Ontario
Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet "Loyal she began, loyal she remains"
Ontario (Official)
Entered Confederation
July 1, 1867
It is said to be based loosely on the tartan of Sir John Sandfield Macdonald, the first Premier of the province. The name Ontario comes from the lake of that name which has definite American Indian roots from either Onitariio meaning 'beautiful lake' or from Kanadario meaning 'sparkling or beautiful water.' Up until 2000 the accepted - but unofficial - tartan for the province appeared to be one called the Ensign of Ontario - a fairly simple sett designed back in 1965. However, championed by Bill Murdoch, member of the Ontario Parliament, a new Provincial tartan was designed in 2000 by Jim MacNeil, Chairman of Scottish Studies at Ontario's University at Guelph. A complicated sett, it fell foul of an inaccuracy in the parliamentary private bill which resulted in a six year delay in getting it officially recognised. Colours include red and white with three shades of green and two of blue. The greens symbolise the forests and fields of Ontario and the blues depict the huge expanses of water in the province. The First Nations (Canadian Indians) of Ontario are represented by the red, and the sky over the province is depicted by white.