ONTARIO 



4384 



ONTARIO 



good transportation facilities, so the conditions 

 demanded by manufacturing industries are 

 nearly ideal. These make Ontario the leading 

 province in manufactures. Almost every sort 

 of article used by the people is manufactured, 

 but local establishments are not able to supply 

 the demand for certain commodities, so a good 

 trade in imported goods exists. Lumber prod- 

 ucts, such as doors, sash, shingles and wood 

 pulp, constitute the chief products. There are 

 iron and steel mills at Collingwood, Deseronto, 

 Hamilton, Midland and Sault Sainte Marie, 

 and the iron and steel industry is growing rap- 

 idly. Shipbuilding is an important industry 

 at Collingwood, Port Arthur and Toronto. 



Machinery, agricultural implements, electri- 

 cal apparatus, furniture, carriages and wagons, 

 pianos a;id organs, also paper and cotton and 

 woolen goods are among the chief commodities 

 of the factories. Most of the wheat raised is 

 consumed at home, and flour mills are found 

 in many localities. While the large cities are 

 the chief manufacturing centers, small factories 

 and shops are found in nearly all villages, and 

 their output forms no inconsiderable part of the 

 total manufactured products. 



Hydroelectric Commission. This commission 

 was created in 1906 by the provincial govern- 

 ment to secure the purchase by the govern- 

 ment of the power plant at Niagara Falls, 

 which at the time of its completion was the 

 largest plant in the world for generating elec- 

 trical power. The scope of the commission's 

 powers has since been extended to include gov- 

 ernment control of all important water-power 

 sites. In cooperation with the municipalities 

 the government has built electric railway and 

 telephone lines and introduced electric lighting 

 into many small towns, and in some instances 

 into rural communities. Through this commis- 

 sion many small factories are able to avail 

 themselves of the advantages of electrical 

 power, which othenvise would be beyond their 

 reach. The assistance furnished through this 

 commission has been a great incentive to the 

 manufacturing and transportation industries. 



Transportation and Commerce. Ontario has 

 over 10,000 miles of railway, and in the older 

 part of the province the Grand Trunk and the 



Canadian Pacific, with their branch lines, bring 

 all towns within a few miles of a railroad, if 

 they are not crossed by one. The northern 

 part of the province is crossed by the Canadian 

 Pacific and the Grand Trunk Pacific, which 

 passes through the clay belt. These roads are 

 connected. by crosslines. The Michigan Cen- 

 tral enters the province at Niagara Falls and 

 runs westward through Saint Thomas to Wind- 

 sor and Amherstburg. The Canadian Northern 

 Ontario extends from Toronto to the Muskoka 

 Lake region, Parry Sound and Sudbury. The 

 Timiskaming & Northern Ontario extends from 

 North Bay to Cochrane, where it connects with 

 the Grand Trunk Pacific. This line is owned 

 and operated by the provincial government. 



The chief railway centers in the southern part 

 of the province are Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, 

 Guelph, London, Owen Sound and Parry Sound. 

 In the north they are Sudbury, Fort William 

 and Port Arthur. The cities and larger towns 

 have electric lines, and in the more densely 

 populated sections rural communities are served 

 by lines connecting the larger towns. The low 

 cost of power obtainable through the Hydro- 

 electric Commission is an incentive to the con- 

 struction of interurban electric lines. 



The Saint Mary's, the Ottawa and the Saint 

 Lawrence rivers are the only streams navigable 

 for large boats, but frontage on the Great 

 Lakes gives Ontario unusual facilities for trans- 

 portation by water. Port Arthur, Sault Sainte 

 Marie, Collingwood, Parry Sound, Owen Sound, 

 Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto and Kingston are 

 important lake ports. There are a number of 

 canals in the province, the most important 

 being the Sault Sainte Marie, Welland, Rideau 

 and Trent. See CANADA, subtitle Transporta- 

 tion. 



Commerce. Most of the foreign commerce 

 is with the United States and Great Britain. 

 An extensive trade is carried on with Manitoba, 

 Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. 

 The chief exports are copper, silver, nickel, 

 gold, forest products, especially lumber, wood 

 pulp and railway ties, and agricultural produce, 

 including butter, cheese and fruit. The chief 

 imports are coal and a quite general list of 

 manufactured goods. 



Education, Government and History 



Education. The public school system of On- 

 tario is one of the best in North America. The 

 schools are supported by local taxation and by 

 government grants, and are free. The system 



is so thoroughly organized that there is com- 

 plete affiliation from the kindergarten to the 

 university. The qualifications for teachers are 

 high, and the province maintains a large num- 



