Ontario
Canada’s second-largest province at 1,068,587 square kilometres (412,582 square miles), and home to its largest city, the provincial capital of Toronto, Ontario has a greatly varied topography and by extension, winter weather ranging from the bitter cold of relatively desolate northern Ontario to the more temperate climes of Southwestern Ontario. Nine-tenths of Ontario’s more than 12 million residents live in the south and east of the province. Much of southern Ontario lies on the shores of the Great Lakes: Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario, and along the St. Lawrence River, the second largest river in North America. Southwestern Ontario has the mildest winters in the province by far. The Niagara Peninsula, along Lake Ontario, is an important grape growing and wine producing area thanks to its unusual microclimate. Canada’s national capital, Ottawa, located in eastern Ontario a two-hour drive from Montreal, Quebec, is home to Ontario’s most developed winter tourism industry. A part of its long and winding Rideau Canal becomes the world’s longest skating rink when it freezes over every winter.
Every winter activity possible, from snowmobiling and dogsledding to cross country-skiing and skating can be enjoyed in Ontario. Although the province has some 30 ski centres, most are quite small. The biggest ski centre in Ontario, Blue Mountain at Collingwood on Georgian Bay about an hour northwest of Toronto, has a vertical of 220 metres (720 feet) and 34 trails.