People & Places
Ontario is more than Toronto
Fancy emigrating to Canadas most populous province, Ontario, but not too stuck on the idea of living in the thriving city that is Toronto?
David Fuller seeks out some alternative Ontarian destinations which you may be more happy to call home.
Toronto, Canada's largest, most populous and economically paramount city has long been the number one destination for emigrants arriving to start a new life in Canada. Of the 235,824 people who emigrated to Canada in 2004, 99,868 or 42.3 per cent settled in the city. Break this down even further and you find that of all those who chose to settle in Ontario the province of which the city is the capital a massive 79.8 per cent were bound for Toronto.
However, living in a big city isn't everyone's cup of tea. One of the most common reasons people choose to emigrate in the first place is so that they can enjoy a more relaxing, laidback way of life. And as anyone who have lived in or close to a busy city in the UK will know only too well, 'relaxing' and 'laidback' aren't necessarily words you would use to describe the lifestyle.
Fortunately, Canada being Canada, there are plenty of places in Ontario where you can enjoy a completely different pace of life to the one offered in Toronto, without even being all that far from the city itself. "Ontario is a beautiful province and wherever you decide to make your home you can pretty much guarantee that in the vicinity you will be able to enjoy an active outdoor life, whether you want to ski, ice skate, ride horses, cycle, canoe or take part in any number of other water-based activities," says Sophie Deverill, who emigrated to Ontario in May 2004 and now runs Great Escapes, which offers holiday homes in the Blue Mountain region of the province. The areas to the south and west of Toronto tend to be particularly popular for immigrants who don't want to live in the hustle and bustle of Toronto, but still want to be close enough should they ever fancy a day out in the city, or even need to commute there for work.
Community spirit
Take the Kitchener-Waterloo region located about an hour west of Toronto. With a total population of 277,000, K-W, as the region is also known, mixes the amenities of living in a city with the laid-back rural charm that those looking for a bit of peace and quiet will crave. "Kitchener-Waterloo is an amalgamation of smaller towns and villages and in recent years has become a magnet for hi-tech companies relocating out of Toronto due to the combination of lower overheads, a good lifestyle and a couple of superb universities in Waterloo," explains Carolyn Steele, who moved to K-W in August 2002 to run a bed and breakfast after falling in love with the region in the mid 1990s. "The region is located in the middle of farming country settled by the Mennonites who headed north from Pennsylvania, and so has something of a reputation for fresh produce, fascinating farmers' markets and local handcrafts," Carolyn continues. "Also, most of the world's genuine maple syrup comes from here and is still produced by Mennonite farms."
For Carolyn, who has just written a book about Canada, it is the sense of belonging to a community which has really endeared her to life in this part of Ontario. "The facilities here are world class," she says. "The theatres and concert halls rival anything Toronto can offer, but there is still a real community feeling about the place. Before coming to Canada I had lived in London all my life and one city feels much like any other to me. Living somewhere with a bit of character was part of the life change for us."
Another who has been lured to a region of Ontario due to its community spirit is Peter O'Leary. Subject to the sale of his house in the UK, Peter hopes to be living in St Thomas, situated on the banks of Lake Erie one of the five Great Lakes that separate Ontario from the United States border within the next few months. "We have been visiting St Thomas at least once a year since 1996 as we have friends who live out there," Peter explains. "It's just a beautiful place, the lakes are fantastic and the scenery is stunning, but what I like best of all is the fact that there is a great community spirit there. People have time for you and will stop to ask about how your day has been. You can even feel safe about leaving your doors unlocked. "In some ways I would say its spirit is very similar to how England's was back in the 1970s," he adds.
Peter is similarly enthusiastic about some of the other communities and towns that he has visited along the shores of Lake Erie. "Places like Port Dover and Port Rowan are all great," he says. "Everything is just so much more laid-back in places like these and the cost of living is much lower than in Toronto. "While Toronto is a lovely city, to me it's very much a shopping and working city."
Further south, Maj Salehi has found the small town of LaSalle, just outside Windsor the southernmost city in Canada, located four hours south of Toronto very much to her liking. While the renowned car manufacturing centre of Windsor is not the biggest city even by Canadian standards it is currently home to 208,402 people LaSalle, located even further south on the border of the Detorit River, is a far smaller place, boasting just over 27,000 residents. But Maj, who attends nearby Windsor University, has found that living in a tiny community just outside even a fairly small city like Windsor has its advantages. "As a family we decided that we'd rather not live in a city and would prefer instead to settle on the outskirts, as that was what we had been used to in England," she explains. "I love living here. Ontario has many small towns like this, but from what I've seen they all seem a lot busier than LaSalle but still further away from things to do. LaSalle may only be small but there is a large food shop, hairdressers and food places nearby and everybody who I've met seems really friendly. "And most importantly," Maj continues, "we are still fairly close to Windsor the university is just a ten-minute drive away without being in the midst of things."
City living
For those who don't actually mind the thought of living in a fairly big city, just not one the size of Toronto, then Hamilton and London may both be worth considering. After Toronto and Canada's capital, Ottawa, these two cities were the next most popular destinations for Ontario-bound migrants in 2004, not to mention the third and fourth most populous cities in the province.
Hamilton, situated at the southwestern end of Lake Ontario another of the province's Great Lakes and home to 662,401 residents, welcomed 4,089 migrants last year. "The city of Hamilton is located about 44 miles south of Toronto," explains Sophie. "Its speciality is steel production, and the city's mill's churn out about 60 per cent of Canada's total production, making it a good destination for industrial workers. "Despite Hamilton's industrial background it does possess some enjoyable attractions like Dundurn Castle and the Royal Botanical Gardens," she adds.
London, on the other hand, located a further 36 miles south and lying at the forks of the Thames River in the heart of south-western Ontario, has a completely different feel to that of industrial Hamilton. Despite being named after the English capital, its similarities with the British London pretty much end there. Instead of the huge urban sprawl synonymous with England's capital, just 360,000 people live in Ontario's version of the city and its crime rates and cost of living are among the lowest in the province. "London offers the affordability, charm and security of a mid-sized community combined with the business and career opportunities of a big city, offering potential immigrants the best of both worlds," enthuses Sophie. "Clean air, tree-lined streets, and first-class parks and recreation facilities are just a few of the qualities that entice families to London." With all this in mind it is probably no surprise that 2,328 newcomers made the city their home last year.
North of Toronto
While Sophie is happy to point out the pleasures available in different parts of Ontario, she herself chose not to settle either south or west of Toronto. Instead, after touring the province extensively in 2003 she decided that her future lay 90 minutes north of Ontario's capital. "Before we emigrated we visited Huntsville, Gooderham, Haliburton Highlands, Peterborough, London, Niagara and vicinity, Kitchener and Bracebridge, but, while all beautiful, we ended up not feeling that any of those places were right for us," she explains. "When we got back to the UK we did more research on the Internet and the one place we did not have time to visit the first time around which we planned to visit on our trip in March 2004 and that was The Georgian Triangle. The minute we drove into Collingwood, located on the southern point of Georgian Bay, my husband Kevin and I both looked at each other and said 'this is it!'"
In recent years Collingwood has focused on establishing itself as a four-season tourist area. Its proximity to Georgian Bay and the ski facilities at Blue Mountain have seen the town become one of the major recreation areas for people visiting the south of Ontario. "The Georgian Triangle offers a fantastic range of activities," says Sophie. "In the winter there is downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, tubing, snowmobiling, dog-sledding, snowshoeing, ice fishing and skating, while in the summer, spring and autumn there are water slides, canoeing, sailing, swimming, horse riding, some fantastic golf courses, tennis, more fishing, hiking, mountain bike trails and not to mention spectacular scenery. "There are also some trendy bars and restaurants, great shopping, beautiful scenic caves and Wasaga Beach which is the world's longest fresh water beach, it comes alive in the summer and has a water park and some beautiful beaches," she adds.
Peterborough, located 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto, is another area north of the provincial capital which may be of interest to migrants looking at settling outside of the big city, while Ottawa will also undoubtedly interest some, although those who are deciding against a move to Toronto due to its big city status may also wish to steer clear of the country's capital for all too obvious reasons. Of course, there are a number of other smaller towns and cities in Ontario which could be of interest to you after all the province covers an area of 1,068,580 square kilometres, just 629.21 square kilometres of which is taken up by Toronto. But according to Carolyn, providing you choose the destination that could one day become your new home carefully and sensibly, then it is unlikely that you will be disappointed no matter where in Ontario you choose to settle. "Until recently I was firmly convinced that K-W was the nicest place on the face of this planet but right now I am in the middle of a reading tour of smaller Ontario communities as a result of my book launch and I am finding that they all have a lot to offer. "As a general yardstick I have found the smaller the community, the more vibrant the community life. For me K-W suits my life just right as I have a teenager and the smaller communities don't tend to offer youngsters much to do and have their share of children making their own entertainment by getting themselves into trouble. "However, if that is not a concern for you then all the communities have something a little different to make them stand out."
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