Ontario Peninsula

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Location of the Ontario peninsula. Ontario Peninsula.jpg
Location of the Ontario peninsula.

The Ontario Peninsula is the southernmost part of the province of Ontario and of Canada as a whole. It is bounded by Lake Huron to the west, Lake Ontario to the east, and Lake Erie to the south. At its tip, the peninsula is separated from Michigan by the Detroit River, the St. Clair River, and Lake St. Clair. A secondary peninsula, the Niagara Peninsula, projects toward New York on its eastern side and ends at the Niagara River.

Contents

The Bruce Peninsula is often considered separate from the Ontario Peninsula due to its colder boreal climate and marine culture.

The corner of the peninsula that lies on Lake Ontario is known as the Golden Horseshoe and forms Canada's largest population centre. Other large cities include London and Windsor.

Climate

Like other parts of southern Canada, the Ontario Peninsula enjoys warm or hot summers often passing 30°C and rarely 40°C during extreme heatwaves. During the summer, the peninsula has normal thunderstorm activity, including severe thunderstorms that can have hail, damaging winds, and even tornadoes during peak season. It has cold winters, and snowfall can be abundant, particularly in the affected Snowbelt locations. However, there are many winter thaw periods that break the entrenched cold. The Ontario Peninsula has a humid continental climate; specifically, most of it falls into the Köppen climate classification Dfb except for Essex County, Chatham-Kent, and parts of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and the Niagara Peninsula, which are within the Dfa zone. However, the entire peninsula is near the Dfa/Dfb borderline.

History

Anishinaabe tribes, particularly the Mississaugas, are indigenous to the Ontario Peninsula. [1] [2] Southern Ontario was colonized by France in the 1600s, but the British gained control of Ontario after the Seven Years' War.

The Ontario Peninsula experienced much of the fighting during the War of 1812, [3] including the Americans invading it and burning York (now called Toronto). After the war, population and trade boomed, and the Welland Canal was built.

When the British divided Canada into separate provinces, Toronto became the capital of Ontario and eventually became the main economic centre of Canada.

Most populous entities

By each definition, Toronto or its corresponding entity is the most populous not only in the Ontario Peninsula but also in Canada as a whole.

Most populous metropolitan areas

Rank
(2016)
Rank
(2011)
Geographic nameTypePopulation
(2016)
Population
(2011)
Change
11 Toronto (Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Vaughan) CMA 5,928,0405,583,064+6.18%
22 Hamilton (Burlington) CMA 747,545721,053+3.67%
33 Kitchener–Waterloo–Cambridge CMA 523,894496,383+5.54%
44 London CMA 494,069474,786+4.06%
55 St. CatharinesNiagara (Niagara Falls, Welland) CMA 406,074392,184+3.54%
66 Oshawa (Whitby, Clarington) CMA 379,848356,177+6.65%
77 Windsor (Lakeshore) CMA 329,144319,246+3.10%
88 Barrie (Innisfil) CMA 197,059187,013+5.37%
99 Brantford (Brant) CMA 134,203135,501−0.96%
1010 Chatham-Kent CA 102,042104,075−1.95%
1111 Sarnia (St. Clair) CA 96,15197,131−1.01%
1212 Norfolk CA 64,04463,175+1.38%
1313 Leamington (Kingsville) CA 49,14749,765−1.24%
1414 Woodstock CA 40,90237,754+8.34%
1515 Midland (Tay, Penetanguishene) CA 35,85935,419+1.24%
1616 Owen Sound (Georgian Bluffs) CA 31,82032,092−0.85%
1717 Stratford CA 31,46530,903+1.82%
1818 Centre Wellington CA 28,19126,693+5.61%
1919 Collingwood CA 21,79319,241+13.26%
2020 Wasaga Beach CA 20,67517,537+17.89%
2121 Tillsonburg CA 15,87215,301+3.73%
2222 Ingersoll CA 12,75712,146+5.03%

[4]

Most populous municipalities

Rank
(2016)
MunicipalityMunicipal statusLand area
(km2, 2011)
Growth Rate

2011–2016

Population
(2016)
Population
(2011)
Population
(2006)
Population
(2001)
Population
(1996)
1 Toronto City 630.24.46%2,731,5712,615,0602,503,2812,481,4942,385,421
2 Mississauga City 292.41.14%721,599713,443668,549612,925544,382
3 Brampton City 266.313.31%593,638523,911433,806325,428268,251
4 Hamilton City 1,117.23.26%536,917519,949504,559490,268467,799
5 London City 420.64.83%383,822366,151352,395336,539325,669
6 Markham City 212.69.03%328,966301,709261,573208,615173,383
7 Vaughan City 273.56.22%306,233288,301238,866182,022132,549
8 Kitchener City 136.86.42%233,222219,153204,668190,399178,420
9 Windsor City 146.32.99%217,188210,891216,473209,218197,694
10 Richmond Hill Town 101.05.11%195,022185,541162,704132,030101,725
11 Oakville Town 138.96.20%193,832182,520165,613144,738128,405
12 Burlington City 185.74.29%183,314175,779164,415150,836136,976
13 Oshawa City 145.686.6%159,458149,607141,590139,051134,364
14 Barrie City 77.44.22%141,434135,711128,430103,71079,191
15 St. Catharines City 96.11.30%133,113131,400131,989129,170130,926
16 Guelph City 87.28.30%131,794121,688114,943106,17095,821
17 Cambridge City 113.02.50%129,920126,748120,371110,372101,429
18 Whitby Town 146.535.2%128,377122,022111,18487,41373,794
19 Ajax Town 67.19.19%119,677109,60090,16773,75364,430
20 Milton Town 363.230.54%110,12884,36253,93931,47132,104
21 Waterloo City 64.06.28%104,98698,78097,47586,54377,949
22 Chatham-Kent Municipality 2,458.1-1.95%101,647103,671108,177107,341109,950
23 Brantford City 72.54.11%97,49693,65090,19286,41786,417
24 Pickering City 231.63.44%91,77188,72187,83887,13978,989
25 Niagara Falls City 209.76.11%88,07182,99782,18478,81576,917
26 Newmarket Town 38.35.31%84,22479,97874,29565,78857,125
27 Sarnia City 164.7-1.07%71,59472,36671,41970,87672,738
28 Caledon Town 688.211.84%66,50259,46057,05050,60539,893
29 Norfolk County City 1,607.61.38%64,04463,17562,56360,84760,534
30 Halton Hills Town 276.33.64%61,16159,01355,28948,18442,390
31 Aurora Town 49.84.21%55,44553,20347,62940,16734,857
32 Welland City 81.13.28%52,29350,63150,33148,40248,411

Most populous population centres

RankPopulation centreSize groupPopulation in 2016 Population in 2011 
1 Toronto Large urban5,429,5245,144,412
2 Hamilton Large urban693,645671,008
3 Waterloo Large urban470,015446,295
4 London Large urban383,437365,715
5 Windsor Large urban287,069277,970
6 St. CatharinesNiagara Large urban229,246220,616
7 Barrie Large urban145,614140,383
8 Guelph Large urban132,397122,457
9 Milton Large urban101,71575,880
10 Brantford Medium98,17994,269
11 Sarnia Medium72,12573,044
12 WellandPelham Medium62,38860,540
13 Chatham Medium43,55044,676
14 Georgetown Medium42,12340,185
15 St. Thomas Medium41,81340,973
16 Woodstock Medium40,40437,443
17 Leamington Medium32,99132,520
18 Stouffville Small32,63424,654
19 Stratford Medium31,05330,516
20 Orangeville Medium30,73429,007
21 Bradford Small29,86223,024
22 KeswickElmhurst Beach Small26,75726,002
23 Bolton Small26,37827,108
24 Midland Medium24,35323,791
25 Innisfil Small23,99220,365
26 Owen Sound Small22,03222,354
27 Fergus Small20,76719,335
28 Collingwood Small20,10217,986
29 Alliston Small18,80915,343
30 Wasaga Beach Small17,80815,378
31 Tillsonburg Small15,59414,933
32 Port Colborne Small15,03715,079
33 Fort Erie Small14,62114,490
34 Strathroy Small14,40114,391
35 Simcoe Small13,92213,383
36 Amherstburg Small13,91013,724
37 New Hamburg Small13,59511,709
38 AngusBorden CFB-BFC Small12,64010,132
39 Ingersoll Small12,58711,977
40 Paris Small12,31011,722
41 Beamsville Small11,83410,655
42 Elmira Small10,1619,677
43 Wallaceburg Small10,09810,127
44 Caledonia Small9,6749,871
45 Acton Small9,4629,506
46 Binbrook Small8,7944,926
47 Crystal Beach Small8,5248,059
48 Kincardine Small8,3157,802
49 Shelburne Small8,1265,841
50 Port Elgin Small7,8627,304
51 Aylmer Small7,6217,249
52 Goderich Small7,5367,327
53 Sutton Small7,5316,694
54 Listowel Small7,5306,828
55 Essex Small7,4467,127
56 Hanover Small7,4137,240
57 King Small6,9704,603
58 St. Marys Small6,9516,373
59 Port Dover Small6,1615,710
59 Dunnville Small5,7595,267
61 Corunna Small5,6865,892
62 Chippawa Small5,6205,246
63 Smithville Small5,4894,842
64 Tay Small5,4085,217
65 Petrolia Small5,3755,144
66 Tottenham Small5,1434,720
67 Mount Albert Small4,9254,044
68 Meaford Small4,9104,860
69 Tilbury Small4,7684,675
70 Mississauga Beach Small4,6624,349
71 Exeter Small4,6494,210
72 Mount Forest Small4,6434,466
73 Rockwood Small4,6294,290
74 Nobleton Small4,6142,554
75 Mitchell Small4,5734,257
76 Walkerton Small4,5174,403
77 Blenheim Small4,3444,595
78 Caledon East Small4,2822,706
79 Delhi Small4,2404,172
80 Ayr Small4,1713,909
81 Vineland Small4,0743,807
82 Stayner Small4,0293,844
83 Dorchester Small3,9114,003
84 Beeton Small3,7303,730
85 Southampton Small3,6783,382
86 St. George Small3,2553,124
87 Wellesley Small3,2462,929
88 Ballantrae Small3,2232,994
89 Waterford Small3,1323,027
90 Clinton Small3,0492,979
91 Ridgetown Small3,0022,986
92 Tavistock Small2,9552,784
93 Hagersville Small2,9392,579
94 Virgil Small2,9372,734
95 Wingham Small2,9342,875
96 Wheatley Small2,8982,934
97 Norwich Small2,8522,707
98 Harrow Small2,7102,713
99 Schomberg Small2,6912,321
100 Grand Bend Small2,6842,564
101 Seaforth Small2,6802,627
102 Erin Small2,6472,523
103 Palmerston Small2,6242,599
104 Durham Small2,6092,635
105 Lucan Small2,5412,014
106 Thornbury Small2,4852,363
107 Dresden Small2,4512,385
108 Wyoming Small2,3612,248
109 Arthur Small2,3332,314
110 Elmvale Small2,3142,248
111 Forest Small2,2772,389
112 Colchester Small2,2292,104
113 Port Stanley Small2,1482,270
114 Glencoe Small2,1262,065
115 Thamesford Small2,1161,953
116 Drayton Small2,1111,775
117 Dundalk Small2,0461,988
118 Wiarton Small1,9892,034
119 St. Jacobs Small1,9881,891
120 Carlisle Small1,8691,879
121 McGregor Small1,8591,474
122 Ilderton Small1,8561,700
123 Chesley Small1,8431,895
124 Mount Brydges Small1,8421,834
125 Harriston Small1,7971,700
126 Parkhill Small1,7371,853
127 Cayuga Small1,7131,622
128 Oro Station–Hawkestone Small1,6911,682
129 Everett Small1,6701,645
130 Grand Valley Small1,6431,476
131 Milverton Small1,5761,476
132 Watford Small1,5361,491
133 Caledon Small1,4821,572
134 Dutton Small1,3681,300
135 Plattsville Small1,3661,143
136 West Lorne Small1,3371,415
137 Mildmay Small1,2191,178
138 Markdale Small1,2161,175
139 Cookstown Small1,214975
140 Claremont Small1,2021,175
141 Stevensville Small1,1791,054
142 Creemore Small1,1701,147
143 Bourget Small1,1691,080
144 Belmont Small1,1401,026
145 Lucknow Small1,1211,095
146 New Dundee Small1,1191,219
147 Bayfield Small1,112951
148 Port Rowan Small1,1021,069
149 Stoney Point Small1,0871,146
150 Paisley Small1,045998
151 Palgrave Small1,0441,002
152 Jarvis Small1,037913

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References

  1. Ross, Thomas E. (10 April 2019). A Cultural Geography of North American Indians. ISBN   9780429712753.
  2. Cleland, Charles (5 October 2011). Faith in Paper. ISBN   9780472028498.
  3. "Battles". The War of 1812 Website. The Discriminating General. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
  4. "Statistical Area Classification - Variant of SGC 2016 (Census metropolitan area and census agglomeration)". Statistics Canada. November 16, 2016. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2016. There are 35 CMAs and 117 CAs in 2016. Two new CMAs were created: Belleville (Ont.) and Lethbridge (Alta.). Eight new CAs were created: Gander (N.L.), Sainte-Marie (Que.), Arnprior (Ont.), Carleton Place (Ont.), Wasaga Beach (Ont.), Winkler (Man.), Weyburn (Sask.) and Nelson (Alta.). The CAs of Amos (Que.) and Temiskaming Shores (Ont.) were retired because the population of their cores dropped below 10,000 in 2011.