A Snapshot of Ontario's History

10,000 years ago	Native people settle in what is today called Ontario.
1600s	First European explorers arrive from France. Ontario becomes part of New France. Sixty thousand Algonquin and Iroquois-speaking people live in Ontario. They band into confederacies and develop a democratic system of government.
1639	French Jesuit priests found the mission St. Marie Among the Hurons, one of the first inland European settlements in North America.
1600s-1760s	Ongoing wars are fought between Hurons and Iroquois, French and British.
1763	Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War. France gives up the majority of its North American territory.
1780s	United Empire Loyalists flee the American Revolution and settle lands in southern Ontario.
1791	Canada Act creates Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) and Lower Canada (present-day Quebec). John Graves Simcoe is the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada.
War of 1812	British and Canadian troops battle American invaders.
1814	Treaty of Ghent ends the war, formalizing the boundary between British North America and the United States.
After 1825	English, Irish and Scottish immigrants, lured by the promise of free land, move into southern Ontario.
1827	Ontario's first university, the University of Toronto, is established. Queen's University at Kingston follows in 1841 and London's University of Western Ontario in 1878.
1837	Rebellions occur in both Upper and Lower Canada. William Lyon Mackenzie, Toronto's first mayor, leads a rebellion to reform the government.
1841	Union Act takes effect, uniting the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada into a single colony called the Province of Canada.
1848	Government reform makes Cabinet responsible to the elected Legislative Assembly and the voters.
1850s	Railway boom develops in British North America.
1855	On Christmas Day, members of the Royal Canadian Rifles in Kingston strap blades to their boots, take an old lacrosse ball and some field hockey sticks and play what is believed to be the first hockey game.
1867	British North America Act takes effect, creating the Dominion of Canada out of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Sir John A. Macdonald becomes Canada's first Prime Minister. New Province of Ontario One of Canada's four original provinces First Premier: John Sandfield Macdonald Capital City: Toronto Legislative Assembly of 82 members Lieutenant-Governor represents the Queen.
1867-1900	Railways expand, new industries begin and jobs help cities grow. Mining and forestry flourish. Farming remains Ontario's major industry until World War II.
1887	One of Ontario's first electric streetcars begins carrying passengers in St. Catharines.
1908	First Canadian coin is made at Ottawa's Royal Mint.
1914-18	First World War: Over 600,000 Canadians fight in the war.
1920s	Auto, pulp and paper, mining, iron and steel industries thrive. Jobs attract immigrants from Europe and Asia.
1929	Stock market crashes.
1930s	Great Depression causes unemployment, depresses economy and slows immigration.
1939-45	Second World War: More than one million Canadians fight in the war.
After World War II	Population grows steadily, immigration increases, more jobs are created and the economy grows.
1950s	Major transportation systems are developed, including the Trans-Canada Highway and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Public transit improves and nuclear power stations are built. Toronto's CBLT (and Montreal's CBFT) become Canada's first TV stations.
1960s-1970s	Toronto becomes the financial centre of Canada. The world's tallest building, Toronto's CN Tower, opens in 1976. A large number of universities open during the 50s and 60s and grow during the 70s. Community colleges begin in 1967.
1980s-1990s	Terry Fox ends his run across Canada in Thunder Bay in 1980, raising more than $24 million for cancer research. Ontario's high-tech trade develops and expands to become a major industry. Ontario's population reaches 10 million in 1991. Roberta Bondar becomes Canada's first woman in space in 1992. Ontario auto industry sets new record, producing three million cars in 1999.