The Canadian Province of Ontario is located within the east-central region of the nation. It has the prime population of any province, while being the second biggest in area. Canada's most densely inhabited city is Toronto and the country's capital city Ottawa is also located here.
Manitoba forms the western border of the province of Ontario, Quebec is on the east, and Hudson Bay is found to the north. There are 3 U.S. States located towards the south of Ontario. From east to west these are the state of New York, Michigan and Minnesota. Across Lake Erie are Ohio and Pennsylvania. Most of the province's 1,677 mile or 2,700 km border along with the USA follow inland waterways except for a small part. The Lake of the Woods is along the west, eastward there are the major lakes and rivers that make up St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes drainage system.
This drainage system is formed by waterways include the Pigeon River, the Rainy River, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, Lake Erie, St. Mary's River, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and the Detroit River. The boundary likewise runs along the St. Lawrence River from Kingston, Ontario to the Quebec boundary situated just east of Cornwall, Ontario.
Ontario is normally subdivided into two distinct areas: Southern Ontario and Northern Ontario. Most of the population of the province of Ontario and its arable land are situated within the south. Conversely, the northern three-quarters of the province of Ontario are sparsely inhabited.
Ontario is a name which originates from the Great Lake Ontario, and derives from a Huron word that means "great lake." Some individuals think it is possibly comes from the word "skanadario" that translates to "beautiful water," in the Iroquoian languages. There are roughly two hundred fifty thousand freshwater lakes in the province of Ontario.
About 52 percent of the total national manufacturing shipments in 2004 were completed in the province of Ontario, making it the leading manufacturing province. The biggest trading partner of the province of Ontario is the U.S. State of Michigan. The Ontario government posted a record $21.7 billion USD or C$21.3 billion deficit for the fiscal year of 2009-10. Ontario's net debt will rise to C$220 billion in 2010-11 or a record of 37 percent of the GDP or gross domestic product.
The province of Ontario has a great deal of capacity for hydroelectric power with its many major rivers and access to the shared Niagara River. 70% of the power generated in the province comes from the Ontario Power Generation, based on 2009 numbers. Of the electricity which is produced, 31 percent is nuclear based, ten percent is fossil fuel derived based, and 39 percent is hydroelectric based. A huge part of the newer power generation coming online during the last few years is combined natural gas plants or cycle natural gas. Ontario Power Generation is not responsible for the transmission of power as this responsibility falls under the control of Hydro One.
Agriculture was at first the most dominant trade, though it only represents a small part of the workforce. Within several parts of the province, like for instance in Southern Ontario, agriculture is still prevalent. In the past few decades, the number of individual farms has gradually decreased. Greater mechanization has helped satisfy the increasing demands that come with an increasing population. This ratio has also caused a slow increase in the amount of land reserved for growing crops.