Quote:
Originally Posted by wave46
While I concede that there are cultural and economic similarities between the Northwest and Northeast, I don't find there is much in the way of linkage between the populations. A resident of Thunder Bay would likely not move to Sudbury and vice-versa, in my experience. Those who do move end up in larger cities - Ottawa and the GTA - as they have more to offer from a specialization view.
Also, as others have mentioned, it is quicker for someone to get from Thunder Bay to Toronto by air than to drive between the nearest Northwestern and Northeastern cities. So, in a sense, there are stronger links between north and south than there is between west and east. In a similar vein, it is far easier to get to the south from Sudbury and North Bay than to anywhere in the northwest.
The province of Northern Ontario would be an unwieldy, disjointed, resource-dependent province. It is a sparsely populated hinterland. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Being our own province will not solve the economic issues that plague the north.
Attaching the Northwest to Manitoba wouldn't really change much either. Thunder Bay is as far away from Winnipeg as it is from Sault Ste. Marie. It is truly one of the most isolated cities in Canada that is not located above 60 degrees latitude.
Any "benefit" to redrawing provincial borders would be outweighed by the logistical hassle of the endeavor. Also, provincial borders are minor inconveniences at best - as a citizen of Canada, working across a provincial border is a non-issue.
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I do agree that more people seem to be moving to the large Southern cities but that's the case equally across Northern Ontario. And most of our flights from Timmins go to Toronto. But there are many people who move within the North and only want to live here. You'll find people for example who work in mining who have lived in Red Lake, Timmins, Sudbury and Atikokan or maybe an Ontario government public servant who has lived and worked in Thunder Bay , Hearst, Sault and North Bay. I find the Northeast and Northwest are almost identical in most ways. Now the far North is very different culturally for obvious reasons.
What would you say are the main differences between the Northwest and Northeast?