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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, it is separated from Michigan by the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers, as well as Lake St. Clair. A secondary peninsula projects toward New York on the eastern side, ending at the Niagara River.

The corner of the peninsula which 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 with normal thunderstorm activity, including severe thunderstorms that can have hail, damaging winds, and even tornadoes during peak season. It has cold winters, snowfall can be abundant, particularly in the affected snowbelt locations but there are many winter thaw periods breaking entrenched cold. The Ontario Peninsula has a humid continental climate, specifically, the majority 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 are within the Dfa zone, but the entire peninsula is near the Dfa/Dfb borderline.

History

See also: Southern Ontario § History, and History of Ontario

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 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. It eventually became Canada's main economic centre.

Most populous entities

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

Most populous metropolitan areas

Rank
(2016) 		Rank
(2011) 		Geographic name Type Population
(2016) 		Population
(2011) 		Change
1 1 Toronto (Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Vaughan) CMA 5,928,040 5,583,064 +6.18%
2 2 Hamilton (Burlington) CMA 747,545 721,053 +3.67%
3 3 Kitchener–Waterloo–Cambridge CMA 523,894 496,383 +5.54%
4 4 London CMA 494,069 474,786 +4.06%
5 5 St. Catharines–Niagara (Niagara Falls, Welland) CMA 406,074 392,184 +3.54%
6 6 Oshawa (Whitby, Clarington) CMA 379,848 356,177 +6.65%
7 7 Windsor (Lakeshore) CMA 329,144 319,246 +3.10%
8 8 Barrie (Innisfil) CMA 197,059 187,013 +5.37%
9 9 Brantford (Brant) CMA 134,203 135,501 −0.96%
10 10 Chatham-Kent CA 102,042 104,075 −1.95%
11 11 Sarnia (St. Clair) CA 96,151 97,131 −1.01%
12 12 Norfolk CA 64,044 63,175 +1.38%
13 13 Leamington (Kingsville) CA 49,147 49,765 −1.24%
14 14 Woodstock CA 40,902 37,754 +8.34%
15 15 Midland (Tay, Penetanguishene) CA 35,859 35,419 +1.24%
16 16 Owen Sound (Georgian Bluffs) CA 31,820 32,092 −0.85%
17 17 Stratford CA 31,465 30,903 +1.82%
18 18 Centre Wellington CA 28,191 26,693 +5.61%
19 19 Collingwood CA 21,793 19,241 +13.26%
20 20 Wasaga Beach CA 20,675 17,537 +17.89%
21 21 Tillsonburg CA 15,872 15,301 +3.73%
22 22 Ingersoll CA 12,757 12,146 +5.03%

[4]

Most populous municipalities

Rank
(2016) 		Municipality Municipal status Land area
(km2, 2011) 		Growth Rate

2011–2016

Population
(2016) 		Population
(2011) 		Population
(2006) 		Population
(2001) 		Population
(1996)
1 Toronto City 630.2 4.46% 2,731,571 2,615,060 2,503,281 2,481,494 2,385,421
2 Mississauga City 292.4 1.14% 721,599 713,443 668,549 612,925 544,382
3 Brampton City 266.3 13.31% 593,638 523,911 433,806 325,428 268,251
4 Hamilton City 1,117.2 3.26% 536,917 519,949 504,559 490,268 467,799
5 London City 420.6 4.83% 383,822 366,151 352,395 336,539 325,669
6 Markham City 212.6 9.03% 328,966 301,709 261,573 208,615 173,383
7 Vaughan City 273.5 6.22% 306,233 288,301 238,866 182,022 132,549
8 Kitchener City 136.8 6.42% 233,222 219,153 204,668 190,399 178,420
9 Windsor City 146.3 2.99% 217,188 210,891 216,473 209,218 197,694
10 Richmond Hill Town 101.0 5.11% 195,022 185,541 162,704 132,030 101,725
11 Oakville Town 138.9 6.20% 193,832 182,520 165,613 144,738 128,405
12 Burlington City 185.7 4.29% 183,314 175,779 164,415 150,836 136,976
13 Oshawa City 145.68 6.6% 159,458 149,607 141,590 139,051 134,364
14 Barrie City 77.4 4.22% 141,434 135,711 128,430 103,710 79,191
15 St. Catharines City 96.1 1.30% 133,113 131,400 131,989 129,170 130,926
16 Guelph City 87.2 8.30% 131,794 121,688 114,943 106,170 95,821
17 Cambridge City 113.0 2.50% 129,920 126,748 120,371 110,372 101,429
18 Whitby Town 146.53 5.2% 128,377 122,022 111,184 87,413 73,794
19 Ajax Town 67.1 9.19% 119,677 109,600 90,167 73,753 64,430
20 Milton Town 363.2 30.54% 110,128 84,362 53,939 31,471 32,104
21 Waterloo City 64.0 6.28% 104,986 98,780 97,475 86,543 77,949
22 Chatham-Kent Municipality 2,458.1 -1.95% 101,647 103,671 108,177 107,341 109,950
23 Brantford City 72.5 4.11% 97,496 93,650 90,192 86,417 86,417
24 Pickering City 231.6 3.44% 91,771 88,721 87,838 87,139 78,989
25 Niagara Falls City 209.7 6.11% 88,071 82,997 82,184 78,815 76,917
26 Newmarket Town 38.3 5.31% 84,224 79,978 74,295 65,788 57,125
27 Sarnia City 164.7 -1.07% 71,594 72,366 71,419 70,876 72,738
28 Caledon Town 688.2 11.84% 66,502 59,460 57,050 50,605 39,893
29 Norfolk County City 1,607.6 1.38% 64,044 63,175 62,563 60,847 60,534
30 Halton Hills Town 276.3 3.64% 61,161 59,013 55,289 48,184 42,390
31 Aurora Town 49.8 4.21% 55,445 53,203 47,629 40,167 34,857
32 Welland City 81.1 3.28% 52,293 50,631 50,331 48,402 48,411

Most populous population centres

Rank Population centre Size group Population in 2016  Population in 2011 
1 Toronto Large urban 5,429,524 5,144,412
2 Hamilton Large urban 693,645 671,008
3 Waterloo Large urban 470,015 446,295
4 London Large urban 383,437 365,715
5 Windsor Large urban 287,069 277,970
6 St. Catharines–Niagara Large urban 229,246 220,616
7 Barrie Large urban 145,614 140,383
8 Guelph Large urban 132,397 122,457
9 Milton Large urban 101,715 75,880
10 Brantford Medium 98,179 94,269
11 Sarnia Medium 72,125 73,044
12 Welland–Pelham Medium 62,388 60,540
13 Chatham Medium 43,550 44,676
14 Georgetown Medium 42,123 40,185
15 St. Thomas Medium 41,813 40,973
16 Woodstock Medium 40,404 37,443
17 Leamington Medium 32,991 32,520
18 Stouffville Small 32,634 24,654
19 Stratford Medium 31,053 30,516
20 Orangeville Medium 30,734 29,007
21 Bradford Small 29,862 23,024
22 Keswick–Elmhurst Beach Small 26,757 26,002
23 Bolton Small 26,378 27,108
24 Midland Medium 24,353 23,791
25 Innisfil Small 23,992 20,365
26 Owen Sound Small 22,032 22,354
27 Fergus Small 20,767 19,335
28 Collingwood Small 20,102 17,986
29 Alliston Small 18,809 15,343
30 Wasaga Beach Small 17,808 15,378
31 Tillsonburg Small 15,594 14,933
32 Port Colborne Small 15,037 15,079
33 Fort Erie Small 14,621 14,490
34 Strathroy Small 14,401 14,391
35 Simcoe Small 13,922 13,383
36 Amherstburg Small 13,910 13,724
37 New Hamburg Small 13,595 11,709
38 Angus–Borden CFB-BFC Small 12,640 10,132
39 Ingersoll Small 12,587 11,977
40 Paris Small 12,310 11,722
41 Beamsville Small 11,834 10,655
42 Elmira Small 10,161 9,677
43 Wallaceburg Small 10,098 10,127
44 Caledonia Small 9,674 9,871
45 Acton Small 9,462 9,506
46 Binbrook Small 8,794 4,926
47 Crystal Beach Small 8,524 8,059
48 Kincardine Small 8,315 7,802
49 Shelburne Small 8,126 5,841
50 Port Elgin Small 7,862 7,304
51 Aylmer Small 7,621 7,249
52 Goderich Small 7,536 7,327
53 Sutton Small 7,531 6,694
54 Listowel Small 7,530 6,828
55 Essex Small 7,446 7,127
56 Hanover Small 7,413 7,240
57 King Small 6,970 4,603
58 St. Marys Small 6,951 6,373
59 Port Dover Small 6,161 5,710
59 Dunnville Small 5,759 5,267
61 Corunna Small 5,686 5,892
62 Chippawa Small 5,620 5,246
63 Smithville Small 5,489 4,842
64 Tay Small 5,408 5,217
65 Petrolia Small 5,375 5,144
66 Tottenham Small 5,143 4,720
67 Mount Albert Small 4,925 4,044
68 Meaford Small 4,910 4,860
69 Tilbury Small 4,768 4,675
70 Mississauga Beach Small 4,662 4,349
71 Exeter Small 4,649 4,210
72 Mount Forest Small 4,643 4,466
73 Rockwood Small 4,629 4,290
74 Nobleton Small 4,614 2,554
75 Mitchell Small 4,573 4,257
76 Walkerton Small 4,517 4,403
77 Blenheim Small 4,344 4,595
78 Caledon East Small 4,282 2,706
79 Delhi Small 4,240 4,172
80 Ayr Small 4,171 3,909
81 Vineland Small 4,074 3,807
82 Stayner Small 4,029 3,844
83 Dorchester Small 3,911 4,003
84 Beeton Small 3,730 3,730
85 Southampton Small 3,678 3,382
86 St. George Small 3,255 3,124
87 Wellesley Small 3,246 2,929
88 Ballantrae Small 3,223 2,994
89 Waterford Small 3,132 3,027
90 Clinton Small 3,049 2,979
91 Ridgetown Small 3,002 2,986
92 Tavistock Small 2,955 2,784
93 Hagersville Small 2,939 2,579
94 Virgil Small 2,937 2,734
95 Wingham Small 2,934 2,875
96 Wheatley Small 2,898 2,934
97 Norwich Small 2,852 2,707
98 Harrow Small 2,710 2,713
99 Schomberg Small 2,691 2,321
100 Grand Bend Small 2,684 2,564
101 Seaforth Small 2,680 2,627
102 Erin Small 2,647 2,523
103 Palmerston Small 2,624 2,599
104 Durham Small 2,609 2,635
105 Lucan Small 2,541 2,014
106 Thornbury Small 2,485 2,363
107 Dresden Small 2,451 2,385
108 Wyoming Small 2,361 2,248
109 Arthur Small 2,333 2,314
110 Elmvale Small 2,314 2,248
111 Forest Small 2,277 2,389
112 Colchester Small 2,229 2,104
113 Port Stanley Small 2,148 2,270
114 Glencoe Small 2,126 2,065
115 Thamesford Small 2,116 1,953
116 Drayton Small 2,111 1,775
117 Dundalk Small 2,046 1,988
118 Wiarton Small 1,989 2,034
119 St. Jacobs Small 1,988 1,891
120 Carlisle Small 1,869 1,879
121 McGregor Small 1,859 1,474
122 Ilderton Small 1,856 1,700
123 Chesley Small 1,843 1,895
124 Mount Brydges Small 1,842 1,834
125 Harriston Small 1,797 1,700
126 Parkhill Small 1,737 1,853
127 Cayuga Small 1,713 1,622
128 Oro Station–Hawkestone Small 1,691 1,682
129 Everett Small 1,670 1,645
130 Grand Valley Small 1,643 1,476
131 Milverton Small 1,576 1,476
132 Watford Small 1,536 1,491
133 Caledon Small 1,482 1,572
134 Dutton Small 1,368 1,300
135 Plattsville Small 1,366 1,143
136 West Lorne Small 1,337 1,415
137 Mildmay Small 1,219 1,178
138 Markdale Small 1,216 1,175
139 Cookstown Small 1,214 975
140 Claremont Small 1,202 1,175
141 Stevensville Small 1,179 1,054
142 Creemore Small 1,170 1,147
143 Bourget Small 1,169 1,080
144 Belmont Small 1,140 1,026
145 Lucknow Small 1,121 1,095
146 New Dundee Small 1,119 1,219
147 Bayfield Small 1,112 951
148 Port Rowan Small 1,102 1,069
149 Stoney Point Small 1,087 1,146
150 Paisley Small 1,045 998
151 Palgrave Small 1,044 1,002
152 Jarvis Small 1,037 913

References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Ontario Peninsula" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
  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.
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