9 Ontario stereotypes that are actually true — admitted by a local

I was born and raised in Toronto , but I've also spent parts of my life living in small Ontario towns , which has given me a pretty interesting perspective on the province and the people who call it home.

Because the truth is, there really isn't one singular "Ontario experience." It's a gigantic province, and the areas differ immensely.

Like, growing up in downtown Toronto is wildly different from growing up in Thunder Bay or Stratford.

Still, after living on both sides of the city-versus-small-town divide, I've noticed there are some Ontario stereotypes that, in my opinion, are actually kind of true.

We are a bit self-centred See on Instagram I say this lovingly, as an Ontarian myself, but we do have a slight tendency to act like Ontario is the pinnacle of Canada.

This is probably especially true if you grew up in Toronto , where Canadian news can actually just feel like a list of things currently happening in Toronto.

We know logically that there's a huge country stretching from Newfoundland to B.C., but for whatever reason, Ontario ends up taking the cake.

We'll complain about Toronto being too Toronto-centric while simultaneously assuming everyone knows what the 401 is or where Muskoka is.

There is absolutely some Ontarian city vs. countryside animosity There are two Ontarios that are perpetually suss of one another: Toronto and everywhere that is not Toronto.

People from the city can have a hilariously warped idea of what happens beyond the GTA, as if driving two hours north will immediately deposit you on an unpaved road without cell service.

Meanwhile, people from small-town Ontario can turn hating Toronto into their entire personality.

Toronto is too busy, too expensive, too unfriendly, too full of Toronto people.

Having lived in both, I can confirm that each side thinks the other has absolutely no idea how the real world works (and both sides are sometimes right about that).

Our idea of distance is totally distorted Ontario is enormous, and I think growing up here permanently damages your ability to determine what constitutes a reasonable drive.