When Europeans first reached what is now Ontario in the 17th century, it was inhabited by many different groups of indigenous people who spoke languages belonging to two families: Algonquian and Iroquoian.  The Algonquian speakers (Ojibwa and others) tended to be nomadic hunters and gatherers in the northern parts of the province. 

The Iroquoians (Hurons, Neutrals, Eire, etc.) tended to live in more permanent farming villages in southern Ontario.  But the two groups overlapped, with some Algonquian speakers, such as the Mississauga, occupying southern Ontario by the 18th century.  The indigenous inhabitants of Ontario left behind artwork, carvings and pottery, and, in some cases, monuments like the serpent mounds near Peterborough in southern Ontario.

Before the late 18th century, there was little permanent European presence in Ontario, except for a few French settlements and small groups of fur traders.  In the 1780s Loyalist Anglo-American refugees fleeing the United States after the American Revolution, settled in Ontario.  This led the British to create the province of Upper Canada, which eventually became Ontario.

The Loyalist immigration, along with subsequent immigration from the United States and the British Isles, played a major role in shaping Ontario’s culture and society.  Key features of the Anglo-Ontarian culture were anti-Americanism and conservatism in the sense of rejecting radicalism and drastic changes.  Some scholars attribute much of Ontario’s anti-Americanism to the War of 1812, when U.S. forces occupied, burned and looted the provincial capital of York (now Toronto).

Since the end of the war, relations between Ontario and the United States improved considerably, and Ontario became closely integrated into cross-border trade networks.  But Ontarians maintained a strong desire to maintain their own identity and independence from the United States.

Ontarians’ conservative tendencies were demonstrated during the Rebellion of 1837, when an attempted rebellion against British rule failed to attract popular support.  In subsequent decades, into the 20th century, Anglo-Ontarians remained staunch supporters of the British Empire.  Over time, however, a growing sense of distinct Canadian identity developed in Canada, particularly between 1914 and 1945.

Between the beginning of the First World War and the end of the Second, Ontario went from being a primarily rural, agrarian province, to being mostly urbanized and industrial.  The growth of cities, Toronto in particular, accelerated after the end of the Second World War.  In post-war years many young Canadians, particularly in the cities, began to reject Ontario’s old conservative tendencies and cultural norms.  This was reflected in Toronto’s hippy and counterculture movements in the 1960s and 1970s.

Ontario’s population was overwhelmingly British for much of the 20th century.  But after the late 19th century more people of non-British descent began to arrive in the province.  French-Canadians from Quebec settled in the lumber and mining towns of eastern and northern Ontario after the late 19th century, creating a French-speaking belt in these areas.

Growing numbers of non-English speaking European immigrants, including Eastern European Jews and Italians, arrived after the early 20th century.  After the end of the Second World War, even larger numbers of immigrants from various parts of war-ravaged Europe arrived in Ontario.  After the late 1960s, when immigration rules were loosened, increasing numbers of immigrants from all parts of the world, including the Caribbean and South, East and Southeast Asia, began to arrive. 

Many of the post-1960s immigrants settled in bigger cities, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area.  As a result, the city of Toronto, which was once one of the country’s most homogeneous cities, has become of the most diverse.  Today many residents of the Toronto area were born outside of the province or the country, speak first languages other than English, and belong to “visible minorities” (e.g. are non-white).  Toronto’s relatively new diversity is reflected in ethnic neighborhoods like Chinatown, Little Italy, Greektown, etc.

Ontario has traditionally been one of the main centers for English Canadian culture, arts and literature.  Many of English Canada’s most prominent artists and writers have come from Canada’s most populous province.  Most members of the Group of Seven, a group of early 20th century Canadian landscape painters, lived and worked in the Toronto area.  The main subject of Group of Seven painters were the landscapes of northern Ontario.

Since the end of the Second World War, Toronto has grown significantly, both in size and cultural significance.  The city is home to a number of cultural institutions, including the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario, along with other art galleries, museums and theaters.  Toronto has one of North America’s largest and most well-used library systems and is home to several post-secondary institutions.  Toronto has been nicknamed “Hollywood North” because films and television productions are often shot in the city.

Cultural events held in Toronto include the Toronto International Film Festival, a summer Caribbean-themed parade, the Canadian National Exhibition, and a host of other annual events.  Outside of Toronto, other communities host their own local festivals.  The town of Stratford in southern Ontario holds the Stratford Festival, a Shakespearean-themed theater event.  The city of Kitchener is known for its Oktoberfest events.

The province of Ontario has produced many well-known artists, writers, and entertainers over the years.  These include Toronto-based novelist Margaret Atwood, celebrated novelist Robertson Davies, and Booker-prize winning Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. 

Well-known actors and comedians from Ontario include John Candy, Jim Carrey, Michael Cere, Ryan Gosling, Eugene Levy, Mike Myers, Martin Short, Sarah Polley, and Howie Mandel.  Musical artists from the province include Bryan Adams, Paul Anka, Justin Bieber, Blue Rodeo, Drake, Bruce Cockburn, Kardinal Offishall, Gordon Lightfoot, and Paul Shaffer.  Music video directors Hype Williams and Little X also hail from the Toronto area.

Reference:

Robert Bothwell and Norman Hillmer, “Ontario”.  The Canadian Encyclopedia.  Second Edition.  Volume III Min-Sta.  Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1988.,  p. 1567-1576.