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GEOG2570 Southern Ontario: Economic, Political and (English) Cultural Core Toronto and the World City Concept Southern Ontario urban regions 53.257 Map Exercise #2 ONTARIO Find,and clearly label, the following places and physical features: Lake Superior James Bay •Toronto •Moosonee •Kenora •Ottawa •Windsor •Sudbury •Thunder Bay •Lake Ontario •Lake Erie •Timmins •Hamilton •Lake Huron •Georgian Bay • • Southern Ontario ~ Environment Mixed forest vegetation Glacial till soils Temperate continental climate modified by Great Lakes proximity Most favoured physical area in Canada 93% Ontarians 11 million, live here Southern Ontario ~ Agriculture The Niagara Fruit Belt 65km long Ontario Plain between Hamilton & Niagara-on-the-Lake Lake Ontario to the north, Niagara Escarpment to the south Best grape and soft fruit lands in Canada The Niagara Wine Industry The Niagara Wine Industry Grapes 2nd most valuable fruit crop 22% commercial fruit crop value Apples are #1, at 45% of value One of few growth areas in Ontario agriculture Agro-tourism Southern Ontario Economic Influence 41% Canadian Gross Domestic Product Northern part ‘heartland’ of North America Historical growth due to agriculture, forests, minerals, hydroelectricity Modern economy dominated by manufacturing and services: Financial sector (23%), manufacturing (22%) Half of all Canadian information & communication technology activity Secondary Manufacturing Restructuring / globalization Out-competed by developing economies Closures, layoffs, job loss Job growth in high-tech ‘new generation’ industries like pharmaceuticals and environmental technologies Tertiary & Quaternary Sectors Mark of modern, post-industrial economies 73%+ of Ontario workforce 75% economic activity by value Expanded, so diverse, developed ‘quaternary’ sector Tertiary: service functions such as sales, professional services Quaternary: decision-making / innovation functions Ontario’s Political Influence 38.5% Canadian population 12.2 million in 2006 Sends most reps to the House of Commons – 106 seats of 308 Political power to maintain position? Does Ottawa favour (southern) Ontario? Does Ontario carry its share of the ‘burden of Confederation’? Ontario’s Cultural Influence TV, Film production and development 20,000+ work force 26% Canadian productions in Greater Toronto Area (GTA) $874.1 million expenditures in 2003 55.3% of Canadian industry’s revenues generated by firms in Ontario, mostly in the GTA Ontario’s Cultural Influence Publishing 243 book publishers (39%) 71% total revenue from new and reprint titles 62,000 titles annually US publishers – 164,000 62% book publishing workforce (6,300) $1.7billion in revenues The Golden Horseshoe 6 million + population Western end of Lake Ontario Toronto: urban anchor linked by highly developed auto and public transit systems Hamilton: industrial focus mainly on steel industry and spin-off manufacturing Oshawa: leader in auto manufacturing Toronto The World City Concept Thrift (1990s) identified three levels of ‘world cities’ 1) Truly International Centres 2) Zonal Centres 3) Regional Centres The ‘World City’ Concept Does it apply to the GTA? Cultural characteristics Political characteristics Economic characteristics ‘sometimes the myth creates the reality’ High-speed transition from 98% white outpost to one of most diverse societies ever ethnic profile closely matches world population Rich urban, pluralistic Canada vs. poor, white rural Canada? Ottawa Valley Major urban area where both official languages are commonly used Ottawa/Gatineau 1 million+ population rd Greater Ottawa 3 largest urban centre in Ontario (800,000+) Nation’s capital national administrative centre with large civil service Ottawa Valley ‘Silicon Valley of the North’ 1990s saw rapid growth in telecommunications, computers, software and computer services and electronics Losing control now to global venture-capital Corel (software) JDS Uniphase (fibre optics) Now an R&D centre serving multinationals based elsewhere? Southwestern Ontario Numerous smaller centres London provides administrative, commercial and cultural services Insurance company HQ centre Auto parts manufacturing – Magna International “Technology Triangle”: Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo – research institutes and universities Pressure on precious agricultural land