Beyond the Appalachians, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia along with Newfoundland and Labrador make up the Atlantic Provinces. Fishing, sea traffic, farming and forestry have characterized their economies for a long time. For centuries, the shallow waters of the Grand Banks have been an ideal habitat for bottom feeders, at least until overfishing decimated cod stocks and led to the collapse of the fishery in the early 1990s. Finally, way in the north, large islands form a triangle-shaped archipelago, a paradise for arctic explorers in search of a challenge.

Often the first image that comes to mind when thinking of Ontario is the Great Lakes, those tremendous expanses of fresh water surrounded by the untamed abundance of nature. Another obvious image invokes vast, fertile fields dotted with farmhouses charmingly adorned with balconies, shutters and flowers. Finally, there are those tiny hamlets with their splendid dwellings that in many cases have reigned over their surroundings for more than a century-and-a-half. And those towns with a priceless architectural heritage, silent witnesses to the prosperity of Canada's richest province. Rural Ontario certainly has plenty to delight romantic souls looking for tranquillity and a glimpse of the past, but this province also has an eminently modern, urban face. After all, it encompasses Toronto, Canada's biggest city, and Ottawa, its federal capital.