[b][u]Name:[/u][/b] the Democratic Canadian Confederation of Southern Ontario

[b][u]Flag:[/u][/b] [img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/775243446699950111/868853144443027476/1_csPwpX_exn16S2HROgwnww.jpeg?width=1986&height=1134[/img]
Original image by Trevor Davson – Medium

[b][u]Territory:[/u][/b] [img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/775243446699950111/869288475868946472/ronto.png[/img]

Ronto’s formal territory encompasses much of pre-war Southern Ontario, however, influence is far wider-reaching. The government of Ronto, consistently controlled by leftists, has also made efforts to aid - rather than suppress - regions with large First Nations populations, such as Manitoulin island. Trade relations are maintained with various other states within Canada, including within Quebec, despite otherwise icy diplomatic relations in the latter case.


[hider=History]
[b]Our Home and Native Land:[/b] Despite being the largest city in Canada and a large economic centre, and thus a major nuclear target, Toronto survived the Great War relatively intact for two major reasons: first, like many major population centers, it was protected by missile defense systems; in Toronto’s case, a mix of laser and pre-occupation coil and railguns implemented by the Canadian government. Just as importantly, however, was a relatively unique feature of Toronto: an extensive network of underground pedestrian tunnels and shopping centres dating back to the 1970s, greatly expanded and hardened by the Canadian government as the nuclear threat continued to loom. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people were able to take shelter in the tunnels, avoiding the bombs as they fell, and, in some cases, avoiding the worst of the aftereffects, only ranging out from shelter to scavenge from the city’s ruins.

The American occupiers of the city, of course, had the same thought at the populace - but they were hardly welcome. Cut off from support by nuclear devastation and the massive electromagnetic disruptions of a nuclear war, most of the American occupation forces were slaughtered if they didn’t flee, their equipment stolen and repurposed by the angry citizens of Toronto to kill their comrades. Toronto itself was quickly secured by citizens militia, a burgeoning nation-state declared from the powerful radio transmitters of the CN Tower, left miraculously intact. 

Even many of the scientists and engineers in the city, working in its universities, survived in the very same tunnels - with the aid of the civilian government, they were able to secure much of the city’s remaining scientific knowledge, including an experimental artificial intelligence by the name of Raymond Bell which they’d managed to keep hidden from the Americans for nearly eleven years. The most surprising discovery, perhaps, was the existence of cells of Chinese soldiers in Toronto’s Chinatown. Neither group, as it turned out, had much love for America.

[b]We See Thee Rise:[/b] Thanks to its comparatively large population and relatively nuclear defense network. Toronto and its surrounding environs were able to re-industrialize to an extent that was far more difficult elsewhere in the wasteland.The Toronto government quickly re-established communications with the rest of the Golden Horseshoe region, most of which preferred to band together than strike it out on their own. They were not without troubles, however - the relative safety and abundance of the region, both in terms of vital resources and population, made it a major target. Even with increasingly large amounts of arms scavenged from dead American soldiers, the people of this new confederation knew they needed more.

Recapturing and repairing a number of nearby power plants, they were quick to bring local arsenals back into operation, including Long Branch and Colt Canada plants. More importantly, they needed to transform their militia into a capable armed force - fortunately, plenty of Canadian officers and officials had survived the war in expanded Diefenbunkers and had already joined up with the confederation, offering their expertise and the data found in nearby Canadian Forces bases. Though the remains of Ottawa had long since been secured, Toronto’s location had become even more valuable in the post-nuclear wasteland, and so it remained the capital.

With its military in good condition, Ronto (a colloquial name derived from the country’s capital) set about destroying every scrap of the US government that remained in Southern Ontario, welcoming interred Chinese immigrants, ghouls and mutants with open arms while ruthlessly executing American soldiers with the other. Some were taken prisoner, but many were simply obliterated before they had the chance to surrender, viewed as enemies of a free Canada. Raiders were likewise treated ruthlessly, whether by well-armed citizens’ militias, Ronto’s military itself, or stealthsuit-equipped Chinese commandos led by Colonel Liu Jei.
With Southern Ontario mostly secured, Ronto seemed to have a bright future ahead of it.

[b]WE STAND ON GUARD FOR THEE:[/b] Since the beginning of the 2280s, the Confederation’s population swelled even further, refugees driven north in hopes of shelter from conflict elsewhere in the region, whether around the Capital Wasteland, Chicago, the Commonwealth, or Ohio. Ronto was relatively safe, but the areas around it weren’t - and unless that changed, the government realized, its situation would become untenable. The first measure taken to mitigate this problem concerned the Talon Company, a ruthless group of mercenaries in the wasteland that routinely and repeatedly savaged civilians. A punitive expedition was launched, and its mission was simple: permanently cripple the ability of the Talon Company to operate in the region or cause sufficient harm to them to  make them seriously reconsider their priorities. Special forces teams modeled after JTF2 and other special forces units of old hunted down and killed large portions of Talon Company’s leadership while other units were surrounded and destroyed by the regular forces. 

Though they had only encountered peripheral units of the remnants of the Enclave by this point, especially considers its prior experiences with rogue US military units, the parliament of Ronto made the decision shortly after bloodying Talon Company to ensure that no force could come into being that would seek to destroy them, or possess the same level of power of the United States government: the Enclave was declared a permanent enemy of the Canadian people, and a minimum bounty of one thousand caps was placed on every Enclave soldier.

Still, even with the Talon Company no longer posing a serious threat, the refugee crisis continued to worsen. More people meant more labor, skilled or otherwise, even including a handful of people that had fled from the far west, but it also meant feeding a larger population, forcing Ronto to dedicate large resources to improving crop yields and developing better farming techniques, including largely lost avenues of gene editing.  Most unusual of these refugees was a former NCR ranger and former Legion slave, experienced at hunting raiders and freeing slaves.

Still, despite its issues, the Confederation soldiers on. Prime Minister Campbell, recently elected, has a difficult fight ahead of her.
[/hider]



[hider=Pressing Issues:]
[b]STRONG AND FREE[/b]: Before the Great War, particularly the beginning of American conflict with China, the two nations were extremely close allies. Even with resources strained and greater pressure placed on Canadian industry to fulfill American needs, that one would invade the other without provocation was utterly unthinkable.

Until, of course, it happened.

Two hundred years have passed, but the scars haven’t healed, repeatedly re-opened by the claims to advanced technology of the Brotherhood and especially the outright anti-mutant American hypernationalism. Relations with the Brotherhood are cool, even hostile - but policy towards American nationalist groups is one of naked anger. Ronto has, in essence, taken efforts to close itself off to relations with numerous potential allies (like the Brotherhood, who share with them hatred of the Enclave), and that has left it unable to depend on most other parts of the Wasteland for military assistance or border control. In other words, while Ronto can be a powerful ally to have, it has also developed a reputation for extremely aggressive defense.

In the case of the Enclave, at least, the standing minimum 1000-caps bounty per head for Enclave personnel likely doesn’t help.

[b]IN ALL THY SONS[/b] Before the war, Ronto was the multicultural city of Toronto - after the war, it remains a city of multiculturalism. That in and of itself isn’t a problem, and Ronto remains proud of its multiculturalism, even if it’s partly just to spite the remnants of the US government - but it suffers from political factionalism, too. The military argues with the various public works departments for funds, the Pathfinders, led by a former NCR Ranger, prove difficult to control. The Canadian AI, Raymond Bell (named after Raymond Lemieux and Alexander Graham Bell), frequently demands more funding for various research projects, while Commander Liu Jei agitates against the Brotherhood and for more socialist governance. 

Ronto, it seems, can’t decide if “United we stand, divided we fall” is true or not - and time is running out.

[b]FROM FAR AND WIDE[/b] Like any other nation with a relatively large population - especially one which expands quickly (although Ronto has not done so in some time) - Ronto suffers from the issue of needing to properly supply a nation that is, by wasteland standards, relatively dense. This particular problem is only worsened by the refugee crisis, and although the government of Ronto rightfully refuses to turn away people fleeing Mafiosos, supermutants, and the Enclave, it struggles to keep up with its consistently, rapidly growing population. The Great Lakes are a prime source of fish, and Ontario has quite some usable arable land, but access to the enormous stretches of arable farmland in Alberta and Saskatchewan are no longer possible. Unless Ronto finds ways to feed and shelter its swollen population - and quickly - it will have serious trouble. Perhaps if someone out there could alter their crops to improve yields, one of those looming disasters could be mitigated.

At least they still have a hockey league.

[/hider]