Northeastern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, which lies north of Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior.Kerry M. Abel, Changing Places: History, Community, and Identity in Northeastern Ontario. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006. . Greater Sudbury is its largest settlement.

Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Nipissing and Manitoulin. For some purposes, Parry Sound District and Muskoka District Municipality are treated as part of Northeastern Ontario although they are geographically in Central Ontario. These two divisions are coloured in green on the map.

Northeastern Ontario and Northwestern Ontario may also be grouped together as Northern Ontario. An important difference between the two sub-regions is that Northeastern Ontario has a sizable Franco-Ontarian population — approximately 25 per cent of the region's population speaks French as a first language, compared with 3.2 per cent in the northwest.William Kaplan, Belonging: The Meaning and Future of Canadian Citizenship. McGill-Queen's University Press, 1993. . p. 142. Virtually the entire region, except only the Manitoulin District, is designated as a French-language service area under Ontario's French Language Services Act. In the northwest, by contrast, only a few standalone municipalities are so designated.

In 2023, the Northeastern Ontario Tourism agency launched a social media marketing campaign, branding the region as "The Seven" in reference to the 705 telephone area code and the common nickname of Toronto as "The Six"."You've heard of The Six? What about calling northeastern Ontario The Seven?". CBC Northern Ontario, September 14, 2023.

Municipalities Cities There are six cities in Northeastern Ontario. They are, in alphabetical order: City Population (2021) District Ref. Elliot Lake 11,372 Algoma District Greater Sudbury 166,004 Greater Sudbury North Bay 52,662 Nipissing District Sault Ste. Marie 72,051 Algoma District Temiskaming Shores 9,634 Timiskaming District Timmins 41,145 Cochrane District

Towns

The towns in Northeastern Ontario, listed in alphabetical order, include:

Town Population (2021) District Ref. Town Population District Ref. Blind River 3,620 Algoma District Kirkland Lake 7,750 Timiskaming District Bruce Mines 582 Algoma District Latchford 355 Timiskaming District Chapleau 1,942 Sudbury District Markstay-Warren 2,708 Sudbury District Cobalt 989 Timiskaming District Mattawa 1,881 Nipissing District Cochrane 5,390 Cochrane District Moosonee 1,512 Cochrane District Englehart 1,442 Timiskaming District Smooth Rock Falls 1,200 Cochrane District Espanola 5,185 Sudbury District Spanish 670 Algoma District French River 2,828 Sudbury District St. Charles 1,357 Sudbury District Hearst 4,794 Cochrane District Thessalon 1,260 Algoma District Iroquois Falls 4,418 Cochrane District Temagami 862 Nipissing District Kapuskasing 8,057 Cochrane District

Transportation The region is served by several branches of the Trans-Canada Highway, including Highway 11, Highway 17, Highway 66 and Highway 69. Several other highways in the region are part of the provincial highway system, but not the national Trans-Canada Highway.

The only freeways in the region are a portion of Highway 17 in the Walden district of Greater Sudbury, and Highway 69 between Greater Sudbury and the French River. The remainder of Highway 69 is slated for conversion into a full freeway, and will be redesignated as part of Highway 400 when the construction is complete. The provincial government also has plans on file for the eventual conversion of Highway 17 to freeway from Sault Ste. Marie easterly toward Ottawa, although no timetable for this project has been announced as of 2026 except for the conversion of Highway 17's Southwest and Southeast Bypasses route through Sudbury near the completion of the Highway 69/400 project.

Population

Population of Northeastern Ontario District 2021 ± 2016 ± 2011 ± 2006 ± 2001 ± 1996 Northeastern Ontario 509,771 0.8% 505,625 -0.7% 508,982 -0.3% 510,326 -3.3% 512,007 -5.6% 542,248 Algoma District 113,777 -0.3% 114,094 -1.5% 115,870 -1.4% 117,461 -0.9% 118,567 -5.5% 125,455 Cochrane District 77,963 -2.2% 79,682 -1.8% 81,122 -1.7% 82,503 † -3.2% 85,247 -8.6% 93,240 Greater Sudbury(including enclaved Wahnapitae First Nations reserve) 166,128 2.8% 161,647 0.8% 160,376 1.6% 157,909 1.7% 155,268 -6.1% 165,336 Manitoulin District 13,935 5.1% 13,255 1.6% 13,048 -0.3% 13,090 3.2% 12,679 7.9% 11,747 Nipissing District 84,176 1.9% 83,150 -1.9% 84,736 0.1% 84,688 † 2.1% 82,910 -2.3% 84,832 Sudbury District 22,368 3.8% 21,546 1.7% 21,196 -3.0% 21,392 -6.6% 22,894 -3.9% 23,831 Timiskaming District 31,424 -2.6% 32,251 -1.2% 32,634 -1.9% 33,283 -3.4% 34,442 -8.9% 37,807

Provincial parks List of Ontario provincial parks in Northeastern Ontario

References