Northern Ontario

Understand

Ontario is Canada's most populous province, with nearly 40 percent of the country's population, but most of Ontario's 13.5 million people live in southern communities along the Windsor-Quebec corridor. This leaves the rest of the province very sparsely populated, with Northern Ontario's few people spread across a vast area which spans two time zones. Northern Ontario covers 90% of the area of Ontario, but has only 6% of its population—about 730,000 people. Don't expect to drive across all of Northern Ontario in a day; it's 1,000 mi (1,600 km) of Trans-Canada Highway from North Bay to the Manitoba border and a few communities (mostly on Indigenous lands around Hudson Bay) have no intercity road access at all. Most of Northern Ontario sits on the Canadian Shield, a vast rocky plateau, and most of it is covered by boreal forest. As a result, the region's main businesses are mining and forestry, although tourism also plays a role in the economy. Its main population centres are Greater Sudbury in the east, and Thunder Bay in the West. In the early 20th century, Northern Ontario was often called "New Ontario", although this name fell into disuse because of its colonial connotations. (In French, however, the region may still be referred to as Nouvel-Ontario, although le Nord de l'Ontario and Ontario-Nord are now more commonly used.)

Talk There are several small francophone communities in Northern Ontario, but English speaking travellers shouldn't encounter any issues with language since most of those living in these communities are bilingual (English-French). There are also many communities that speak mainly Cree or Ojibwa (Anishinaabe), though there are usually English speakers there as well.

Getting there

By plane Air Canada Express provides daily service from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ IATA) to Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and Thunder Bay from Toronto (Thunder Bay also served from Winnipeg, Manitoba). Westjet flies to Thunder Bay from Toronto. Bearskin Airlines (based in Thunder Bay) provides services to various smaller communities in Northern Ontario, including Red Lake, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Kenora from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Porter Airlines flies to Timmins, Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie from Toronto City Island Airport (YTZ IATA).

By car The 2 main routes through Northern Ontario are Highways #11 and #17. They diverge at North Bay with Highway 11 going north and Highway 17 going west to Sault Ste. Marie then north from there. Both highways continue westward toward Manitoba, with a few points where there is only one road. The Trans-Canada Highway distance from North Bay to the Manitoba border is approximately 1650 km (1050 mi).

By rail Via Rail provides service from Toronto to Parry Sound and Sudbury Junction (10 km from the city), and continues through Northern Ontario with stops at Hornepayne, Longlac, Sioux Lookout and several minor stops, to Winnipeg, Manitoba and westward. While the former Ontario Northland passenger rail service from Toronto to North Bay and Cochrane, Ontario has been replaced by a bus, there is passenger rail service from Cochrane to Moosonee on the Polar Bear Express.

By bus Ontario Northland operates the following routes in the region as of June 2026:

Toronto – Barrie – Muskoka – North Bay 2026 Schedule Toronto – Barrie – Parry Sound – Sudbury 2026 Schedule North Bay – Timmins – Cochrane 2026 Schedule Sudbury – Timmins – Cochrane – Hearst 2026 Schedule Ottawa – North Bay – Sudbury 2026 Schedule Sudbury – Sault Ste. Marie 2026 Schedule Thunder Bay – Sault Ste. Marie 2026 Schedule Thunder Bay – Kenora – Winnipeg 2026 Schedule Kasper Bus serves western areas as of Dec 2023:

Thunder Bay – Lon

Getting around

By car Car rental services are available in most of the larger centres, including Kenora, Red Lake, Thunder Bay, Nipigon, Terrace Bay, Marathon, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Timmins, and North Bay. In Northern Ontario, a car is a must if you wish to get from place to place. In most cases, you will be driving the Trans-Canada Highway (a cross-Canada network of highways, often offering more than one route), either on Highway 17 or Highway 11. Highway 17 follows a more southerly route hugging Lake Superior, while 11 ventures northward at North Bay and heads through a less populous region of the province (avoiding the winds off of the Great Lakes, so this route is popular with truckers) before heading southwards. Highways 11 and 17 run concurrently from the Nipigon River west to the Thunder Bay region, a single point of failure. To the west, 11 heads to the US border at Rainy River while Trans-Canada 17 continues west to Manitoba. The heavy logging trucks that are common on the roads here take a long time to stop. Be sure to give them a lot of space, as cutting one off is a quick ticket to a collision that you will lose.

By train Three major passenger rail routes stretch across Northern Ontario's vast terrain. The Canadian, Via Rail's flagship route, follows CN trackage on a more northerly route across the region. It connects Toronto, Sudbury Junction, Foleyet, Hornepayne, Longlac, and Sioux Lookout on its way towards Winnipeg and ultimately Vancouver. The Sudbury–White River Train, locally known as the Budd Car, follows the more southerly CP route across Northeastern Ontario. It connects Sudbury's downtown train station to Chapleau and White River. Also a Via Rail affair, but far less grandiose than its better known offerings, this train serves several isolated communities, camps, and lodges along its route. As of 2025, Via runs three trains a week in each direction. Finally, Ontario Northland operates the Polar Bear Express railway between Cochrane and Moosone

See

1 Ouimet Canyon. , near Dorion, is 100 metres (330 ft) deep, 150 metres (490 ft) wide and 2 km (1.2 mi) long. It is protected as part of Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park. 2 Aguasabon Falls and Gorge. , near Terrace Bay is a 30-m (100-foot) waterfall that was created as a spill basin for a generating station. It offers tourists an amazing view through a wheelchair accessible boardwalk that overlooks the falls. 3 Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre (Manitou Mounds) (33 km from Rainy River), ☏ +1 807 483-1163, [email protected]. is one of the most significant centres of early habitation and ceremonial burial in Canada. The centre offers interpretive tours and galleries, a collections space with over 16,000 artifacts, a gift shop that showcases artwork by local Indigenous artists, and a restaurant that serves traditional Ojibway cuisine. 1 M.S. Kenora Cruise Boat, Bernier Drive, Kenora P9N 1S4, ☏ +1 807 468-9124. The M.S. Kenora offers cruise experiences on Lake of the Woods. The cruise passes by Coney Island beach, through the scenic channels south of Kenora, and returns through the exciting ‘Devil’s Gap’, a channel guarded by a mythical rock bearing its name. Bald eagles and wildlife can also be sighted. Adults $40.75 (excluding HST), Children and Senior