Ontario up close, and your three representatives

Nadia is forty. She came from Iran, and she works as a dental assistant in Richmond Hill. At the library, she finds a study sheet. One line asks, who is your provincial representative? Nadia knows the Prime Minister's name. But her provincial representative? She has no idea. I'm Vinnie. Remember, this is a free, independent course. It is not a government course.

So here is the question. What should an Ontario resident know about Ontario, and who are your three representatives? If you live in another province, follow along, then look up your own.

The official study guide, Discover Canada, describes Ontario in its chapter called Canada's Regions. Toronto is the capital of Ontario. It is also Canada's largest city and its main financial centre. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is in Ontario too. The guide says Ontario has more than twelve million people. Statistics Canada says about sixteen million today.

Ontario was founded by Loyalists. They were people loyal to the Crown who came north after the Americans declared independence. Ontario also has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec. Lake Superior, one of the Great Lakes, is the largest freshwater lake in the world. And Ontario has its own provincial police, so the RCMP are not the provincial police here.

Now, Ontario's government. A member of Ontario's Legislature is called an MPP, a Member of Provincial Parliament. The Legislature has one hundred and twenty-four seats. Each one is a riding that elects one MPP. Your MPP works at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto. Federally, Canada has three hundred and forty-three ridings, and Ontario has one hundred and twenty-two of them.

So you have three representatives. Your MP, your Member of Parliament, sits in the House of Commons in Ottawa. Your MPP sits in the Legislature in Toronto. And in your town or city, you elect a mayor, called a reeve in some places, and councillors.

Now two names, as of September twenty twenty-six. The King's representative in Ontario is the Lieutenant Governor, Edith Dumont. She took office in November twenty twenty-three. Ontario's Premier is Doug Ford. He leads the Progressive Conservative Party. He has been Premier since twenty eighteen. Names change, so check them again before your test.

Ontario has plenty of history from the guide. Upper Canada later became Ontario. Its first Lieutenant Governor, John Graves Simcoe, founded York, which is now Toronto. Sir Isaac Brock died at Queenston Heights. And Sir John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister, was a lawyer in Kingston.

Let's make it stick. Count the P letters. An MP has one P, for Parliament. An MPP has two. The extra P is for Provincial. One more P, one step closer to home.

Let's change one fact. What if Nadia lived in Manitoba? Then her provincial capital would be Winnipeg, and her provincial police would be the RCMP. She would look up her own provincial representative and Premier. The idea is the same in every province. Only the names change.

The mistake people make is mixing up the Premier and the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister leads the government of Canada. The Premier leads the government of a province. Another mistake is thinking Ottawa is Ontario's capital. It is Canada's capital. Ontario's capital is Toronto.

Here's the one thing to remember. In Ontario, the capital is Toronto, and you have three representatives: your MP, your MPP, and your mayor or reeve with your councillors.

This week, look up your own MP on the Elections Canada website, and your MPP on the Ontario Legislature's website. You only need your postal code. Write both names down. Next time, our last lecture: test day, the oath and the ceremony.