The Orange Order and the expansion of the frontier in Ontario, 1830–1900

To date, the geographical implications of the role played by the Orange Order in the settlement of Ontario have largely been ignored by comparison with the role played by the Catholic Church in Quebec. The origins and processes of the transfer of Orangeism from Ireland are examined. The spread of the movement inside Ontario and the role it played in the lives of the settlers is related to the settlement process in a period of rapid social as well as spatial change.