are used to generate electricity.

The Province of Quebec

The people

The first people to live in Quebec were the First Nations people and the Inuit. The Aboriginal peoples who lived near the St. Lawrence River were fur traders who taught the early settlers how to survive. There are still many Aboriginal communities throughout Quebec today.

Settlers from France first established communities along the St. Lawrence River in the early 1600s. Today, Quebec society reflects this heritage. More than three-quarters of the Canadians who live in Quebec speak French as their first language. Over one-third of the population in Quebec speak both French and English, making it the province with the highest number of bilingual Canadians. The province preserves and promotes the historic language and culture of its French-speaking citizens.

About seven million people live in Quebec. It is Canada’s largest province.

The economy

Quebec is highly industrialized and its economy is quite diverse. The Montréal region has been an important financial, service and industrial centre since Confederation. Workers produce fabric, clothing, food, paper, metal, and chemical and wood products. Montréal is the main commercial centre of Quebec, and has developed competitive industries in space and aeronautics, energy and pharmaceuticals. It is also the centre of a vast transportation network.

The resources of the Canadian Shield have helped Quebec develop important industries, including forestry, energy and mining. Quebec is Canada’s main producer of pulp and paper and a major producer of minerals such as asbestos, gold, copper, silver and iron ore. The province’s huge supply of freshwater has allowed it to become Canada’s largest producer of hydroelectricity.

There are many farms around the lowland areas of the St. Lawrence, where vegetables, fruit and feed crops are grown. Dairy farms are common. Quebec has the largest dairy farming industry in Canada.

Quebec’s provincial parks, the Laurentian Mountains and its many historic sites play an important role in its tourism industry.

The Province of Ontario

The people

Ontario is the Canadian province with the largest population. Over 11 million people, or roughly one third of Canada’s population, live in Ontario. Most people in Ontario speak English, but the province also has the largest French-speaking population outside of Quebec.

The Algonquin and Iroquois First Nations were the earliest people to live in the area now known as Ontario. By the late 1700s, the population began to grow rapidly. The arrival of thousands of United Empire Loyalists was followed by waves of other newcomers from the United States and Britain. Newcomers from all over the world continue to settle in Ontario.

The economy

Throughout Canada’s history, the large population, rich resources and strategic location of Ontario have helped the province build Canada’s biggest provincial economy. Most people in Ontario work in the service or manufacturing industries.

More than 140,000 people work in the province’s automobile industry, which accounts for more than one third of Canada’s total exports. Other manufactured goods include steel, machinery, metal, plastic and chemical products, and food.

Ontario mines are the biggest producers of metal in Canada. These metals include nickel, gold, silver, platinum, uranium, zinc and copper. Ontario’s forestry industry produces pulp, lumber, newsprint and other paper products. The province’s numerous rivers are a vital source of electric power. In Ontario, Niagara Falls is a well-known example of waterpower that generates electricity.

More than 400,000 Ontario workers depend on tourism, the province’s third largest industry.

Southern Ontario has rich farmland. The Niagara Peninsula is a major producer of peaches, apples, grapes and other fruit crops. Ontario farmers also raise dairy and beef cattle, poultry, and vegetable and grain crops.