"A Place to Stand, a Place to Grow" (''Ontari-ari-ari-o!'') is the unofficial provincial anthem of the Canadian province of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. It was written as the signature tune for a movie of the same name that was featured at the

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

Ontario pavilion. The song was written by Dolores Claman, who also wrote " The Hockey Theme", with lyrics by Richard Morris and orchestrations by Jerry Toth. Lyrics for a French version were written by Larry Trudel. It was commissioned by the Progressive Conservative government of

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Roba ...

for the Ontario pavilion at

, the

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

held in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in Canada's centennial year of 1967, and was used again in the following decades. The song was featured at the Province of Ontario's exhibit in the short film '' A Place to Stand'', which won the 1967

Academy Award for Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...

. The

Government of Ontario The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political Minister ...

maintains three versions of the song, an English, French, and a bilingual version that incorporates both English and French.

Cultural resonance

*In season 8 episode 6 of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

'' titled "The Undead" from March 8th 1997 the character of

Tom Servo Tom Servo is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Tom is one of two wise-cracking, robotic main characters of the show, built by Joel Robinson to act as a c ...

portrayed by Kevin Murphy sings this song. *In their early

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

days,

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band which was formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming th ...

would often perform this song, with their hometown of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

replacing Ontario.Leslie Scrivener,
Forty years on, a song retains its standing
, ''Toronto Star'' Section D, page 4. April 22, 2007. *In 2004,

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...

sang the song on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...

'' when the show travelled to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to tape four episodes. *An episode of ''

Rick Mercer's Monday Report ''Rick Mercer Report'' (also called the ''Mercer Report'' or ''RMR'') is a Television in Canada, Canadian television comedy series which aired on CBC Television from 2004 to 2018. Launched as ''Rick Mercer's Monday Report'', or simply ''Monday ...

'' uses this song during a report on the massive

grow-op Cultivation of cannabis is the production of cannabis infructescences ("buds" or "leaves"). Cultivation techniques for other purposes (such as hemp production) differ. In the United States, all cannabis products in a regulated market must be ...

s in Ontario. * In 2017, the song was revived for a television commercial promoting provincial commemorations of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. With the tagline "A place for all of us", the ad was designed to reflect multiculturalism and diversity based on real-life experiences, including scenes of a Syrian refugee, an

Ojibway The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

father and his son,

African-Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...

parents, and a gay couple. * In February 2020, the Ontario government unveiled a new Ontario passenger licence plate, which contained the slogan "A Place to Grow". The licence plate design and slogan briefly replaced the previous license plate design and slogan, "Yours to Discover". However in May 2020, the new plates were discontinued after they were found to have visibility issues. * The melody of the song's final refrain, "''Ontari-ari-ari-o!"'', was used as a jingle in television advertisements produced as part of the Government of Ontario's ''It's Happening Here'' advertising campaign. The advertisements, which aired during high-profile television timeslots, led to criticism of Premier

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto rid ...

's government for the campaign's cost to Ontario taxpayers and perceived partisan benefit.

References

External links

''A Place to Stand''
1967, Archives of Ontario YouTube Channel * Whelan, J., '' Expo 67 in Montreal'
Real Audio link to the song
Accessed January 28, 2007.
Lyrics
on Ontario.ca. Accessed September 2, 2018. 1967 songs 1967 in Canadian music Expo 67 Canadian anthems Music of Ontario World's fair music {{1960s-song-stub

Cultural resonance

See also

References

External links