Petition to split Northern Ontario gathers momentum

The idea of the Northern Ontario region, including Greater Sudbury, becoming a separate independent province is being mooted by a grassroots movement. A petition started at the end of 2015 now has 670 names and is being described by the group as “gathering steam”.

Trevor Holliday started the petition and said he has been inspired by historical Ontarian separation movements, especially the 1970s’ Northern Ontario Heritage Party and other Northern Ontario separatist movements. The idea is for the province of Ontario as it is now to be split into a Northern and Southern Ontario, each operating independently of the other.

The petition is currently online at Change.org and has been open since Jan 1. 2016, with Holliday saying:

“I would want Northern Ontario to become its own province. That way it can be run by the people of the North for the people of the North, so that all the money from the North isn’t taken and given to the south and then we’re just left to whittle away.”

Some supporters say that the province is underfunded and that Northern Ontario has the infrastructure, industry, and resources to support itself without the need for the more populated south. Those supporting the movement say that have been discouraged by what they perceive as a clear lack of investment in Northern Ontario, with roads not maintained and other infrastructure measures ignored.

Many say that they are tired of funding seemingly always going to developing transport around the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario, with the north of the province left out.

“This idea goes back to the beginning of Northern Ontario and I’m reading reports in 1905, 1906 of rallies to separate and it usually goes in waves when there seems to be a growing imbalance,” said MP Charlie Angus (NDP — Timmins-James Bay).

“I think there’s a great deal of frustration in Northern Ontario right now when we see the policies that are driven from the south and when we see the complete imbalance in political representation between the issues of the North and the urban south. I understand why people are frustrated.”