What Is A Northerner?

Starting with a definition is both simple and effective. It ensures we're all working from the same starting point, using the same language, and arguing to the same goal—making things better. Unfortunately, in Ontario we can't even get the definitions right!

Ask where "the North" begins and you'll get a dozen different answers. The term gets applied as needed—for funding, for political convenience, and more. How else does a sitting MPP's Muskoka area cottage qualify for a "Northern Grant"?

The North is an afterthought and always will be to the traditional parties. We're a source of tax dollars, the home of resources, and, every four years, a place to stop—briefly!—while on campaign.

But the thing few people understand is that being a "Northerner" isn't just a question of geography. We all have neighbours who, despite residing here, don't live here. And know others who've long since moved away, living for decades far from home, who are still proud to call themselves "Northerner"!

Rural Ontarian's have a great deal in common, whether we live in the remote north or the farmland of the south. But where our southern cousins are seldom more than an hour (or two) from a major urban centre—with all the resources common to cities—most northerners live more isolated lives.

The major population centres of the North aren't even drops in the bucket compared to the huge cities down south. Our biggest is Sudbury with slightly over 150,000 people. The other eight "cities" range from Thunder Bay at approximately 100,000 to just above 7,000 (Dryden). All of the North combined totals barely more than 750,000 people

Southern Ontario has cities more populous than our entire region!

Sparse is the often the kindest word used to describe the North. The people up here may be few in number but we're a resourceful lot. Northerners are tied together, relying on friends, family, and neighbours more than our citified cousins. Even those of us living in "cities" tend to be more concerned with others well-beings (Northern Ontario has some of the highest organ-donor rates in the province).

That isn't meant as an insult to the south. Rather it is praise of the North and our lifestyle.

Not that there is a "proper" Northern way to live. Sure, many Northerners embrace the outdoors, but not all of us. For every citizen with a snowmobile or fishing rod there's another five who've never donned a helmet or baited a hook.

Unfortunately, we've got an image problem. People think of Northerners and they imagine Red Green or Bob and Doug MacKenzie. It's all hockey, beer, and bingo. Few outsiders realize that the North has several vibrant arts communities, cutting-edge technologies, and many world-leading industries. We're not all knife-carrying "good old boys" (though I do, admittedly, carry a small pocket knife—Boy Scout training goes deep!).

Traditional party leaders venture North with those images in mind and most aren't here long enough to get a real sense of our region or its people.

So what is a "Northerner"? There is no one answer. People of every colour and creed call our region home. We're miners and business-people, we're nurses and truck drivers and engineers. We're young and old and everything in between. We're new arrivals and indigenous. Northerners are all that and more!

The point is: Northern Ontario is diverse. Sure, there are some similarities found throughout: most of us feel undervalued and overburdened by an ignorant provincial government; we tend to resent the south just a little (watching billions spent on infrastructure down there while our roads crumble, galls); and our patience is being tested by decades of unfulfilled promises.

But despite all that most of us remain proud. Living up here requires a stubborn streak, a hardiness, and an all-consuming love of home. Being a "Northerner" means taking a stand, refusing to back down, and fighting for what you want…so consider joining the Northern Ontario Party. We believe in the North and its peoples. Together we can make a better tomorrow.