"Labore et Perseverantia ("Through Labour and Perseverence") | |||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
London | ||||||
| Other cities | Sarnia, St Thomas, Port Stanley | ||||||
| Language official |
English | ||||||
| others | French | ||||||
| Legislature | City Council | ||||||
| Mayor | |||||||
| Population | Approx 400,000 | ||||||
| Currency | Canadian Dollar | ||||||
London is a city-state in former southern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by its rival Waterloo, to the West, the former state of Michigan, to the east Niagara Falls, and to the south Norfolk-Haldimand and Lake Erie. Pre-doomsday London was known as the Forest City due to its large amount of surrounding wilderness.
History
Post Doomsday
In the aftermath of Doomsday, London got its fair share of fallout from the strikes on Detroit, Toronto, and Buffalo, but also due to the concentration of strikes to the south managed to avoid the crippling refugee crisis that many other cities dealt with, as many of the refugees that passed by London chose to flee farther north towards the shores of Lake Huron and the Canadian interior where they assumed survival would be easier. The mayor and city council declared a state of emergency and several experts were
Downtown London, looking east.
brought in to draft a plan of action to move forward. The first priority was securing a supply of food for the local population. London was lucky to be the major commercial hub for a large agricultural area, so Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were sent to ensure that the local farmers remained to work their farms. If farms were found abandoned the land was seized by the city and volunteers or refugees were granted the property under the condition that they work the land. Another major issue was power. With strikes on Buffalo and Toronto, most of London's power connections were cut. High priority was given to repairs to the Fanshawe dam, and once operational most of the power was diverted to operating electrical agricultural equipment and machine shops. Teams of engineers were put together to build small waterwheel operated generators along the Thames which allowed the creation and operation of major food storage areas. Plans were put into place to begin developing unused agricultural land for both food and biodiesel crops, as well as constructing an algae farm as another source of biodiesel. This would allow the continued use of diesel generators for power production, as well as continued operation of diesel vehicles once existing fuel was exhausted.
The OPP were instructed to begin recruiting volunteers and training them in order to prevent a loss of order as well as handling the refugees who had settled in the city. It was deemed the best course of action was to take control of the OPP College near Aylmer a short distance away.
Conflict with Waterloo
In the years following Doomsday the neighboring tri-cities area of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge had eked out a somewhat stable existence as well, as the Waterloo Cooperative, though a much higher number of refugees hindered expansion into the outlying agricultural land which led to London securing the lion's share. When officials from Waterloo came to London to request the transfer of control on some of the agricultural land in order to better feed its populace, London refused, citing the needs of its own people. They were told that they were willing to sell the Waterluvians the goods they required, but a transfer of territory was out of the question. Waterloo at the time was weak and struggling to supply its own people and had no means of purchasing the goods. As word of the rejection reached the Waterluvian people, many began organizing raiding convoys to move in and steal supplies. While these groups were initially successful, the Londoners soon established a border patrol, that managed to reduce the number of attacks dramatically. The initial raids however included several equipment storage facilities, including one holding plans for the various innovations the Londoners had manufactured. Within a few years the Waterluvians had incorporated Londoner designs into their own and had greatly increased their electrical output as well as having begun their own biodiesel production. The increased power and fuel supply allowed increased farming outputs and stabilised the Waterloo food supply, but raids by Waterluvian youth on London have become a sort of coming of age ritual and an intense rivalry continues to this day.
Saguenay War
Government
Economy
The land surrounding London is some of the most fertile in all of Ontario. This was instrumental in London's ability to survive. Currently agriculture dominates the London economy, but biodiesel production has become a major industry as well. Biodiesel exports have become a major boon to the London economy since the reopening of the port facilities in Port Stanley.
Military
London has no standing military, but the Ontario Provincial Police and its ERT units continue as a law enforcement body and manage a decent job of maintaining order. With no provincial government, the police in the region now answer to the London City Council.
Transportation
With a locomotive manufacturing center located in the city, biodiesel production becoming a major industry, and fuel supplies for cars cut off, the City Council enacted a plan to strip cars for raw materials and build a rail system for the movement of goods and people around the city and the territory under London control. While many parts of the system are unreliable due to a lack of expertise of the construction crew and engineers, experience has been the best teacher and with further expansion the bugs are slowly being worked out and earlier lines being replaced. By 2016 it is expected that London will have the most extensive and advanced rail system in North America. The existing rail system towards Port Stanley and Sarnia has seen expansion due to the importance of these ports to the London economy.
The port facilities of Port Stanley have been reopened and allow transportation across lake Erie to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Toledo Confederation. The port in Sarnia allows access to lake Huron, giving London access to the Republic of Superior as well as other Canadian cities.
Foreign Relations
London enjoys good relations with North Pennsylvania, and they are currently the largest market for London's biodiesel exports. The Waterloo Cooperative, London's nearest neighbor, has been a source of frustration for London. The struggling state has continually antagonized London due to its perceived prosperity. With its larger population and wider variety of manufacturing facilities, if it came to war between the states the outcome is unsure.
Forces from London near Sarnia first encountered forces from the Republic of Superior, based in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, during their RSREF South exploratory mission in 1991.
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