Ontario

Ontario is a province in Canada located in the east-central part of the country, the largest by population and second to Quebec in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west, Quebec to the east , and the American states of Michigan, New York, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania to the south. Most of Ontario's borders with the United States are natural, starting at the Lake of the Woods and continuing through the four Great Lakes: Superior, Huron (which includes Georgian Bay), Erie, and Ontario (for which the province is named), then along the Saint Lawrence River near Cornwall.The capital of Ontario is Toronto, the largest city in Canada. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is located in Ontario as well. Ontario has an estimated 12,687,000 inhabitants which accounts for approximately 38.9% of the national population. The province takes its name from Lake Ontario, which is thought to be derived from either Onitariio or Skanadario which means "beautiful water" or "sparkling water". Along with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec, Ontario is one of the four original provinces of Canada when the nation was formed on July 1, 1867 by the British North America Act. Ontario is Canada's leading manufacturing province accounting for 52 per cent of the total national manufacturing shipments in 2004.