The traditional definition of the region boundary can be traced back to early colonial districts in the British Province of Quebec and Upper Canada. The Midland and Eastern Districts, originally known as the Mecklenburg District and Lunenburg District, from 1788 to 1792,[1] were originally designated as everything east of north-south lines intersecting the outlets of the Trent River into the Bay of Quinte (in the case of Mecklenburg/Midland) and the Gananoque River into the St. Lawrence River (in the case of Lunenberg/Eastern).[2] The original boundary lines followed a straight north-south alignment, but were eventually changed to a northwest-southeast orientation, similar to how the modern county boundaries are aligned.
Some government sources may include Hastings County, Prince Edward (considered part of the Eastern Ontario extended area), and occasionally Northumberland County within the definition of Eastern Ontario, but are otherwise classified as part of Central Ontario.
The region is also occasionally referred to as Southeastern Ontario to differentiate it from Northeastern Ontario, a secondary region of Northern Ontario.
French explorers and fur traders were the first recorded Europeans to pass through this region. Samuel de Champlain, explorer, traversed the Ottawa River in 1615 on his way westward to the Great Lakes. The largest city in the region is the city of Ottawa, capital of Canada, which accounts for roughly 60% of Eastern Ontario's population. Kingston, itself once capital of the Province of Canada, is another city in the region outside of the National Capital Region.
Much of the remainder of the region relies on agriculture and tourism. Heavier reliance on recreation and tourism exists in the more rugged Renfrew county in the northwest of Eastern Ontario.
Of all Ontario's regions, parts of Eastern Ontario are the most heavily influenced by the United Empire Loyalists, American settlers who moved to Upper Canada out of loyalty to the British Crown during and after the American Revolutionary War. The Loyalist influence has a presence in the counties of Stormont, Dundas, Leeds and Grenville, Frontenac, Hastings, and Prince Edward.
In Ottawa, Prescott and Russell, Glengarry, and Renfrew, Eastern Ontario is home to the largest Franco-Ontarian community within Ontario.
Extensive immigration by Scottish Highlanders from the Highland land clearances also took place around the time of the United Empire Loyalist migration. After the Loyalist period, more waves of Highland emigration came primarily from Inverness-shire, Scotland to seek a better quality of life. The majority of these Scottish immigrants settled in the specific Highland community Glengarry County. Large numbers of Irish Catholics, mainly from Cork and surrounding counties also settled in the area in the decades following the War of 1812, the majority of them in or near present-day Ottawa in Carleton, Dundas, Grenville, and Renfrew Counties. Many arrived through government backed immigration schemes to settle unoccupied lands and fill labour shortages. Along with the Franco-Ontarians in particular, they made up the majority of canal builders on the large Rideau Canal project and were heavily employed in the area's extensive lumber industry.
Through the last century, newer immigrant groups, both Francophone and non-Francophone, have added to the cultural diversity, mostly in Ottawa. There are a large number of Francophones in Eastern Ontario, especially in Prescott and Russell United Counties. Following the Second World War, there was a massive influx of Dutch immigrants to Canada, with many settling in communities in Eastern Ontario, particularly in Dundas, Stormont, and Grenville.
Eastern Ontario maintains significant forest coverage, predominantly in the areas of the Canadian Shield that could not be cleared for agricultural purposes. A singular forest region is located in Eastern Ontario,[10] known as the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest.[11] The historical prominence of the logging industry has resulted in significant historical clearing of these forests, but the implementation of more sustainable forestry practices and governmental protections on certain areas has resulted in regrowth and retention of forests on areas not suitable for agriculture. One major federally protected area, Thousand Islands National Park, is located in Eastern Ontario. Multiple provincial parks are also located in the region, with the most significant of which being Algonquin Provincial Park, itself established to encourage sustainable forestry practices after being clearcut in the late 19th century.[12]
Eastern Ontario's climate is heavily influenced by the proximity of the Great Lakes and its relative northern latitude compared to other parts of Southern Ontario. Winters in the region are typically severe, with regions experiencing low temperatures and significant amounts of snow and ice during winter months. Highland regions experience more severe winters due to their higher elevation. Significant snowfall is common in the area even into the spring.[13] Summers are typically hot and humid in lower-lying areas, with milder and cooler summers occurring in the north. Eastern Ontario also experiences ice storms on a regular basis due to the presence of the arctichigh-pressure system,[14] heavily impacting the low-lying areas of the Ottawa Valley and St. Lawrence Valley, with significant events including the 1998 North American Ice Storm and the 2023 Canadian Ice Storm. Eastern Ontario also regularly experiences severe weather events, including tornadoes, and thunderstorms as a result of humid summer temperatures.
Eastern Ontario has a rich professional sports scene, largely centred on Ottawa, where two "Big Six" teams (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, and CFL) currently play - the Ottawa Senators of the NHL, and the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL, in addition to multiple other additional professional franchises from other leagues, including the PWHL, AHL, CEBL, CPL, and NLL. Additional professional hockey teams were previously located in the region, including in the NHA's (the predecessor of the modern NHL) Renfrew Creamery Kings, and the WHA's (which later merged with the modern NHL) Ottawa Civics and Ottawa Nationals. Historical Canadian football teams from the ORFU and QRFU included the Brockville Football Club, Kingston Granites, and Ottawa Trojans. The history of professional sports in the Ottawa region has long been tumultuous and saw professional franchises leave the city on multiple occastions, including the original Ottawa Senators of the NHL, being founded in 1883 and relocating in 1934, the Ottawa Rough Riders of the CFL, being founded in 1876 and folding in 1996, and the Ottawa Renegades of the CFL, being founded in 2002 and folding in 2008.
