Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Prov ...

in the Canadian province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

which lies north and west of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh w ...

and west of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the Canadian province of

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

, which disputed Ontario's claim to the western part of the region. Ontario's right to Northwestern Ontario was determined by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

in 1884ONTARIO-MANITOBA BOUNDARY CASE and confirmed by the Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889, of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...

. In 1912, the Parliament of Canada by the ''Ontario Boundaries Extension Act'' gave jurisdiction over the District of Patricia to Ontario, thereby extending the northern boundary of the province to Hudson Bay. For some purposes, Northwestern Ontario and

Northeastern Ontario Northeastern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, which lies north of Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior. Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma District, Ontario, Algoma, Sudb ...

are treated as separate regions, while for other purposes they are grouped together as Northern Ontario.

Geographic subdivisions

Northwestern Ontario consists of the districts of

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (french: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The hi ...

, Rainy River and

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populatio ...

. Major communities in the region include

Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the pe ...

Fort Frances Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2016 census was 7,739. Fort Frances is a popular fishing destination. It hosts the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Cham ...

, Sioux Lookout, Greenstone, Red Lake,

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair di ...

, and

Atikokan Atikokan (, Ojibwe for ' caribou bones') is a town in the Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population was 2,642 as of the 2021 census. The town is one of the main entry points into Quetico Provincial Park and promotes ...

. There are also several dozen First Nations in Northwestern Ontario.

Time zones

Northwestern Ontario is divided between the

Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a sma ...

and the

Central Time Zone The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordina ...

Population

Northwestern Ontario is the province's most sparsely populated region: 54% of the region's entire population lives in the Thunder Bay

census metropolitan area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of st ...

alone. Aside from Thunder Bay, Kenora is the only other municipality in the entire region with a population greater than 10,000. The overall population of Northwestern Ontario has been in decline over the past decade, mainly because of a downturn in the

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

sector, but some individual municipalities within the region have seen modest population growth over the period.

Politics

Northwestern Ontarians tend to lean left politically, mainly due to the history and influence of labour unions and a growing environmental ethic. At the federal level, Northwestern Ontario is represented by Liberal MPs Marcus Powlowski in Thunder Bay—Rainy River and Patty Hajdu in

Thunder Bay—Superior North Thunder Bay—Superior North (french: Thunder Bay—Supérieur-Nord; formerly known as Thunder Bay—Nipigon) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada The House of Comm ...

, as well as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

MP Eric Melillo in the Kenora District,. Provincially, PC

Greg Rickford Greg Rickford (born September 24, 1967) is a Canadian politician. He is the Minister of Northern Development and Minister of Indigenous Affairs in the Executive Council of Ontario under Premier Doug Ford. He represents the Kenora-Rainy River ...

represents Kenora—Rainy River, NDP Sol Mamakwa represents Kiiwetinoong, NDP Judith Monteith-Farrell represents

Thunder Bay—Atikokan Thunder Bay—Atikokan was a federal electoral district in northwestern Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 2003 and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2007. The federal riding wa ...

, and Liberal Michael Gravelle represents

. In 2005, some residents of the region expressed dissatisfaction at the level of attention paid to the region by the provincial government. Some, most notably former Kenora mayor

Dave Canfield David S. Canfield is a Canadian politician, who served as the mayor of Kenora, Ontario from 2000 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2018. Formerly the mayor of Jaffray Melick, Canfield was elected mayor of the newly amalgamated city in 2000. Prior to bein ...

,"Kenora eyes joining Manitoba"
cbc.ca, August 3, 2005 and Fort Frances town councillor Tannis Drysdale, have proposed the idea of the region as a whole, or parts of it, seceding from Ontario to join

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

, although the campaign did not attract widespread public support."So, how does Kenora, Man., sound to you?", ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', April 1, 2006

Geographic subdivisions

Time zones

Population

Politics

See also

Notes

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