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.
R. Dennis Moore (Archivist, Multicultural History Society of Ontario)
This is the temporary passport of Arthur Schönberg, an Estonian naval engineer who risked the high seas to secure a new life in Canada. Although I have never met Mr. Schönberg, his story has been preserved on audiotape by the Multicultural History Society of Ontario.
Arthur Schönberg had a lot of
Brian Hamilton
Full of passionate, talented and cooperative people!
- Brian Hamilton, Bay and Algoma Buskers Festival, Thunder Bay, July 30, 2017
Laura Wickett
Industrial heritage in Jordan Harbour
To find your way to one of Niagara’s hidden gems, you first need to know which dead-end street in Jordan Station to park on, and then take an overgrown pathway through the bushes to a steel train trestle bridge. Follow it out over the mouth of Jordan Harbour,
John Steckley
My Brodie History
In 1835 a nine year old Scottish lad named Alexander Brodie came to southern Ontario by ships and boats from Peterhead in northeastern Scotland. He and his family spent their first year on Lot Street (now Queen Street) in Toronto then called York. He described seeing cows being
Ellen Scheinberg (author and President, Heritage Professionals/Archives)
Celebrating the history of Toronto’s Jewish cemeteries
Over the past decade, I have developed a passion for cemeteries. It started during my tenure as Director of the Ontario Jewish Archives, when I devised a tour of the Pape Avenue Cemetery with local artist Susan Brown.
Pape Cemetery was estab
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Where will you adventure this summer?
From cozy campfires to scenic views, there’s lots to explore in Ontario’s great outdoors. Share your adventures with us!
Join the conversation on social media: Explore #MyOntario posts about camping, and connect with us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
CFCL Radio
The first French-language radio station in Ontario, CFCL-Timmins, began broadcasting in December 1951. The event was greeted with enthusiasm by Franco-Ontarians who until then had heard limited programming in French over the airwaves. The station reached listeners from Kirkland Lake to Hearst, showc
Lynne D. DiStefano
Tracking Ontario’s Thames
In the mid-1990s, George Kapelos and I began work on an exhibition about Ontario’s Thames River that was to be held at Museum London.
I don’t remember exactly when I became fascinated with the river. I think it had to do with how the river was depicted in 19th century t
Museums of Mississauga
This photograph shows volunteer Margaret Archer dressed in her great grandmothers dress in front of the newly opened Lewis Bradley Museum in 1967.
The Bradley Museum opened to the public in 1967 as part of the Canada’s Centennial Celebrations. The home was built by the Bradley family who settled i
Pauline Moss
Fresh fruit, small towns, variety, farm fields, sunsets, lakes, camping, family
- Pauline Moss, 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
J.M. Rowe, Esquesing Historical Society
The Great War 1914-1918
The home front – Georgetown
This quilt was created through the efforts of the Georgetown Women’s Institute in 1915. The citizens were asked to pay 10 cents per name to have it embroidered onto a square for the quilt. It was completed in time for the 1915 Esquesing (George
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
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Show us the places that inspire you!
Your childhood home. The rink where you scored your first goal. The hiking trail you know like the back of your hand. Tell us about the spaces that hold a special place in your heart.
Join the conversation on social media: Explore #MyOntario stories about inspiring places across the province, and connect with us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Jasmine Ouellette
A place where we welcome everybody and help them.
- Jasmine Ouellette, Bay and Algoma Buskers Festival, Thunder Bay, July 30, 2017
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 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
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
William R. Fitzgerald (archaeologist)
A divine intersection of history and archaeology
Suspicion, fear, and intimidation met Jesuit priests Jean de Brébeuf and Pierre-Joseph-Marie Chaumonot during their Mission of the Angels to “la Nation Neutre” between November 2, 1640 and March 19, 1641. This tribal confederacy – so named by Champl
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, 1872-1918
The distinguished soldier, physician and poet was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario. John McCrae graduated from the University of Toronto in medicine, practised as a pathologist and taught medicine at McGill University in Montreal. In 1899, he served in the South African War as an officer with the
Sara Waxman
Saxe-Coburg Soup
The charming town of Cobourg, on Lake Ontario, has visitors all year round. It’s a lovely place to spend the day. In 1819, to honour the marriage of Princess Charlotte to Price Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, the town, originally called Amhurst, changed its name to Cobourg.
2 tbsp. butt
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
Delany Leitch, Backus-Page House Museum
The Tyrconnell Cheese Factory was established in 1865 by John Pearce on his own farm, and was the first cheese factory in the district. At that time, cheese boxes were not even available in all of Elgin County, so Mr. Pearce and his men had to make the long and slow journey to Ingersoll and back in
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
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
