Hi! Hive account@hive-161465, this week's prompt and its accessories are very interesting. Mixing history with lyrics is a wonderful way to preserve cultural memory.

Historical Overview

Ontario: The Backbone of Confederation and Progress

The history of Ontario is more than just the history of a province; it is the driving force behind the birth of Canada as a nation. Before 1867, this region was known as ‘Western Canada’. It was here that key political figures, such as Sir John A. Macdonald (who would become the first Prime Minister), orchestrated the negotiations that culminated in Canadian Confederation on 1 July 1867. Ontario became the political and population centre, uniting the British colonies under one rule.

At that time, politics needed an economic foundation, and Ontario had vast boreal forests that fuelled the timber industry. Shantymen cut down enormous white pines that were transported downriver to sawmills, making timber the main export.

For this economy to flourish, it was vital to overcome geographical distances. This is where the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) came into play. Completed in the mid-19th century, this railway (locomotive) was an engineering feat that connected Toronto and Montreal with the rest of the region. The ‘Iron Horse,’ as it was called, not only transported timber and goods, but also unified isolated communities, cementing Ontario as the industrial and economic heart of the new Canada.

In the lands of the Shield where the granite runs deep,
the heavy snows sleep,
A whisper of union began to take flight,
under one light.

Before the skyscrapers and city lights gleamed,
“Hewers of wood” or so it was deemed.
Where the wild spirits roam,
The Shantymen carved out a rugged new home.

With axes of steel and a fire in their chest,
in the wild Canada West.
Down rushing rivers, the timber would glide,
the forest’s great pride.

But wood needs a path, and a nation needs veins,
the roaring steam trains.
The Grand Trunk arose with a thunderous sound,
iron tracks over the ground.

Connecting the lakes to the ocean’s cold shore,
silence to industrial roar.
From Sarnia to Montreal, the whistle would scream,
a Confederation dream.

So raise up a glass to the year Sixty-Seven,
the vast northern heaven.
Built upon railways and logs from the line,
Ontario, forged in iron and pine.