Portal:Ontario

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Ontario (/ɒnˈtɛəri/ on-TAIR-ee-oh; French: [ɔ̃taʁjo]) is the southernmost province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it is home to 38.5 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by total area (after Quebec). Ontario is Canada's fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area of all the Canadian provinces and territories. It is home to the nation's capital, Ottawa, and its most populous city, Toronto, which is Ontario's provincial capital.

Ontario is bordered by the province of Manitoba to the west, Hudson Bay and James Bay to the north, and Quebec to the east and northeast. To the south, it is bordered by the U.S. states of (from west to east) Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Almost all of Ontario's 2,700 km (1,700 mi) border with the United States follows rivers and lakes: from the westerly Lake of the Woods, eastward along the major rivers and lakes of the Great Lakes/Saint Lawrence River drainage system. There is only about 1 km (58 mi) of actual land border, made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border.

The great majority of Ontario's population and arable land is in Southern Ontario, and while agriculture remains a significant industry, the region's economy depends highly on manufacturing. In contrast, Northern Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and heavy forestation, with mining and forestry making up the region's major industries. (Full article...)

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The Hanlon Expressway or Hanlon Parkway is a high-capacity at-grade suburban limited-access road connecting Highway 401 with the city of Guelph in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 17 km (11 mi) route travels in a generally north–south direction on the city's west side. It is signed as Highway 6 for its entire length; from Wellington Street to Woodlawn Road it is concurrent with Highway 7. The speed limit alternates between 70 and 80 km/h (45 and 50 mph).

The road was originally designed to be a freeway, but budget limitations precluded the construction of overpasses; apart from the interchanges with Highway 401, Laird Road, and Wellington Street West (Highway 7 and former Highway 24), all junctions are at-grade intersections. There are also two railway crossings near the northern terminus, though both are for spur lines. The Hanlon is graded and landscaped similarly to a freeway, with broad flat shoulders and an open median.

It was initially built between 1972 and 1975, after years of planning and engineering. The first interchange, at Wellington Street, was opened 25 years later in 2001. In late 2013, a second interchange was completed at Laird Road. The Government of Ontario has announced plans to build a new Highway 7 freeway bypass joining the current northern terminus of the Hanlon Expressway to the Conestoga Parkway in Kitchener; in-line with this work, the Hanlon Expressway will be upgraded to 400-series standards. Long-term plans call for a potential extension south of Highway 401 to meet Highway 6 south of Freelton. (Full article...)
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Baird in 2011

John Russell Baird PC (born May 26, 1969) is a retired Canadian politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2015 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He had been a member of the federal cabinet, in various positions, since 2006. Previously he was a provincial cabinet minister in Ontario during the governments of Premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. Baird resigned from Harper's cabinet on February 3, 2015, and as a Member of Parliament on March 16, 2015.

A long-time resident of the former city of Nepean, where he attended Bell High School, and a graduate of Kingston's Queen's University, he was the member of the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean until 2015. Baird was elected there as a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in the 2006 federal election, when his party defeated Paul Martin's Liberal Party and established a minority government. Baird was sworn in as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, replacing Jay Hill, on August 6, 2010. Prior to this, Baird served as Transport Minister starting October 30, 2008, Environment Minister starting January 2007, and President of the Treasury Board during the Conservatives' first year in power. (Full article...)

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