The People
The greater part of the people in Ontario are of British descent. Others have Scottish, Irish, French, or German ancestry. There are some 130,000 North American Indians.
Nearly all of Ontario's largest cities and towns are in the extreme southeast. Less than one-fifth of the people live in rural areas.
| Annual events in Ontario | |||
| January-March | |||
| Wiarton Willie Festival (January-February); Ontario Winter Carnival Bon Soo in Sault Ste. Marie (January-February). | |||
| April-June | |||
| Doors Open Ontario provincewide (April-October); Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa (May); Thunder Bay Kite Festival (May); Welland Rose Festival (June); Burlington’s Sound of Music Festival (June); Festival de la St. Jean Baptiste in Kapuskasing (June); Oakville Waterfront Festival (June); Mississauga Waterfront Festival (June-July) | |||
| July-September | |||
| Canada Day Celebration in Oshawa (July); Kingston Buskers Rendezvous (July); Toronto Bluesfest (July); Kapuskasing Lumberjack Heritage Festival (July); Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival in Port Colborne (July-August); Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games (August); Dockside Festival of the Arts in Gravenhurst (August); Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto (August-September); Tecumseh Corn Festival (August); Winona Peach Festival (August); Niagara Grape and Wine Festival in St. Catharines (September). | |||
| October-December | |||
| Port Elgin Pumpkinfest (October); Ball’s Falls Thanksgiving Festival in Jordan (October); Bala Cranberry Festival (October); Simcoe Christmas Panorama (November-January); Winter Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls (November-January). | |||
English is the predominant language of the province. Approximately 75 per cent of (he people speak English only; nearly 5 per cent speak only French; about 3 per cent speak both languages; and some 17 per cent speak other languages. The major religious denominations are Roman Catholic, United Church of Canada, and Anglican.
Schooling is free and attendance compulsory from age 6 to 16. Elementary and secondary education is provided in public schools, separate Roman Catholic and Protestant schools, and private schools. The public and separate schools are supported by local taxation and provincial grants and are administered by locally elected school boards. The Ministry of Education has overall direction of education in the province.
The University of Toronto, founded in 1827, is the provincial university. Several private colleges and universities are affiliated or federated with it. Other leading institutions of higher learning include Carleton University and the University of Ottawa (both located in Ottawa), McMaster University (Hamilton), Queen's University (Kingston), University of Western Ontario (London), University of Guelph, University of Waterloo, York University (Toronto), and University of Windsor. The Royal Military College of Canada, established in 1876, is in Kingston.
| Universities and colleges in Ontario | |||
| This table lists the universities and colleges in Ontario that grant bachelor's or advanced degrees and are members of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. | |||
| Name | Mailing address | ||
| Brescia College | London | ||
| Brock University | St. Catharines | ||
| Carleton University | Ottawa | ||
| Dominican University College | Ottawa | ||
| Guelph, University of | Guelph | ||
| Huron University College | London | ||
| King's University College | London | ||
| Lakehead University | Thunder Bay | ||
| Laurentian University of Sudbury | Sudbury | ||
| McMaster University | Hamilton | ||
| Nipissing University | North Bay | ||
| Ottawa, University of | Ottawa | ||
| Queen's University at Kingston | Kingston | ||
| Redeemer University College | Ancaster | ||
| Royal Military College of Canada | Kingston | ||
| Ryerson University | Toronto | ||
| St. Jerome’s University | Waterloo | ||
| St. Michael's College, University of | Toronto | ||
| St. Paul University | Ottawa | ||
| Sudbury, University of | Sudbury | ||
| Toronto, University of | Toronto | ||
| Trent University | Peterborough | ||
| Trinity College, University of | Toronto | ||
| Victoria University | Toronto | ||
| Waterloo, University of | Waterloo | ||
| Western Ontario, University of | London | ||
| Wilfrid Laurier University | Waterloo | ||
| Windsor, University of | Windsor | ||
| York University | Toronto | ||
