Eastern Ontario

Eastern Ontario is the region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies between the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers. Population: 1,392,346 (2001), est. 1,647,000 (2004).

History

French explorers and fur traders were the first Europeans to pass through this region. Samuel de Champlain, explorer, traversed the Ottawa River in 1615 on his way westward to the Great Lakes. By far the largest city in the region is the recently amalgamated city of Ottawa, capital of Canada, which accounts for roughly 60% of Eastern Ontario's population. The picturesque city of Kingston, Ontario (once capital of the Province of Canada) is the second anchor city in the region.

Much of the remainder of the region relies on agriculture and tourism. Heavier reliance on recreation and tourism exists in the more rugged Renfrew county in the northwest of Eastern Ontario.

Of all Ontario's regions, parts of Eastern Ontario are the most heavily influenced by the United Empire Loyalists, American settlers who moved to Upper Canada out of loyalty to the British Crown during and after the American Revolutionary War. The Loyalist influence is strongest in Prince Edward and the southern part of Hastings Counties. It also has a presence in the counties of Lennox and Addington, Leeds and Grenville, Frontenac and Lanark.

In Ottawa, Renfrew (although declining), Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry and Prescott and Russell, Eastern Ontario is home to the largest franco-ontarian community within Ontario. Also, a group of Scottish highlanders from the Highland land clearances were granted land to settle in the latter two districts around the time of the united empire loyalist migration.

Large numbers of Irish Catholics, mainly from Cork and surrounding counties settled in the area in the decades following the war of 1812, the majority of them in or near to present day Ottawa. Many arrived through government backed immigration schemes to settle unoccupied lands and fill labour shortages. Along with the Franco-Ontarians in particular, they made up the majority of canal builders on the large Rideau Canal project and were heavily employed in the area's extensive lumber industry.

Through the last century, newer immigrant groups have added to the cultural mix, mostly in Ottawa itself.

Politically, Eastern Ontario is a cultural divide that reaches into political lines. Except for the easternmost parts (which are heavily French-speaking and almost always vote Liberal), the rural areas of Eastern Ontario are very conservative, similar to much of Western Canada and large parts of the United States, due to strong religious influence and a heavily traditional agricultural base. Ottawa is mixed, with a very progressive core where the NDP is strong, a more conservative west end (although can swing liberal) and a more liberal east end due to its bilingual nature.

Climate and Geography

The climate of Eastern Ontario is humid continental with large seasonal variation. Snow and ice are dominant during the winter season. Ottawa receives close to 250cm (100 in) of snowfall over an average winter and snow usually remains on the ground for a couple of months, at minimum. However in recent years, there seems to be a trend towards snow free periods, even in mid-winter.

Ice storms are also relatively common, especially on lower terrain if compared with other parts of the country. One such large storm caused vast power outages and affected the local economy, known as the 1998 Ice Storm. Winters are more severe and longer along the Ottawa River, particularly in higher terrain of Renfrew County than further south along the Upper St. Lawrence River shoreline or Lake Ontario (Kingston-Belleville areas).

Summers are fairly warm and humid in the Ottawa and St. Lawrence valleys, usually lasting a little longer than winter does in duration. The average July maximum temperature is 27C (80F). Temperatures rarely exceed 35C (95F), but during periods of hot weather, high humidity is often an aggravating factor. During early August 2006, temperatures reached the mid-40s with the humidex.

Spring and fall are changabale seasons, prone to extremes in temperature and unpredictable swings in conditions. Average annual precipation averages around 950mm (37 in.).
The eastern section of Eastern Ontario, that is east and south-east of Ottawa, including the towns of Cornwall, Embrun and Hawkesbury is generally a flat plain, dotted with some extensive woodlots and boggy marshes, but is primarily farmland. Certain sections here are prone to low lying flooding and spring ice jams, particularly on the banks of the South Nation River.

The Laurentian Highlands, which form a small section of the extensive Canadian Shield, cuts through the western section from the Upper Ottawa River valley southeast toward to the St. Lawrence River around Gananoque. Here sedimentary rock can be found folding over the Shield. This is also the portion where the greatest concentration of inland lakes are found. In Renfrew County, this higher terrain is called the 'Madawaska Highlands', after a major river thats disects these hills. Some highland peaks are over 400m higher than the Ottawa River. The picturesque area of the St. Lawrence River bordering New York State is known as the Thousand Islands region reflected by its numerous small islands.The bulk of the Laurentian Upland is located just to the north of the Ottawa River in adjacent Quebec and covers a vastly larger area within that province.

Ottawa itself is at the confluence of the Rideau River and Ottawa River. A series of rugged rapids and waterfalls are found along these rivers in Ottawa. Most of the underlying rock in and around the city of Ottawa is limestone bedrock, also found in abundance farther south around Kingston. Limestone was used during the construction of the Rideau Canal, which connects Kingston and Ottawa by water and was also heavily used as the building blocks for many governmental and other buildings in both cities.

Contrary to popular perception, the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers do not actually converge in Ontario. A small portion of Quebec, Vaudreuil-Soulanges, lies between the Ontario-Quebec border and the river junction. This region has a land border with Ontario, but must cross water to reach any other part of Quebec.