For most of the 19th century, the Irish formed the largest non-French ethnic group in central Canada and their presence was particularly significant in Ontario. Donald Akenson argues that, despite the popular conception of the Irish as a city people, those who settled in Ontario were primarily rural and small-town dwellers. Akenson also suggests that by using Ontario as a historical laboratory it is possible to make valid assessments of the real differences between Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics.