Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the most populous city in Canada, with a population of 2,731,571 in 2016. Current to 2016, the Toronto census metropolitan area, of which the majority is within the Greater Toronto Area, held a population of 5,928,040, making it Canada's most populous CMA. Toronto is the anchor of an urban agglomeration, known as the Golden Horseshoe in Southern Ontario, located on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance and culture, is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world. People have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, situated on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, urban forest, for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase, when the Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown, the British established the town of York in 1793 and designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York and suffered heavy damage by United States troops.
York was incorporated in 1834 as the city of Toronto. It was designated as the capital of the province of Ontario in 1867 during Canadian Confederation; the city proper has since expanded past its original borders through both annexation and amalgamation to its current area of 630.2 km2. The diverse population of Toronto reflects its current and historical role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. More than 50 percent of residents belong to a visible minority population group, over 200 distinct ethnic origins are represented among its inhabitants. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, over 160 languages are spoken in the city. Toronto is a prominent centre for music, motion picture production, television production, is home to the headquarters of Canada's major national broadcast networks and media outlets, its varied cultural institutions, which include numerous museums and galleries and public events, entertainment districts, national historic sites, sports activities, attract over 25 million tourists each year.
Toronto is known for its many skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere, the CN Tower. The city is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange, the headquarters of Canada's five largest banks, the headquarters of many large Canadian and multinational corporations, its economy is diversified with strengths in technology, financial services, life sciences, arts, business services, environmental innovation, food services, tourism. When Europeans first arrived at the site of present-day Toronto, the vicinity was inhabited by the Iroquois, who had displaced the Wyandot people, occupants of the region for centuries before c. 1500. The name Toronto is derived from the Iroquoian word tkaronto, meaning "place where trees stand in the water"; this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. However, the word "Toronto", meaning "plenty" appears in a 1632 French lexicon of the Huron language, an Iroquoian language.
It appears on French maps referring to various locations, including Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe, several rivers. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, known as the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, led to widespread use of the name. In the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagon on the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, with most returning to their base in present-day New York. French traders abandoned it in 1759 during the Seven Years' War; the British defeated the French and their indigenous allies in the war, the area became part of the British colony of Quebec in 1763. During the American Revolutionary War, an influx of British settlers came here as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario; the Crown granted them land to compensate for their losses in the Thirteen Colonies.
The new province of Upper Canada was being needed a capital. In 1787, the British Lord Dorchester arranged for the Toronto Purchase with the Mississauga of the New Credit First Nation, thereby securing more than a quarter of a million acres of land in the Toronto area. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto. In 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, believing that the new site would be less vulnerable to attack by the United States; the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the town's natural harbour, sheltered by a long sand-bar peninsula. The town's settlement formed at the eastern end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street and Front Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the town's capture and plunder by United States forces.
The surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. American soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation; because of the sacking of York, British troops retaliated in the war with the Burning of Wa
Henry William Stisted
Lieutenant-General Sir Henry William Stisted, served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Ontario after Confederation, from 1867 to 1868. Born 1817, at St-Omer, France, to Lt.-Colonel Charles Stisted of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars, by his wife Eliza Maria daughter of Major-General William Burn of Exeter, Devon. After being educated at Sandhurst, he entered the army as an ensign in the 2nd foot on 4 December 1835, served with his regiment in Afghanistan and Beloochistan, taking part in the storming of Ghuznee, where he was wounded at the gateway, the capture of Khelat, the occupation of Kabul, for which he received a medal. On 19 April 1850 he was gazetted lieutenant-colonel of the 78th foot, in the Persian war of 1856 and 1857 commanded a brigade in the night attack and battle of Kooshat, took charge of his own regiment at the bombardment of Mohamrah, after which he received the thanks of the governor-general as well as a medal and clasps, he commanded the advanced guard of Havelock's force at the relief of Lucknow, 25 September 1857, upon the death in battle of Brigadier-general James George Smith Neill, he was appointed to command the first brigade.
That post he held until the close of the operations, when on 1 January 1858 he was nominated C. B. In that year he served in Rohilcund and commanded the second brigade at the battle of Bareilly on 7 May, he became lieutenant-colonel of the 93rd foot on 30 September 1859 and served with the field force against the mountain tribes on the north-west frontier of India in December 1863. He was appointed Major General in 1864 and divisional commander of British forces in Canada in 1866 and appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in June 1867, he was instrumental in opening up the northern part of the province for development. For his services in this capacity he received the thanks of the governor-general of Canada and was nominated a K. C. B. on 20 May 1871. On 5 February 1873, he was appointed a lieutenant-general and was nominated colonel of the 93rd foot on 28 September 1873, he died at Wood House, Upper Norwood, Surrey, on 10 December 1875. In 1845, at Florence, he had married Maria Katherine Eliza Burton, sister of explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton.
Their daughter, Georgiana Martha Stisted, published The True Life of Captain Sir Richard Burton. He was buried at West Norwood Cemetery, is the only Lieutenant Governor of Ontario not buried in Canada. Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Stisted, Henry William". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
Archibald McLean (judge)
Chief Justice The Hon. Archibald McLean was a lawyer and political figure in Upper Canada. McLean was born at St. Andrews in the Lunenburg District in the son of Lt.-Col. The Hon. Neil McLean and Isabella McDonell of Leek, he articled in law with William Firth. On the outbreak of the War of 1812 he joined the 2nd Regiment of York Militia as a Subaltern and was wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights, he was carried from the battlefield to a nearby village by John Cawthra where his wounds were hurriedly dressed. Because of an infection caused by the late removal of a bullet he was not fit to fight when the Americans attacked York in April, 1813. McLean escaped to Kingston, Ontario, he fought again at Battle of Lundy's Lane, but was captured by the Americans and held prisoner for the remainder of the war. In 1815 he turned down a commission into the British regular army, joining the law firm of William Warren Baldwin before starting his own lucrative law firm in Cornwall, Ontario. In 1820, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Stormont.
He was elected to represent Cornwall and became Speaker of the Assembly in 1836. He was a leading Tory member and advocated the rights of the Presbyterian Church to be equal to those of the Church of England, he was named colonel in the militia during the Upper Canada Rebellion and commanded the left flank of the loyalist forces under Colonel James FitzGibbon at the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern. McLean opposed the Union of Upper and Lower Canada out of fear that Upper Canadians would be dominated by French Canadians, he saw responsible government as a danger to the British connection and to the ordered freedom and the recognition of class and property of the British tradition, but he adjusted to the new reality. Appointed to the Legislative Council in 1836, the following year he was named to the Court of King's Bench, his brother Alexander McLean taking his Stormont seat. From 1850 to 1856, he served in the Court of Common Pleas with Sir James Buchanan Macaulay and Robert Baldwin Sullivan. In the Extradition case of John Anderson, the fugitive slave, McLean argued that'in administering the laws of a British province, I can never feel bound to recognize as law any enactment which can convert into chattels a large number of the human race.'
In 1862, he was appointed chief justice of the Court of Queen's Bench for Upper Canada. In 1863, he was appointed judge of the Court of Appeal. For many years McLean had served as president of the St Andrew's Society of Toronto, he married Joan McPherson and they were the parents of seven children. He was honoured with a public funeral; the Upper Canada Law Journal Upon the bench was dignified and courteous. Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online Archibald McLean
Queen Victoria
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. On 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke and the King died in 1820, Victoria was raised under close supervision by her mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, she inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was an established constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held little direct political power. Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments. Victoria married her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840, their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the sobriquet "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria avoided public appearances.
As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration, her reign of 63 years and seven months was longer than that of any of her predecessors and is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, political and military change within the United Kingdom, was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire, she was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover. Her son and successor, Edward VII, initiated the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victoria's father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of the reigning King of the United Kingdom, George III; until 1817, Edward's niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a succession crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent and his unmarried brothers to marry and have children.
In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl and Feodora —by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen. Her brother Leopold was Princess Charlotte's widower; the Duke and Duchess of Kent's only child, was born at 4.15 a.m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace, she was baptised Alexandrina after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of Kent's eldest brother, the Prince Regent. At birth, Victoria was fifth in the line of succession after the four eldest sons of George III: George, the Prince Regent; the Prince Regent had no surviving children, the Duke of York had no children. The Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarence's legitimate daughters died as infants.
The first of these was Princess Charlotte, born and died on 27 March 1819, two months before Victoria was born. Victoria's father died in January 1820. A week her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son as George IV. Victoria was third in line to the throne after York and Clarence. Clarence's second daughter was Princess Elizabeth of Clarence who lived for twelve weeks from 10 December 1820 to 4 March 1821 and, while Elizabeth lived, Victoria was fourth in line; the Duke of York died in 1827. When George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, Clarence, as William IV, Victoria became heir presumptive; the Regency Act 1830 made special provision for Victoria's mother to act as regent in case William died while Victoria was still a minor. King William distrusted the Duchess's capacity to be regent, in 1836 he declared in her presence that he wanted to live until Victoria's 18th birthday, so that a regency could be avoided. Victoria described her childhood as "rather melancholy".
Her mother was protective, Victoria was raised isolated from other children under the so-called "Kensington System", an elaborate set of rules and protocols devised by the Duchess and her ambitious and domineering comptroller, Sir John Conroy, rumoured to be the Duchess's lover. The system prevented the princess from meeting people whom her mother and Conroy deemed undesirable, was designed to render her weak and dependent upon them; the Duchess avoided the court because she was scandalised by the presence of King William's illegitimate children. Victoria shared a bedroom with her mother every night, studied with private tutors to a regular timetable, spent her play-hours with her dolls and her King Charles Spaniel, Dash, her lessons included French, German and Latin, but she spoke only English at home. In 1830, the Duchess of Kent and Conroy took Victoria across the centre of England to visit the Malvern Hills, stopping at towns and great country houses along the way. Similar journeys to oth
District Municipality of Muskoka
The District Municipality of Muskoka, more referred to as the District of Muskoka or Muskoka, is a regional municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Muskoka extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching in the south, to the western border of Algonquin Provincial Park in the east. A two-hour drive north of Toronto, Muskoka spans 6,475 km2. Muskoka has some 1,600 lakes; this region, along with Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough County is referred to as "cottage country", sees over 2.1 million visitors annually. Muskoka is an area populated with several villages and towns, farming communities, lakeside vacation hotels and resorts near to golf courses, country clubs, marinas; the regional government seat is Bracebridge and the largest population centre is Huntsville. Muskoka is a summer destination for Toronto residents and was the #1 most searched Canadian destination for vacation rentals in 2017; the Muskoka region was ranked #1 for best trips of 2011 by National Geographic, was a finalist for the same distinction in 2012.
The name of the municipality derives from a First Nations chief of the 1850s. Lake Muskoka was the hunting grounds of a troop led by Chief Yellowhead or Mesqua Ukie or Musquakie, he was revered by the government, who built a home for him in Orillia where he lived until his death at the age of 95. Muskoka has 60,000 permanent residents, but an additional 100,000 seasonal property owners spend their summers in the region every year, making this a major summer colony. Due to the regions' popularity and high property costs, hundreds of Muskoka properties are available to rent short-term through platforms like CanadaStays. Many of Muskoka's seasonal properties are large mansion-like summer estates, some of which have been passed down through families from generation to generation. Most of these expensive properties can be found along the shores of Muskoka's three major lakes: Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau, Lake Joseph. In recent years, various Hollywood and sports stars have built retreats in Muskoka, including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Mike Weir, Martin Short, Harry Hamlin, Cindy Crawford, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
The soap opera Paradise Falls, about a fictitious cottage community, was shot on location here, to take advantage of the scenic background. Many summer camps are in the region to take advantage of the lakes, which offer opportunities for canoeing, windsurfing, kayaking and other water activities; the area provides a refuge from hot cities during the summer months. The animated TV show Total Drama Island aired on Teletoon and was said to take place in an unspecified area in Muskoka. There are six municipalities in Muskoka: Town of Huntsville Town of Bracebridge Town of Gravenhurst Township of Muskoka Lakes Township of Lake of Bays Township of Georgian BayThe aboriginal reserves Wahta Mohawk Territory and Moose Point 79 are in the Muskoka census division but are independent of the District Municipality. Geography drove history in the Muskoka region. Studded with lakes and rocks, the good land offered an abundance of fishing and trapping, but was poorly suited to farming; the land of the Ojibwa people, European inhabitants ignored it while settling what they thought were the more promising area south of the Severn River.
The Ojibwa leader associated with the area was "Mesqua Ukie", for whom the land is believed named, as he was liked by the European Canadians. The tribe lived south of the region, near present-day Orillia, they used Muskoka as their hunting grounds. Another Ojibwa tribe lived in the area of Port Carling called "Obajewanung"; the tribe moved to Parry Sound around 1866. In the present day, Muskoka contains four First Nations reserves: Wahta Mohawk Territory - an area used for hunting and fishing by Mohawk from the independentKanesatake and Kahnewake reserves. Indian River - shared between the Wahta and the Chippewas of Rama First Nation Moose Point 79 Chippewa Island - shared between the Beausoleil First Nation, the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation and the Chippewas of Rama First Nation Until the late 1760s, the European presence in the region was limited to seasonal fur trappers, but no significant trading settlements were established. Following the American War of Independence, the British North America government feared invasion from its new neighbour to the south.
The authorities began exploring the region, hoping to develop a settled population and find travel lanes between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. In 1826, Lieutenant Henry Briscoe became the first European man known to have crossed the middle of Muskoka; the explorer David Thompson drew the first maps of the area in 1837 and camped near present-day Beaumaris. Canada experienced heavy immigration from Europe in the 19th century, Muskoka was no different. Large numbers of settlers from the United Kingdom, to a lesser extent, Germany began to arrive; as the land south of the Severn was settled, the government planned to open the Muskoka region further north to settlement. Logging licences were issued in 1866; the lumber industry expanded denuding huge tracts of the area. Road and water transportation was developed and used to facilitate town settlement. Road transportation took the form of the Muskoka Colonization Road, begun in 1858 and reaching Bracebridge in 1861; the road was cut through from the woods and was of corduroy construction.
Logs were placed perpendicular to the route of travel to keep carriages from sinking in the mud and swamps. This made for rugged travel; the railroad pushed north to support the industry, reaching Gravenhurst in 1875 an
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons meets in a temporary Commons chamber in the West Block of the parliament buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, while the Centre Block, which houses the traditional Commons chamber, undergoes a ten-year renovation; the House of Commons is a democratically elected body whose members are known as Members of Parliament. There were 308 members in the last parliament, but that number has risen to 338 following the election on Monday October 19, 2015. Members are elected by simple plurality in each of the country's electoral districts, which are colloquially known as ridings. MPs may hold office until Parliament is dissolved and serve for constitutionally limited terms of up to five years after an election. However, terms have ended before their expiry and the sitting government has dissolved parliament within four years of an election according to a long-standing convention.
In any case, an Act of Parliament now limits each term to four years. Seats in the House of Commons are distributed in proportion to the population of each province and territory. However, some ridings are more populous than others, the Canadian constitution contains some special provisions regarding provincial representation; as a result, there is some regional malapportionment relative to population. The House of Commons was established in 1867, when the British North America Act—now called the Constitution Act, 1867—created the Dominion of Canada, was modelled on the British House of Commons; the lower of the two houses making up the parliament, the House of Commons in practice holds far more power than the upper house, the Senate. Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation, the Senate rarely rejects bills passed by the commons. Moreover, the Cabinet is responsible to the House of Commons; the prime minister stays in office only as long as they retain the support, or "confidence", of the lower house.
The term derives from the Anglo-Norman word communes, referring to the geographic and collective "communities" of their parliamentary representatives and not the third estate, the commonality. This distinction is made clear in the official French name of the body, Chambre des communes. Canada and the United Kingdom remain the only countries to use the name "House of Commons" for a lower house of parliament; the House of Commons came into existence in 1867, when the British Parliament passed the British North America Act, uniting the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into a single federation called the Dominion of Canada. The new Parliament of Canada consisted of the Senate and the House of Commons; the Parliament of Canada was based on the Westminster model. Unlike the UK Parliament, the powers of the Parliament of Canada were limited in that other powers were assigned to the provincial legislatures; the Parliament of Canada remained subordinate to the British Parliament, the supreme legislative authority for the entire British Empire.
Greater autonomy was granted by the Statute of Westminster 1931, after which new acts of the British Parliament did not apply to Canada, with some exceptions. These exceptions were removed by the Canada Act 1982. From 1867, the Commons met in the chamber used by the Legislative Assembly of Canada until the building was destroyed by fire in 1916, it relocated to the amphitheatre of the Victoria Memorial Museum—what is today the Canadian Museum of Nature, where it met until 1922. Until the end of 2018, the Commons sat in Centre Block chamber. Starting with the final sitting before the 2019 federal election, the Commons sits in a temporary chamber in the West Block until at least 2028, while renovations are undertaken in the Centre Block of Parliament; the House of Commons comprises 338 members. The constitution specifies a basic minimum of 295 electoral districts, but additional seats are allocated according to various clauses. Seats are distributed among the provinces in proportion to population, as determined by each decennial census, subject to the following exceptions made by the constitution.
Firstly, the "senatorial clause" guarantees that each province will have at least as many MPs as Senators. Secondly, the "grandfather clause" guarantees each province has at least as many Members of Parliament now as it had in 1985; as a result of these clauses, smaller provinces and provinces that have experienced a relative decline in population have become over-represented in the House. Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta are under-represented in proportion to their populations, while the other seven provinces are over-represented. Boundary commissions, appointed by the federal government for each province, have the task of drawing the boundaries of the electoral districts in each province. Territorial representation is independent of population; the calculation for the provinces is done with a base of 279 seats. The total population of the provinces is divided by 279 to equal the electoral quotient; the population of the province is divided by the electoral q
Macdonald Block Complex
The Macdonald Block Complex is a set of office buildings in Toronto, Canada, that houses 12 cabinet ministers, 15 Ontario government ministries and the largest concentration of Ontario public servants. Its address is 900 Bay Street, is located just east of Queen's Park, it consists of four towers: The Ferguson Block: A 14-storey building, completed in 1969, designed in the International Style by Shore Tilbe Henschel Irwin Architects and Engineers. The building is named for former Premier George H. Ferguson, is located at 77 Wellesley Street West; the Hearst Block is home to Ontario's provincial Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Ministry of Economic Development and Infrastructure. The building is named for former Premier William Howard Hearst, it is ten storeys high. Designed by same firm as the Ferguson Block; the Hepburn Block is home to various ministries, including the Ministry of Community and Social Services and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The 14-storey building is named for former Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn.
Designed by same firm as the Ferguson Block in 1969. The Mowat Block is 24 storeys high and is named after the third Premier of Ontario, Sir Oliver Mowat. Designed by same firm as the Ferguson Block in 1969; the Macdonald Block is named after the first Premier of Sir John Sandfield Macdonald. It was completed in 1968, is located at 900 Bay Street; this block is a podium that connects the four towers along the first two storeys of each and has a bridge to the first floor of Whitney Block from its second storey. It is designed by the same firm as the Ferguson Block; the massive construction site for the MacDonald Block was the filming location for Buster Keaton's last film, "The Reporter", an industrial safety short, released under the title The Scribe. In July 2016, the Government of Ontario announced an eight-year reconstruction project of the entire complex. Other government buildings nearby include: Whitney Block Ontario Power Building Frost Building Ferguson Block Macdonald Block
