The People

From 1779 on, waves of English, Scottish and Irish immigrants followed one another, moving up the St. Lawrence and populating present-day Ontario. Today, immigration continues to be important to Ontario, and there are large numbers of people of Italian, German, Chinese, Dutch, Portuguese, Indian, Polish and Caribbean origin.

Approximately 60 percent of all immigrants to Canada settle in Ontario and more than 100 languages and dialects are spoken in the province. In

Toronto, cited by the UN as one of the world's most multi-cultural cities, one-half of its residents are foreign-born. In 1996, Ontario had over 141 000 people of Aboriginal, Métis or Inuit origin.

With over 11 million people, Ontario is the country's most heavily populated province. While English is the official language, Ontario's Francophones play an essential part in the province's cultural life. The provincial government provides services in French in those regions where the Francophone population is sufficiently high.