The Province of Ontario is the most populous of all Canadian provinces. It was created in 1791 as Upper Canada, by splitting the Province of Quebec in two. The region welcomed many loyalists from the United States. Toronto was designated as provincial Capital in 1797.
The Southern part of the province was originally organized into counties, while the Northern part was segmented into much larger districts. Counties are subdivided into municipal entities called cities, towns and townships.
In the last few decades, several counties were reorganized as regional municipalities, most notably within the Greater Toronto Area. Regional governments hold greater powers than county governments. There are also several unitary municipalities, when a single city shares the responsibilities devolved to both local and regional governments.
Ontario in 2022
