Northwestern Ontario consists of the districts of Kenora, Rainy River and Thunder Bay.

Major communities in the region include Thunder Bay, Kenora, Dryden, Fort Frances, Sioux Lookout, Greenstone, Red Lake, Marathon, and Atikokan.

Northwestern Ontarians tend to lean left politically, mainly due to the history and influence of labour unions.

At the federal level, Northwestern Ontario is represented by Liberal MPs Marcus Powlowski in Thunder Bay—Rainy River and Patty Hajdu in Thunder Bay—Superior North, as well as Conservative MP Eric Melillo in the Kenora District,.

Some, most notably former Kenora mayor Dave Canfield,[2] and Fort Frances town councillor Tannis Drysdale, have proposed the idea of the region as a whole, or parts of it, seceding from Ontario to join Manitoba, although the campaign did not attract widespread public support.