The Saint Lawrence Seaway which extends across most of the southern portion of the province and connects to the Atlantic Ocean is the primary water transportation route for cargo particularly iron ore and grain in the past the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River were also a major passenger transportation route but over the past half century passenger travel has been reduced to ferry services and sightseeing cruises Railways. . .
. Main article: Battle of Ontario; The economy of this region is very diverse the Toronto Stock Exchange is the third largest in North America by market capitalization (after the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ) and seventh largest in the world A worker installing car batteries at Ford's Oakville Assembly the automotive industry is a major sector of the Golden Horseshoe's economy Cities including Hamilton Oshawa Oakville Whitby and Kitchener all contain major large-scale industrial production facilities Hamilton being dominated by the steel industry and Oakville and Oshawa primarily in the automotive industry Other significant automotive-production facilities also exist in Brampton and St Catharines While manufacturing remains important to the economy of the region the manufacturing sector has experienced a significant decline since 2000 as a result of unfavourable currency exchange rates increasing energy costs and reduced demand from the United States which is by far the largest market for Ontario's goods Hamilton and Toronto also have two of the largest seaports in Lake Ontario the Welland Canal system handles tanker ship and recreational traffic through the Great Lakes Large rail and truck distribution facilities are located in Toronto Vaughan and Brampton Food processing is also a key ingredient in the economy The Niagara Peninsula is Canada's largest wine growing region and a major producer of Ontario wine Niagara Falls has one of the world's largest per-capita tourist economies benefiting from millions of tourists coming to see its majestic waterfalls shop in its numerous stores and visit its many attractions the winemaking and fruit growing industries of the Niagara Peninsula produce award-winning wines which are beginning to attract attention around the world in particular the ice wine for which the region is known As of 2014 sectors such as information technology health care tourism research and finance provide the bulk of growth in the Golden Horseshoe the suburban cities within Greater Toronto such as Brampton Markham and Mississauga are emerging as hubs for technology and innovation Education. In November 2005 Professor Arne Kislenko won TVOntario's first Best Lecturer Series in 2006 Ryerson University had two professors in the semi-finals for TVO's second Best Lecturer Competition Philosophy professor Dr James Cunningham and radio and television arts professor Dana Lee were semi-finalists in 2006 Greg Inwood professor in the department of Politics and Public Administration was awarded the prestigious Donald Smiley Prize for his book Continentalizing Canada: the Politics and Legacy of the Macdonald Royal Commission Criminal justice history and international relations professor Peter Vronsky published Serial Killers: the Method and Madness of Monsters (2004) a bestselling history of serial homicide and more recently a controversial history of Canada's first modern battle Ridgeway: the American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada (2011) Several factors affect citizens' health in Toronto The city has many opportunities for citizens to be physically active including bike lanes walkways and parks throughout the city Given the cultural diversity of the city there is also great diversity in the foods that citizens can consume which determines their personal nutrition Many foods for example enter the city through the Ontario Food Terminal located on the west side the city is also part of the Toronto Public Health Division and is home to many hospitals Other factors affecting health in the city include air quality in regard to smog Smog alerts are issued by Toronto Public Health when the air quality is poor enough to warrant informing some segments of the public to limit their exposure to the smog such as children the elderly and people with lung diseases or heart conditions the best and worst years for smog in the city within the last five years were respectively 2006 with 11 smog alerts and 2005 with 48 smog alerts Another risk to health for citizens is exposure to crime in the city Toronto has a rate of violent crime of 738 incidents per 100,000 people though this is still lower than the national average of 951 according to 2006 Statistics Canada data and far lower than other cities of comparable size (particularly those in the United States) A vehicle emissions testing program known as Ontario's Drive Clean began in 1999 and has had a minimal impact on smog in Toronto 2005 was Toronto's worst year on record for smog with a total of 48 smog alert days the Ontario Medical Association estimated in 2005 that total air pollution (from all sources) would cause some 5,800 deaths and 17,000 hospital admissions that year.[citation needed].
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