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.
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
Kristen McLaughlin
I am not from Ontario. I moved here recently, in September of 2016. My home is in the west, having grown up in Alberta and gone to school in Vancouver, BC. This country has its pretty divisive lines between the two halves of east vs. west. I moved to Toronto expecting, somehow, an entirely different
Gordon Pim
Remembering Ruby
Some of my fondest memories of childhood involve my grandmother. An immigrant from the UK (she came to Ontario in 1921 with her best friend Sadie and $45 in her pocket), Ruby was tiny in stature but enormous in character. I can remember her up at the cottage, cooking feasts on a w
#MyOntario
Share your Doors Open Ontario discoveries
From natural landscapes to century-old cabins to modern marvels of engineering, every space tells a story. Doors Open Ontario is a chance to explore some of the province's most fascinating places and experience our unique history from a new perspective.
Pauline McGibbon 1910-2001
The first woman to hold a vice-regal office in Canada, Pauline Emily Mills, was born in Sarnia, Ontario in 1910. After local schooling and a degree at Victoria College, University of Toronto, she married Donald Walker McGibbon in 1935. A life-long volunteer and supporter of the arts, Mrs. McGibbon b
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 is one of the few towns in Ontario that has had black residents since the beginning of the province. However, it was in the years following the War of 1812 that Niagara saw an increase in black immigrants and runaway slaves. When the United States Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was p
Jean-Luc Pilon (Curator of Central Archaeology at the Canadian Museum of History)
The gift of time travel
In the summer of 1982, I was carrying out archaeological research near the shores of Hudson Bay on the Severn River. One of the sites we were investigating had been used a number of times. The earliest evidence suggested that people camped at the Ouabouche site before Europ
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
The Honourable James Bartleman (27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario)
My Muskoka – Winter 1949
Every evening when I was a kid in the 1940s, I’d manoeuvre rough logs up onto a sawhorse and use a small bucksaw to cut them into stove lengths, afterward splitting the larger pieces into smaller sizes. After carrying in armloads of wood to fill the box beside the stove, I
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
Cades McKenna
Rainbow Falls, lakes, forests, swimming, roller blading, hiking.
- Cades McKenna, Bay and Algoma Buskers Festival, Thunder Bay, July 30, 2017
#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
Atom Egoyan (film director, writer and producer)
R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant
Whenever I have visitors to Toronto, I take them to the Harris Filtration Plant. This beautiful complex is one of the few remaining examples of industrial art deco design that has survived to this day, and its location on Lake Ontario makes it truly unique. It ha
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
MyOntario is ...
We are bringing MyOntario – A vision over time to communities across the province to find out what Ontario means to you!
In 2017, our MyOntario roadshow and interactive kiosks are coming to community events, museums and more. It’s a unique chance to join a provincewide conversation about our expe
Thomas H.B. Symons (former Chair of the Board of Directors, Ontario Heritage Trust, and Founding President and Vanier Professor Emeritus of Trent University)
Homer Watson: Ontario's pioneer artist
Homer Watson’s paintings and drawings captured the spirit of pioneer Ontario much as, in a later generation, the work of the Group of Seven captured the spirit of the more northerly parts of Canada.
Born in the village of Doon in the Grand River Valley, Wat
Nathan Tidridge
Local residents in #Waterdown holding their spots for the annual #Flamborough Santa Claus Parade later that day. #MyOntario
Dawson Bridger
The photo of my great great grandfather, Frederick Allen Weir, on the cover of the 1913 Rod and Gun magazine connects me to a family member I never met. This image was captured near Rondeau Provincial Park, where my family lived at the time. Frederick Weir, his son, and my grandfather, hunted the Ca
Sexual Diversity Activism at the University of Toronto
Having first met off campus, the University of Toronto Homophile Association (UTHA) convened again on November 4, 1969, at University College to advocate equality and freedom for gay men and lesbians. This was the first group of its kind at a Canadian university. Early on, UTHA attracted supporters
MyOntario is ...
We are bringing MyOntario – A vision over time to communities across the province to find out what Ontario means to you!
In 2017, our MyOntario roadshow and interactive kiosks are coming to community events, museums and more. It’s a unique chance to join a provincewide conversation about our experiences, identities, values and aspirations.
Visit the links below to view MyOntario photos on Flickr.
MyOntario photo galleries:
September 30: Doors Open Timmins (Timmins)September 23: Doors Open Grimsby (Grimsby)September 10: Leslieville Flea (Toronto)August 26-27: Afro-Carib Festival (Scar
Carol Page
My Ontario is represented by Lake Ontario. It is awe-inspiring to view the Lake in all seasons. I wanted to capture the essence of the lake water by recreating its colours. My installation is called "Watermarks". I used textiles, paint samples, papers, silver threads, plexiglas and tape to portray t
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
Karin Almuhtadi
Home ♥
- Karin Almuhtadi, Bay and Algoma Buskers Festival, Thunder Bay, July 30, 2017
Holly Martelle (principal at Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc.)
Hopes for the future
My life as an archaeologist often consists of hour upon hour of painstaking analysis of small bits and pieces of everyday life. But last year, during an archaeological investigation in Toronto’s downtown, we made a remarkable discovery that not only got my archaeological heart