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.
Ontario Black History Society
My Ontario celebrates the diversity among us! The Black History Month Kick-Off Brunch is an annual event that brings together community, businesses, educators, students and many more. It's a celebration of Black history, culture and music, and launches many other celebrations across the city. Featur
Desiree Laporte
Acceptance of EVERYONE.
- Desiree Laporte, Canuck It Up Festival Amherstburg, downtown Amherstburg, August 6, 2017
Diane
“I am proud to be Canadian. The small villages and towns are very friendly but I also loved Toronto. I loved the streetcar and the subway – it is easy to get anywhere.”
Diane was born in Orangeville, Ontario and lived there for much of her life.
She had a twin sister and is one of six children.
Niagara Historical Society & Museum
Niagara-on-the-Lake became one of the several places that received poor children from the streets and workhouses of Britain. In 1868, Maria Rye purchased the former Niagara Courthouse and Gaol located just outside Old Town. She converted the building into an orphanage known as “Our Western Home” (OW
Colton Konecny
Friends.
- Colton Konecny, Emancipation Day celebration at Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site, Dresden, August 5, 2017
Michael Runtz (educator, naturalist, author and nature photographer)
Drawn back to Algonquin
Being a lifelong naturalist whose goal has been to explore Ontario’s natural history, I’ve come to appreciate just how rich this province’s biodiversity is. The north boasts the southernmost tundra in the world, home to polar bears and Arctic fox. The south harbours vestige
#MyOntario
Choose your own adventure
From historic sites to roadside attractions, festivals to hiking trails – there are many things to see and do in your own backyard. Tell us about your favourite ways to discover the province!
Join the conversation on social media: See #MyOntario posts about exploring O
Beth Hanna (Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Heritage Trust)
Ontario has amazingly creative souls. The writings of Thomas King, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and Al Purdy. The music of Glenn Gould, Gordon Lightfoot, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and Sarah Harmer. The paintings of Norval Morrisseau, Doris McCarthy, A.Y. Jackson, Daphne Odjig and the carvings of B
Paul Yee (historan and author)
Telling the stories of Chinese Canadians
I am inspired by something intangible: the past, especially the history of Chinese Canadians. I grew up in Vancouver, knowing little about it. But once I found traces of it, I never stopped telling its stories.
Yes, there are museum artifacts and archival
Kathy Stinson (author of books for young people)
When I first started going to the cottage that has been in my husband’s family for more than 100 years, I loved the sense of continuity I felt there, as five generations enjoyed the traditions that Grandfather Gordon established in the early 1900s. And the place. The gorgeous combinations of water,
Andrew Riddle (Partner at ASI)
For millennia, the Grand River served as a highway for the First Nations people of Southern Ontario, connecting broad expanses of the Golden Horseshoe inland to Lake Erie. The banks of the Grand River have sometimes been characterized as one long archaeological site, and that proved to be true for a
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
The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum set of Colours (1901-06)
Once serving the practical purpose of a rallying point on a battlefield, today, Regimental Colours are exclusively ceremonial objects representing the history and spirit of a regiment.
Traditionally, Canadian infantry regiments hold two colours: The first is the reigning monarch’s Colour showing the royal cypher, and the second is the Regimental Colour, displaying the unit’s Battle Honours embroidered on scrolls. Battle Honours are an official acknowledgement of a regiment’s engagement in combat. They are awarded for both campaigns and individual battles.
The first Colours of The Royal Can
Sean Fraser
The Ravine
Straining against the colonial engineer’s grid, carved relentlessly through table land by an ancient creek, its buried waters find their way to the Don and on to the lake. On its banks are a kaleidoscope of wild flowers, blossoms, leaves and litter that turn with the seasons. The V-shap
Todd Stewart (artist and former Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence program resident)
Highway 11, near Hearst
I feel the deepest connection with a place when I’m alone in it, surrounded by silence, the rest of the world far away. The stillness stops time and clears my mind. For me, a certain place stands out among many – Highway 11, the northern route across Ontario. I’ve driven al
Scarlett Janusas (President, Scarlett Janusas Archaeology Inc. )
Underwater archaeology
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than those you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain, American author
I’ve always had a passion ab
Liz and Pete Finlay
Water - Great Lakes and little rivers, white pines and oak trees, Lake Huron.
- Liz and Pete Finlay, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, July 23, 2017
Afua Cooper, PhD (James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies, Dalhousie University)
The Black history of Ontario inspires me and defines who I am
Peggy Pompadour haunts me. I walk through the streets of Ye Olde Towne Toronto and I feel her presence – this Black enslaved woman who was owned, jailed and sold by colonial administrator Peter Russell. Peggy often ran away from slavery
The Armenian Boys' Farm Home
On July 1, 1923, a group of 50 Armenian boys arrived at this farm site from an orphanage in Corfu, Greece. The 'Georgetown Boys,' as they came to be known, arrived in Canada between 1923 and 1927 - 109 boys in all. The orphans were survivors of the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923). Their plight touched
Manuel Stevens (retired Parks Canada planner)
Stepping back in time to Old Ontario
My Ontario is the Rideau Canal region between Smiths Falls and Kingston. Having spent many years as the planner for the Rideau Canal – and lately a cottage owner on the canal – I have had many occasions to travel these backgrounds over a period of nearly four d
R. Dennis Moore (Archivist, Multicultural History Society of Ontario)
This badge belonged to Bohdan Panchuk, one of the most influential Canadians involved in the effort to resettle thousands of Ukrainians who were displaced by the Second World War.
By the end of the conflict, countless refugees had been forcibly displaced from their homes and faced uncertain future