The cultural history of what is now Ontario stretches back more than 10,000 years. Many Nations and many peoples have called this place home. MyOntario – A vision over time marks this long history by opening a conversation among Ontarians about our experiences, identities, values and aspirations.
We are asking people from across the province to share their stories – the places, memories, photos, artifacts, artworks and traditions that inspire you, that motivate you and help define who you are. Be the province's storytellers, record keepers, historians and visionaries!
Let's build a deeper understanding, showcase our diversity and create a lasting record that reflects the breadth, depth and complexity of our great province as we look to the future.
Sue Senecal
Two rivers that meet in downtown Paris! Wonderful sense of peace and adventure when you hear the train whistle blow ...
- Sue Senecal, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, July 23, 2017
#MyOntario
Share your trillium sightings
Trilliums, Ontario's official flower since 1937, bloom in mid-May. In addition to the white (grandiflorum) variety, trillium varieties also include red (erectum) and yellow (lutem). This photo of a red trillium was taken at the Fleetwood Creek Natural Area.
Did yo
Carl Benn (Department of History, Ryerson University)
Edwardian home photos
I possess 16 photographs from c.1905 of my great-grandparents’ home in St. Catharines. At a personal level, I like these pictures because they record details about the life of my ancestors. The images also show some furnishings I knew growing up in the 1950s and 1960s because
Jeremy Collins
A santuary for all seasons
When I think of My Ontario, my thoughts sometimes turn to those cold Canadian winter days in late January and early February when snow and ice prevail and the hope of spring is just a distant dream and yet I know that a sanctuary for the senses is not too far away. This
Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site
Manilla originally collected from the sunken ship S.S. Duoro, located in the Western Isles, Sicily. Manillas such as this were considered to be 'slave trade money', as they were used as currency during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade during the early 15th century. They were often constructed from cop
Leah and Kaitlin, Fulford Place
Working at a historic site, we work with artifacts daily and show them to the public. What isn't obvious is the story behind each object, which makes our research that much more exciting and interesting. This photo shows some of the 79 ivories in the Fulford family collection. Notably, the family ha
Jen Brennan
Many people are not aware that the Unitarian Universalism faith has been around in Canada since the late 1800s. The congregation in Ottawa began on Elgin Street in 1898.
To better serve the community, an award-winning building was erected on Cleary Avenue (Algonquin Avenue at the time) on five acr
Don Pearson
One cannot think of Ontario without the backdrop image of water – from the Great Lakes, which define its southern border, to the magnificent rivers that drain its vast geography, to the thousands of lakes throughout the Canadian Shield. The name Ontario itself is taken from the Iroquoian language, m
Kathleen Wynne (Premier of Ontario)
Honouring our past, embracing our future
Ontario is Canada’s largest and most diverse province – home to ingenuity, inclusiveness and optimism.
Our province’s 150th birthday is a chance to reflect on our many achievements and look to the work that lies ahead with a renewed sense of purpose.
O
Georges Quirion (architect and former Ontario Heritage Trust Board member)
Ontario’s rich industrial history
Northern Ontario has unique structures, not familiar to many, spread out through small northern communities, reflecting its rich history and its vast wealth of precious resources sought after by many from around the world.
The mining industry in particular creat
Nathan Tidridge
#Waterdown's #Souharissen Canoe Garden - planted with medicine gifted by Elder Carolyn King of @MNCFN. #MyOntario
Pamela
The St. Lawrence River has always been an integral part of the Brockville community. For the Fulford Family, who lived in town from the mid-nineteenth century onward and saw their fortunes skyrocket after 1890 because of investment in the "Pink Pills for Pale People", having the means the entertain
Janice Finkle, Adam Leslie and Ian Leslie
Amazing Provincial Parks! We have camped over the years at both canoe-in and drive-in Parks. Our family connects and explores together.
- Janice Finkle, Adam Leslie and Ian Leslie at Kingston Penitentiary Museum - Doors Open Kingston, June 17, 2017
The Honourable David Onley (28th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario)
Thoughts about Ontario at 150
The photo became an heirloom in our family: a picture of Her Majesty the Queen at Kew Gardens in The Beach, escorted by Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe on a blistering hot June 1959 day, viewing dozens of kids in wheelchairs. The large banner framing the area pr
Steven Beckly (artist and former Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence program resident)
Steven Beckly is a visual artist specializing in photography.
Alphonse Tourville
Raised and bred, Ontario, Cree Nation Attawapiskat, Survivor Residential School, travelled Canada, live in N.L. new home for 30 years, but nothing stops the yearning for many visits.
#MyOntario
What's your favourite fall fair memory?
Was it going for a spin on the merry-go-round? Bringing home a ribbon? Enjoying harvest-time treats? Share your favourite fall fair moments with us!
Join the conversation on social media: Explore #MyOntario posts about fall fairs in Ontario and connect wit
M. Margaret Froh (President of the Métis Nation of Ontario)
The Métis sash
Métis youth leader Katelyn LaCroix was recently asked what being Métis meant to her. She replied that “like the sash, we are two cultures coming together to create something new and beautiful and useful.” This comparison is as apt as it is poetic because the sash is such an essentia