Differences between SW Ontario vs Eastern Ontario

[swimmer_spe]

Oh, I forgot one large economic engine in SW Ontario - Oil and Gas refining.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Marshsparrow

Eastern Ontario and manufacturing - where?

Of the eastern counties, 11% in Hastings and 12% in Northumberland (if you count that as eastern) work in manufacturing. All the other eastern Ontario CDs are under 10%.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Docere

Dufferin 12.3%

In Dufferin, probably a good number of manufacturing workers work in Peel. BTW, the manufacturing employment share is 12% in Peel.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I see Nipissing District as Northern Ontario for sure.

Going back to what some others have said Hamilton is definitely Central Ontario-Golden Horseshoe territory.

K-W is the transition point between Central-Horseshoe and the SW.

I see Kingston as a similar transition point between Eastern and Central-Horseshoe.

Wait, so Belleville is fully "Central-Horseshoe" but KW is transitional?

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Docere

In Dufferin, probably a good number of manufacturing workers work in Peel. BTW, the manufacturing employment share is 12% in Peel.

It still seems like the western areas of the GTA and Hamilton share the manufacturing economy influence with SW Ontario.

[Capsicum]

The influence is kind of weak, but I think you can still kind of see how the eastern GTA and western GTA have connections to the eastern and southwestern parts of Ontario, respectively.

The western GTA and Hamilton for instance, has more manufacturing, like SW Ontario. The western GTA had more "Ellis Island" style earlier 20th century continental European types of immigration, like Italian, Polish etc., just like the US (whether its northeast US or midwest US).

The eastern GTA (prior to the 1970s or 80s) was more Scottish and "Canadian". Oshawa, Peterborough etc. seem to have that character still. The Scarborough Settler's lament, was an old song about homesick Scottish settlers who lived in Scarborough around 1840. The eastern GTA also had more farming until relatively recently (eg. Scarborough had farms up to the late 20th century).

[Loco101]

There still are some farms that remain in Scarborough.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.84451...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.84532...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.84743...7i13312!8i6656

It's hard to believe that you're in the City of Toronto when you're in that Northeast corner of Scarborough.

[Docere]

What do "farms in Scarborough" have to do with eastern vs. western Ontario?

[saffronleaf]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I see Kingston as a similar transition point between Eastern and Central-Horseshoe.

I haven't spent much time in these areas but I thought of Peterborough (and more generally the Kawarthas) as the transition to Eastern Ontario. So Grand River on the west and the Kawarthas on the east.

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Docere

What do "farms in Scarborough" have to do with eastern vs. western Ontario?

I guess maybe because some of the farms (or previous farming communities) in the eastern GTA have ties to the earlier "settler" demographic of eastern Ontario. And the eastern GTA (prior to the 70s and 80s) was more "old stock" Canadian than western GTA (and western Ontario).

https://www.toronto.com/community-st...two-centuries/

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

And the eastern GTA (prior to the 70s and 80s) was more "old stock" Canadian than western GTA (and western Ontario).

Well, that is true. European ethnic groups (Italians, Jews, Eastern Europeans, Portuguese and so on) have generally moved north and west and rarely east.

[Capsicum]

There seems to be a Scottish eastern Ontarian influence that is present all the way from Glengarry County all the way to Scarborough, Ontario (as attested to by a song like the Scarborough settler's lament), and points in between (eg. Kingston, Ontario), historically.

Continental European immigration (of the Ellis Island sort, such as Italians, Jews, E. Europeans etc.) seems to have been relatively low in eastern Ontario, starting from the eastern GTA onward. Going east from North York, Toronto, you don't really have as many continental Europeans again until you hit the influence of Montreal's metro area.

[Capsicum]

What has a higher foreign born population -- eastern or SW Ontario?

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

There seems to be a Scottish eastern Ontarian influence that is present all the way from Glengarry County all the way to Scarborough, Ontario (as attested to by a song like the Scarborough settler's lament), and points in between (eg. Kingston, Ontario), historically.

I think you're greatly over-emphasizing the "Scottish" aspect of eastern Ontario. Outside Glengarry County (Scottish Highland settlement) it's really not that much more Scottish than western Ontario.

Nova Scotia has a much, much stronger "English/Scottish" split than Ontario does.

[north 42]

Originally Posted by saffronleaf

I haven't spent much time in these areas but I thought of Peterborough (and more generally the Kawarthas) as the transition to Eastern Ontario. So Grand River on the west and the Kawarthas on the east.

I can’t see Kingston as anything but fully Eastern Ontario! Same with Belleville, which is about as far from Toronto as London is!

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

There seems to be a Scottish eastern Ontarian influence that is present all the way from Glengarry County all the way to Scarborough, Ontario (as attested to by a song like the Scarborough settler's lament), and points in between (eg. Kingston, Ontario), historically.

Continental European immigration (of the Ellis Island sort, such as Italians, Jews, E. Europeans etc.) seems to have been relatively low in eastern Ontario, starting from the eastern GTA onward. Going east from North York, Toronto, you don't really have as many continental Europeans again until you hit the influence of Montreal's metro area.

Ottawa most definitely got some of that Ellis Island type immigration, but it's true that outside of that city there was very little in E Ontario. Even Kingston didn't get that much.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

What has a higher foreign born population -- eastern or SW Ontario?

I suspect eastern due to the sheer size and dominance of Ottawa. Though Windsor actually has a high foreign born population percentage.

[Docere]

Without Ottawa, Eastern Ontario is pretty thinly populated. SW Ontario of course has has more urban and rural parts too, but you can't really section off an urbanized subregion from the rest.

Ottawa represents about the same share of the population of eastern Ontario as KWC/London/Windsor do of the SW.

[Acajack]

SW Ontario seems to have a lot more non-British non-French people of immigrant origin spread out in its rural areas: Italians, Germans, Dutch, etc.

You don't really see much of that in Eastern Ontario, where in the rural areas the population tends to be either British Isles (includes Ireland) or French Canadian.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Acajack

SW Ontario seems to have a lot more non-British non-French people of immigrant origin spread out in its rural areas: Italians, Germans, Dutch, etc.

You don't really see much of that in Eastern Ontario, where in the rural areas the population tends to be either British Isles (includes Ireland) or French Canadian.

There aren't that many rural Italians. But German and Dutch, yeah.

You have a German concentration that originated in Waterloo and spread north and northwest to Perth, Huron, Grey and Bruce counties in the 19th century.

Dutch are more south of there, largely in rural areas centered around London.