Northwestern Ontario | |
|---|---|
Secondary region | |
 | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Ontario |
| Largest city | Thunder Bay 108,843 (2021) |
| Area | |
• Total | 526,417.35 km2 (203,250.88 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 232,299 |
| • Density | 0.5/km2 (1.3/sq mi) |
| Time zones | UTC−6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| UTC−5 (EST) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region ofNorthern Ontario in the Canadian province ofOntario which lies north and west ofLake Superior and west ofHudson Bay andJames Bay. It includes most ofsubarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the Canadian province ofManitoba, which disputed Ontario's claim to the western part of the region. Ontario's right to Northwestern Ontario was determined by theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1884[1] and confirmed by the Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889, of theParliament of the United Kingdom. In 1912, theParliament of Canada by theOntario Boundaries Extension Act gave jurisdiction over theDistrict of Patricia to Ontario, thereby extending the northern boundary of the province to Hudson Bay.
Northwestern Ontario consists of the districts ofKenora,Rainy River andThunder Bay. Major communities in the region includeThunder Bay,Kenora,Dryden,Fort Frances,Sioux Lookout,Greenstone,Red Lake,Marathon, andAtikokan. There are also several dozenFirst Nations in Northwestern Ontario.
Northwestern Ontario is divided between theEastern Time Zone and theCentral Time Zone.
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Northwestern Ontario is the province's most sparsely populated region: 54% of the region's entire population lives in the Thunder Baycensus metropolitan area alone. Aside from Thunder Bay, Kenora is the only other municipality in the entire region with a population greater than 10,000.
The overall population of Northwestern Ontariodeclined in the early 21st century, mainly because of a downturn in theforestry sector, but some individual municipalities within the region have seen modest population growth over the period.
| Population of Northwestern Ontario | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | 2021 | ± | 2016 | ± | 2011 | ± | 2006 | ± | 2001 | ± | 1996 |
| Northwestern Ontario | 232,299 | 0.3% | 231,691 | 3.4% | 224,034 | −4.7% | 235,046 | 0.1% | 234,771 | −3.8% | 244,117 |
| Kenora District | 66,000 | 0.7% | 65,533 | 13.8% | 57,607 | −10.6% | 64,419 | 4.2% | 61,802 | −2.5% | 63,360 |
| Rainy River District | 19,437 | −3.3% | 20,110 | −1.3% | 20,370 | −5.5% | 21,564 | −2.5% | 22,109 | −4.4% | 23,138 |
| Thunder Bay District | 146,862 | 0.6% | 146,048 | 0.0% | 146,057 | −2.0% | 149,063 | −1.2% | 150,860 | −4.3% | 157,619 |
Northwestern Ontarians tend to leanleft politically, mainly due to the history and influence oflabour unions. At the federal level, Northwestern Ontario is represented byLiberal MPsMarcus Powlowski inThunder Bay—Rainy River andPatty Hajdu inThunder Bay—Superior North, as well asConservative MPEric Melillo in theKenora District,. Provincially,PCGreg Rickford representsKenora—Rainy River,NDPSol Mamakwa representsKiiwetinoong, PC Ken Holland representsThunder Bay—Atikokan, andLiberalMichael Gravelle representsThunder Bay—Superior North.
In 2005, some residents of the region expressed dissatisfaction at the level of attention paid to the region by the provincial government. Some, most notably former Kenora mayorDave Canfield,[2] and Fort Frances town councillor Tannis Drysdale, have proposed the idea of the region as a whole, or parts of it, seceding from Ontario to joinManitoba, although the campaign did not attract widespread public support.[3]
