Demographics
Southern Ontario is home to over 92 per cent, or 12.1 million, of Ontario's total population of 13.1 million people (and about 35% of Canada's total population), compared to approximately 1 million in Northern Ontario. This is due to many factors, including the more arable land in the south, its more moderate climate, well-used transportation (water, land and air) routes, proximity to populated areas of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, as well as a long history of early European settlers and colonialism.
For thousands of years the territory of indigenous aboriginal communities, Ontario had numerous tribes with differing languages at the time of European contact. The region still has many aboriginal communities as well, with combined populations of over 200,000.
Southern Ontario was colonized by the French and the British. After the area began to be developed for European settlement, especially after the American Revolutionary War, other European immigrants arrived as well, with increased immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since the late-20th century, many immigrants have come from Asia and other parts of the world. The region is one of the top destinations for immigrants worldwide, particularly the Greater Toronto Area.
The area has a large manufacturing sector. Since the mid-2000s, Ontario produces more vehicles per year than the state of Michigan. In a cross-border definition, a swath of Southern Ontario could be defined as part of the Rust Belt. Factory closings because of industry restructuring, globalization (corresponding movement of jobs overseas and to non-unionized labour markets in the United States) have for the past few decades taken their toll. This most evident in the region's southern tier cities which have large automobile or associated industrial bases, such as Windsor, London, St. Thomas and St. Catharines, still affected by these factors but to a lesser extent is Hamilton the centre of steel production and Sarnia, the centre of petrochemical production. The province's two largest cities, however, Toronto and Ottawa, have moved increasingly to a service and knowledge economy, although Toronto still has a strong industrial presence spread over wide areas along its rail and highway corridors as well as a container port linking it to the St. Lawrence Seaway. The largest city of the province is the site of all of the major Canadian banks and its heart has the country's financial sector, including the Toronto Stock Exchange. Ottawa, the national capital, has an economy heavily dependant on the public sector, in addition to having a strong technology sector.
Some parts of Southern Ontario are heavily entwined with bordering cities in New York and Michigan, in terms of industry and people. The focus areas are the Buffalo–Niagara, Sarnia and Detroit–Windsor. Many people work and live on opposite sides of the border. The NEXUS program for frequent travelers across the border is increasing in populaity amongst bordering communities. Other areas with heavy trade traffic with Southern Ontario include Montreal and the province of Quebec, parts of northern Ohio, and western Pennsylvania.
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