Kingston, Ontario.
A city that once sat at the crossroads of history, power, and geography—now largely forgotten.
Tucked along the northeastern shore of Lake Ontario, this unassuming city was once the capital of Canada. It sat at the mouth of the mighty St. Lawrence River, guarded by lakes, fed by trade routes, and powered by strategic waterways.
And yet… Kingston never rose to become the metropolis it seemed destined to be.
Why?
To understand that, you need to understand Canada. And to understand Canada, you need to understand its water.
Why Canada Lives Where It Does
Canada is massive. It’s the second-largest country in the world by land area. But despite this seemingly endless sprawl of forests, tundra, mountains, and ice, almost all of its population—about 90%—lives within 160 km of the US border. A huge proportion of these people, roughly 13 out of Ontario’s 16 million residents, live in southern Ontario, a narrow band of land squeezed between the Great Lakes and the US.
Why here? Because water.
The Great Lakes—Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario—form the largest freshwater system on Earth, holding 21% of the world’s surface freshwater. These lakes regulate climate, support agriculture, enable trade, and, crucially, make this region habitable.
While most of Canada endures brutal winters, southern Ontario enjoys a humid continental climate with summers that can reach 29°C and winters that—while still cold—are far more bearable than the deep-freeze conditions of the Canadian Shield or Arctic tundra. The lakes moderate temperature extremes, making agriculture feasible and supporting biodiversity.
One prime example of this is Holland Marsh, just 50 km north of Lake Ontario, often called “Ontario’s vegetable basket.” Its organic-rich wetland soils and climate, made mild by proximity to water, make it one of the most fertile regions in the country.
This is what built the population core of Canada. This is what made southern Ontario the natural heartland.
And right in the middle of this heartland lies Kingston.
Kingston: The City That Was Supposed to Be
Let’s zoom in.
Kingston sits on Lake Ontario’s northeastern shore, where the lake drains into the St. Lawrence River. This river, 500 km long, forms a direct water route from the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean, making it one of Canada’s most strategic geographical features.
Without the St. Lawrence River, Canada wouldn’t exist as it does today. It’s the artery through which goods, people, ideas, and armies moved. And at the mouth of this artery, positioned like a gatekeeper to the rest of the country, sat Kingston.
So if Kingston had the location, the access, the climate, the trade routes, and the early start—why didn’t it make it?
To answer that, we have to go back.
Thousands of years back.
Before Canada Was Canada
Before European explorers showed up, the area we now call Kingston was inhabited by Indigenous peoples, most notably the Mississaugas, part of the larger Anishinaabe cultural group. Their presence in this region dates back over 9,000 years, and permanent settlements were established here by 900 CE.
Then came the Europeans.
By the 1600s, French explorers were pushing deeper into North America. As they moved inland, they relied heavily on navigable rivers for transportation, as overland travel was slow and treacherous.
And so, in 1673, the French founded a new settlement at a place called Katarokwi, establishing Fort Frontenac under the governance of Louis de Buade de Frontenac. The French wanted three things here:
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A military presence
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Control over waterways
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Access to fur trade
Kingston checked all three boxes.
With its nearby lakes teeming with beavers and other animals, the fur trade flourished. But of course, this wouldn’t last.
Britain Arrives. Kingston Rises.
The French and British clashed repeatedly throughout the 1700s. By 1763, Britain emerged victorious from the Seven Years’ War (called the French and Indian War in North America), and as part of the Treaty of Paris, France handed over much of its Canadian holdings to Britain—including Fort Frontenac.
Katarokwi was renamed Kingston, and it quickly grew into a key British outpost. Its location made it ideal for trade, timber exports, and military logistics. British surveyors praised the mixedwood plains of the surrounding region for its abundance of deciduous and coniferous trees. Timber, at the time, was as valuable as oil is today.
But Kingston’s true power came not from forests—but from canals.
The Rideau Canal Changes Everything
By the early 1800s, Kingston was booming. Trade was flowing, and its location was second to none. But the British needed safer and faster routes to move goods across the region—particularly to and from Ottawa.
In 1832, they completed the Rideau Canal, connecting Kingston directly with Ottawa through a series of lakes and rivers. The canal allowed goods to bypass dangerous stretches of the St. Lawrence River, speeding up trade and bolstering Kingston’s already strategic status.
Suddenly, Kingston was the undisputed linchpin of inland Canada.
So in 1841, when Britain officially recognized Canada as a province under the Act of Union, it picked Kingston as the country’s first capital.
For three glorious years, Kingston was the center of Canadian power.
And then…it all fell apart.
Why Kingston Failed
The decline of Kingston is a masterclass in how geography can both make and break a city.
The problem was Lake Ontario itself.
After the War of 1812, tensions between the U.S. and Britain remained high. The Americans were eyeing the Pacific Northwest (specifically the Oregon Territory), and the British were worried that the Americans might attack Canada again.
Kingston, sitting right on the lake, was suddenly seen as vulnerable to naval attack. A U.S. ship could sail across the lake and bombard the city.
It wasn’t a risk Britain wanted to take.
So in 1844, just three years after crowning it the capital, Kingston lost the title.
The capital was temporarily moved—to Montreal, then Quebec City, then Toronto—before eventually settling in Ottawa in 1857. Ottawa was farther inland, protected by forests, rivers, and distance. It was deemed safer.
That decision sealed Kingston’s fate.
The Rise of Its Neighbors
In the decades that followed, Ottawa and Toronto rapidly rose.
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Ottawa became the political heart of Canada. Government buildings, national agencies, and federal institutions moved in.
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Toronto became its economic engine. The city saw waves of immigration—especially from Ireland during the potato famine—and its population exploded. From 30,000 in 1851 to 180,000 by 1891.
Then came the railroads.
New train lines connected Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and even New York City. And while Kingston was technically connected by rail, it was increasingly skipped over in favor of more important urban centers.
As transportation shifted from ships to trains, Kingston’s port lost significance, and its timber reserves dwindled due to over-logging.
Kingston stagnated.
Where Things Stand Today
Today, Kingston has a population of about 170,000. That’s tiny compared to:
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Toronto: 6.4 million (metro)
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Ottawa: 1.4 million
It’s no longer the center of power, trade, or transportation. But it has found a new niche.
Kingston has reinvented itself as a cultural and educational hub. It’s home to Queen’s University, one of Canada’s most prestigious institutions. It hosts music and film festivals. Water sports are popular on its lakes. Its history is preserved in colonial architecture and heritage sites.
It’s not a metropolis.
But it’s livable. Charming. And strangely symbolic.
Because Kingston’s story is the story of how cities succeed or fail based on geography, politics, and timing.
The Grand Irony
Kingston’s location on Lake Ontario was what made it great.
That same location is what eventually undid it.
It was too accessible. Too vulnerable. Too exposed.
Kingston is the Canadian city that could have been everything—capital, economic center, cultural hub—but ended up as something quieter. Smaller. But no less important to the story of how Canada came to be.
FAQ: The City That Almost Was
Why was Kingston chosen as Canada’s first capital?
Because of its strategic location on Lake Ontario and its access to trade routes, timber, and the newly built Rideau Canal. It was the most developed inland city at the time.
Why was the capital moved away from Kingston?
Fears of American invasion after the War of 1812 made Kingston—on the lake and near the border—too vulnerable to attack. The capital moved first to Montreal, then Quebec City, then Toronto, before finally settling in Ottawa.
Is Kingston still important today?
While it’s no longer a major economic or political hub, Kingston has reinvented itself as a cultural and academic center, home to Queen’s University and a growing tourism industry.
What made Toronto and Ottawa succeed where Kingston failed?
Toronto benefitted from a massive wave of immigration and trade investment. Ottawa was protected by geography and made capital for security reasons. Both cities were better positioned for long-term infrastructure and economic growth.
Could Kingston ever rise again?
Unlikely as a major metropolis, but it’s carving a niche in tourism, history, and education. Its growth is more likely to be in quality of life rather than quantity of people.
What’s the main lesson from Kingston’s story?
That cities rise and fall based on complex forces—geography, war, politics, and even climate. And sometimes, a city loses not because it lacked potential, but because the world changed around it.
