Toronto in 1901

The history of Toronto spans a few centuries. The Toronto area was home to a number of First Nations groups who lived on the shore of Lake Ontario. At various times, the Neutral, Seneca, Mohawk and Cayuga nations were living in the vicinity of Toronto. The first permanent European presence was the French trading fort Fort Rouillé, which was established in 1750, south of the village site of Teiaiagon. However, the first large influx of Europeans was by United Empire Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution. In 1793, Toronto, then known as York, was named capital of the new colony of Upper Canada, was the site of a major battle during the War of 1812, when it was burned by Americans. York was incorporated and renamed Toronto in 1834. The city steadily grew during the 19th century, becoming one of the main destinations of immigrants to Canada. In the second half of the 20th century, Toronto surpassed Montreal as the economic capital of Canada and as its largest city.

Pre-European period[link]

Davenport Road, as shown here in 1914, does not follow Toronto's standard street grid pattern, as it originated as a First Nations travel route between the Humber River and the Don Valley.

Toronto is located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, and was originally a term of indeterminate geographical location, designating the approximate area of the future city of Toronto on maps dating to the late 17th and early 18th century. Eventually, the name was anchored to the mouth of the Humber River, the end of the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail portage route from Georgian Bay; this is where the city of Toronto is located today.

The source and meaning of the name remains a matter of debate. Most common definitions claim that the origin is the Seneca word Giyando, meaning "on the other side," which was the place where the Humber River narrows at the foot of the pass to the village of Taiaiagon. However, it is much more likely that the term is from the Mohawk word tkaronto meaning "where there are trees standing in the water," a reference to a specific location at the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, then known as "Lake Toronto". The portage route up the Humber River eventually leads past this well-known landmark. As the portage route grew in use, the name became more widely used and was eventually attached to a French trading fort just inland from Lake Ontario on the Humber.

Part of this confusion can be attributed to the succession of peoples who lived in the area during the 17th century and before: the Neutral, Seneca, Mohawk, Cayuga and Wendat nations.^[1] The Mississaugas arrived in the late 17th or early 18th century, driving out the occupying Iroquois^[2][3] and later lending their name to Toronto's modern-day western suburb. Until the beginning of British colonization, there was limited permanent occupation, though both native peoples and the French did attempted to settle, including the construction of the small fort 'Rouillé' near the mouth of the Humber, on the grounds of today's Exhibition Place.

European settlement[link]

Town of York and earlier[link]

Front Street in 1804

European settlement in central Canada was quite limited before 1788, amounting to only a few families, but it began growing quickly in the aftermath of the American Revolution. The first European to set foot on the shores of Lake Ontario in the vicinity of what is now Toronto was French explorer Étienne Brûlé. Toronto was very crucial for its series of trails and water routes that led from northern and western Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Known as the "Toronto Passage", it followed the Humber River, as an important overland shortcut between Lake Ontario and the upper Great Lakes. For this reason, Toronto became a hot spot for French fur traders. The French established a trading fort, Fort Rouillé, on the current Exhibition Grounds around 1750, but it was abandoned in 1759, and by 1760 the British had defeated the French who withdrew from what would later become Canada. From 1776 to 1783, United Empire Loyalists, American colonists who refused to accept being divorced from the United Kingdom after the American Revolution, or who felt unwelcome in the new republic of the United States of America, fled from the newly formed United States to the unsettled lands north of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario; some had fought in the British army and were paid with land in the region. In 1787, the British negotiated the purchase of more than a quarter million acres (1,000 km²) of land in the area of Toronto with the Mississaugas of New Credit. The site was then chosen by Governor John Graves Simcoe on July 29, 1793 as the new capital of the newly organized province of Upper Canada, moving away from the U.S. border.

Specifically the town, then known as York, was built within a large protected bay formed by the Toronto Islands, which — at the time — was a long sandy peninsula, which formed a large natural harbour, featuring a great wetland marsh — fed by the Don River — at the eastern end (long since filled in), with the only opening to the lake at the western end (it was only later, in 1858, that the "Eastern Gap", was punched through the peninsula by a storm, creating the true Island). This large natural harbour was defended with the construction of Fort York, guarding the entrance on what was then a high point on the water's edge, with a small river on the inland side (Garrison Creek). The town proper was formed closer to the eastern end of the harbour, entirely behind the peninsula, near what is now Parliament Street.

The death of Zebulon Pike at the Battle of York

Governor Simcoe was concerned with opening military communications between the settlements in the southwest of Upper Canada (notably Newark) and those to the east (Kingston, then points east to the border with Lower Canada). Dundas Street was the western route, leading to the town of the same name near Hamilton, but then continued west instead of southeast towards Niagara, and today it ends near the US border at Windsor. Kingston Road today forms the basis of the major Toronto-Montreal route. A third route, Yonge Street, was opened northward to Lake Toronto (later renamed Lake Simcoe) and cut in three years. Yonge Street now forms the dividing line between east and west in Toronto, and is sometimes called "the longest street in the world" as it snakes its way for 1,896 kilometres (1,178 mi) to Rainy River, on the Minnesota border, despite the fact that it is simply known as Highway 11 for much of its route. Today, all these roads mentioned are still in use.

The Court House and Jail in 1829.

In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, York was attacked and partially burned by American forces led by Zebulon Pike. Fort York was lightly manned at the time, and realizing that a defence was impossible, the troops retreated and set fire to the magazine. It exploded as the US forces were entering the fort, killing Pike and a contingent of his men. After the US forces departed, a new and much stronger fort was constructed several hundred yards to the west of the original position. Another American attack in 1814 was defeated with ease, the landing force never being able to approach the shoreline. Due to land reclamation, this newer fort now lies hundreds of metres inland.

Early Toronto[link]

The town was incorporated on March 6, 1834, reverting to the name Toronto to distinguish it from New York City, as well as about a dozen other localities named 'York' in the province (including the county in which Toronto was situated), and to disassociate itself from the negative connotation of dirty Little York,^[4] a common nickname for the town by its residents. William Lyon Mackenzie was its first mayor. Toronto was the site of the key events of the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837.

Monument commemorating the Irish immigrants who came to Toronto to escape the Great Irish Famine

Irish immigrants[link]

The Irish Famine (1845–1849) brought a large number of Irish into the city, a slight majority of whom were Protestant. By 1851, the Irish-born population became the largest single ethnic group in the city. The Orange Order, based among the Protestant Irish, became a dominant force in Toronto society, so much so that 1920s Toronto was called the "Belfast of Canada". The Orange opposed everything Catholic. They lost interest in Ireland after the establishment of Northern Ireland and the Orange influence faded after 1940.^[5]

Irish Catholics arriving in Toronto faced widespread intolerance and severe discrimination, both social and legislative, leading to several large scale riots between Catholics and Protestants from 1858–1878, culminating in the Jubilee Riots of 1875. The Irish population essentially defined the Catholic population in Toronto until 1890, when German and French Catholics were welcomed to the city by the Irish, but the Irish proportion still remained 90% of the Catholic population. However, various powerful initiatives such as the foundation of St. Michael's College in 1852 (where Marshall McLuhan was to hold the chair of English until his death in 1980), three hospitals, and the most significant charitable organizations in the city (the Society of St. Vincent de Paul) and House of Providence created by Irish Catholic groups strengthened the Irish identity, transforming the Irish presence in the city into one of influence and power.

McGowan argues that between 1890 and 1920, the city's Catholics experienced major social, ideological, and economic changes that allowed them to integrate into Toronto society and shake off their second-class status. The Irish Catholics (in contrast to the French) strongly supported Canada's role in the First World War. They broke out of the ghetto and lived in all of Toronto's neighbourhoods. Starting as unskilled labourers, they used high levels of education to move up and were well represented among the lower middle class. Most dramatically, they intermarried with Protestants at an unprecedented rate.^[6]

Late 19th century[link]

Gooderham Building at Front and Wellington Streets, 1890s

Toronto grew rapidly in the late 19th century, the population increasing from 30,000 in 1851 to 56,000 in 1871, 86,400 in 1881 and 181,000 in 1891. The total urbanized population was not counted as it is today to include the greater area, those just outside the city limits made for a significantly higher population. The 1891 figure also included population counted after recent annexations of many smaller, adjacent towns such as Parkdale, Brockton Village, West Toronto, East Toronto, and others. Immigration, high birth rates and influx from the surrounding rural population accounted for much of this growth, although immigration had slowed substantially by the 1880s if compared to the generation prior. Modern amenities came to Toronto, including an extensive streetcar network in the city (still operational), plus long-distance railways and radial lines. One radial line ran mostly along Yonge Street for about 80 km to Lake Simcoe, and allowed day trips to its beaches. At the time, Toronto's own beaches were far too polluted to use, largely a side effect of dumping garbage directly in the lake. The Grand Trunk Railway and the Great Northern Railway joined in the building of the first Union Station in the downtown area. The advent of the railway dramatically increased the numbers of immigrants arriving and commerce, as had the Lake Ontario steamers and schooners entering the port.

Toronto from the bay in 1901

As the city grew, it became naturally bounded by the Humber River to the west, and the Don River to the east. Several smaller rivers and creeks in the downtown area were routed into culverts and sewers and the land filled in above them, including both Garrison Creek and Taddle Creek, the latter running through the University of Toronto. Much of Castle Frank Brook became covered during this time. At the time, they were being used as open sewers, and were becoming a serious health problem. The re-configuration of the Don River mouth to make a ship channel and Lakeshore reclamation project occurred in the 1888, again largely driven by sanitary concerns and establishing effective port commerce.

Immigrants[link]

During the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century, the Irish immigrants who had followed the British to Toronto were followed by many other immigrant groups in the late 19th century: Germans, Italians, and Jews from various parts of Eastern Europe; later Chinese, Russians, Poles, and many other eastern Europeans. By the latter half of the 20th century, refugees and immigrants from many other parts of the world were the major source of immigration. It might be noted that British immigration remained strong through the latter half of the 19th century well into the 20th century, in addition to a steady influx from rural areas of Ontario, which included French-Canadians.^[7] The large numbers of new Canadians helped Toronto's population swell to over one million by 1951, and double again to over two million, by 1971.^[8]

20th century[link]

Environment[link]

A large section of the downtown was destroyed in the Great Toronto Fire of 1904, but it was quickly rebuilt.

Raymore Park near Raymore Drive was one of the parks created in low-lying areas that were flooded during Hurricane Hazel in 1954.

The Don River has an especially deep ravine, cutting off the east of the city at most points north of the lakeshore. This was addressed in October 1918, when the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct, also known as the Bloor Street Viaduct, was finalized, linking Bloor Street on the western side of the ravine with Danforth Avenue on the east. The designer, Edmund Burke, fought long and hard to have a lower deck added to the bridge for trains, a cost the city was not willing to provide for. Nevertheless, he finally got his way, and thereby saved the city millions of dollars when the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway started using the deck in 1966. The Prince Edward Viaduct represented a turning point in Toronto's history. Now linked to what were formerly separate towns, Toronto "filled out" in the first half of the 20th century, becoming a single larger city.

Business history[link]

Entrepreneurship was exemplified by the career of John Northway (1848–1926). Beginning as a tailor in a small town, he moved to Toronto and soon developed a chain of department stores. His innovations in the sewing and marketing of ladies' wear enabled the emergence of a Canadian ladies' garment industry. Northway pioneered modern business methods and accounting methods. He innovated as well in labour relations, as a pioneer in sickness and accident compensation and profit-sharing schemes. A millionaire by 1910, he played a leading role in Toronto's civic life.^[9][10]

Poster for the 1919 Canadian National Exhibition

Toronto displaced Montreal as the nation's premier business centre because the nationalist movement in Quebec, particularly with the success of the Parti Québécois in 1976, systematically alienated Anglophone businesses. By 1995, Toronto controlled 48% of the nation's financial assets and 44% of the non-financial corporate assets, compared to 28% and 22% by Montreal. However Calgary and other western cities based on oil have been gaining on Toronto since 2000.^[11]

Modernizing the police[link]

Toronto modernized and professionalized its public services in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. No service was changed more dramatically than the police. The introduction of emergency telephone call boxes linked to a central dispatcher, plus bicycles, motorcycles and automobiles shifted the patrolman's duties from passively walking the beat to fast reaction to reported incidents, as well as handling automobile traffic. After 1930, the introduction of police radios sped up response times.^[12]

Modernizing medicine[link]

Once they had taken control of the practice of medicine, the doctors on the Medical Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) turned their attention to the quality of medical education in Ontario. Marginal and untrained practitioners were banned, but the question rose of the permanence and the quality of proprietary for-profit medical schools. CPSO imposed regulations in the 1860s to increase faculty size and raise matriculation standards. They required students to take Council-administered examinations. Toronto had two medical schools - Trinity Medical School and the Toronto School of Medicine (TSM). During the 1880s, the TSM added instructors, expanded its curriculum, and focused on clinical instruction. Enrollments grew at both schools. Critics found proprietary schools lacking especially for their failure to offer sufficient instruction in the basic sciences. In 1887, the TSM became the medical faculty of the University of Toronto, increasing its emphasis on research within the medical curriculum. Trinity realized that its survival depended as well on close ties to basic science, and it in 1904 it also merged into the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine.^[13] In 1923, two researchers there, J.J.R. Macleod (1876–1935) and Frederick Banting (1891–1941), shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their 1921 discovery of insulin, putting Toronto on the world map of avant-garde science.^[14][15]

Metropolitan Toronto[link]

In 1954, the provincial government created the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, a regional government that incorporated numerous local municipalities. During that same year, the original stretch of the subway was completed from Union to Eglinton Stations on the Yonge line. In that year as well, Hurricane Hazel swept through Toronto, causing significant flooding; 81 people were killed and one side street was significantly destroyed as a result. During the 1970s, Toronto had a major construction boom with many of the city's skyscrapers being built at the time. This was causing havoc with the city's old television and radio towers which were simply not tall enough to serve the city, so engineers and politicians decided that something had to be built taller than any other building in the city or anything that would probably ever be built. They decided to build a massive television and radio tower (the CN Tower), which was completed in 1976. To complement the CN Tower, the SkyDome (Rogers Centre since 2005) opened in 1989.

A continuous influx of newcomers from Atlantic Canada and large numbers of immigrants from around the world have contributed to the steady growth of Toronto and its surroundings since the Second World War. Today,^[when?] Toronto is the primary destination for new immigrants to Canada, the vast majority from the developing world.

Toronto skyline in July 1930.

Since 1998[link]

Toronto's landmark "new" city hall

Parts of this article (those related to section) are outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (May 2011)

In 1998, the six municipalities comprising Metropolitan Toronto – East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York, and the former City of Toronto – and its regional government were amalgamated into a single City of Toronto (colloquially dubbed the "megacity") by an act of the provincial government. This was despite a municipal referendum in 1997 that was overwhelmingly against amalgamation. Subsequently, Mel Lastman defeated Barbara Hall to become the first elected mayor of the megacity.

In January 1999, a series of snowstorms brought severe snow accumulation. Snow clearing crews working around the clock could not keep up with the continuous accumulation, which reached second floor windows. So many of the city's roadways became impassable for residents and Emergency Medical Service vehicles alike that the then Federal Minister of Defence, Art Eggleton, ordered in a detachment of Canadian Forces to patrol the streets to help clear the snow. This was considered an embarrassment by many in Toronto. In much of the remainder of Canada, Toronto became the butt of jokes and even scorn over the army being called in. In its defence, Toronto is one of the largest cities in Canada and has the highest percentage of commuters of any city in North America.

In 2001, Toronto finished second to Beijing in voting by the International Olympic Committee for the host city of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In 2002, Toronto hosted World Youth Day 2002 and a visit by Pope John Paul II. The municipal government's two largest unions, Locals 79 and 416 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, went on strike several weeks before the scheduled event, meaning that certain basic services, such as day care and parks programs, were not available. Since city workers also pick up garbage and recycling, city parks became piled high with rubbish — some parks were designated official dump sites for the duration of the strike, while others were used illegally. The situation was resolved when the Ontario government tabled back-to-work legislation to end the strike, and the city was back to normal before the start of World Youth Day.

In early 2003, Toronto was affected by the SARS epidemic. Although the disease was primarily confined to hospitals and health-care workers, tourism in Toronto suffered significantly because of media reports. To help recover the losses the city suffered in industries and tourism, the city held the SARS Benefit Concert (colloquially termed SARSStock), which was headlined by The Rolling Stones and featured acts such as AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, and Justin Timberlake. The concert attracted some 450,000 people in late July, making it one of the ten largest concerts in history. Two weeks later, the city was also affected by the 2003 North America blackout. In the resulting chaos, the city ground to a halt, with people taking to the streets to party and talk to their neighbours. Power was not restored for more than 12 hours; in some isolated pockets, not for up to three days.

In the November 2003 municipal election, David Miller was elected to replace Mel Lastman as mayor, after running a successful campaign which included a promise to cancel the proposed fixed link to Toronto Island Airport.

According to a United Nations report, Toronto has the second-highest proportion of immigrants in the world, after Miami, Florida. Almost half of Toronto's residents were born outside Canada.^[16] The resulting cultural diversity is reflected in the numerous ethnic neighbourhoods of the city. The proliferation of shops and restaurants derived from cultures around the world makes the city one of the most exciting places in the world to visit. Moreover, the relative tranquility that mediates between such diverse populations is a testament to the perceived tolerant character of Canadian society.

Toronto hosted the G-20 summit on June 26–27, 2010, but it was not without protests, which needed one of the most expensive temporary security operations in Canada's history and also had the largest mass arrests in Canadian history.

See also[link]

Toronto portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: History of Toronto

• History of Ontario
• List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto

References[link]

1. ^ See R. F. Williamson, ed., Toronto: An Illustrated History of its First 12,000 Years (Toronto: James Lorimer, 2008), ch. 2, with reference to the Mantle Site
2. ^ The Ojibwa-Iroquois War: The War the Five Nations Did Not Win. Leroy V. Eid. Ethnohistory, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Autumn, 1979), Duke University Press,pp. 297-324
3. ^ Schmalz, Peter S., The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-2736-9. pp 21-22
4. ^ Firth, Edith G., ed. (1966). The Town of York: 1815—1834; A Further Collection of Documents of Early Toronto. University of Toronto Press. pp. 297–298. 
5. ^ see Orange Canada
6. ^ Mark G. McGowan, The Waning of the Green: Catholics, the Irish, and Identity in Toronto, 1887-1922 (1999)
7. ^ http://www.frommers.com/destinations/toronto/0034020044.html
8. ^ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=J1SEC626334
9. ^ G. Alan Wilson, "John Northway's Career: An Approach to Ontario's History," Ontario History, March 1964, Vol. 56 Issue 1, pp 37-44
10. ^ Alan Wilson, "Northway, John," Dictionary of Canadian Biography online
11. ^ John N. H. Britton, Canada and the global economy: the geography of structural and technological change (1996) p 296
12. ^ Bill Rawling, "Technology and Innovation in the Toronto Police Force, 1875-1925," Ontario History, Mar 1988, Vol. 80 Issue 1, pp 53-71
13. ^ R. D. Gidney, and W. P. J. Millar, "The Reorientation of Medical Education in Late Nineteenth-Century Ontario: The Proprietary Medical Schools and the Founding of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto," Journal of the History of Medicine & Allied Sciences, Jan 1994, Vol. 49 Issue 1, pp 52-78
14. ^ "Sir Frederick Grant Banting" in The Canadian Encyclopedia
15. ^ J. M. Fenster, "The Conquest of Diabetes," American Heritage of Invention & Technology, Jan 1999, Vol. 14 Issue 3, pp 48-55
16. ^ "Toronto second city in the world for migrants". CBC News. July 16, 2004. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2004/07/16/migrants040716.html. 

• Exploring Toronto's Past
  • The History of Toronto - An 11,000 Year History
• Archives of Ontario online exhibits
• Post-1800 Settlement History - Toronto Islands - web video and DVD
• Chronology of Establishment and Annexations of jurisdictions in Toronto
• Articles on various areas by Rick Bébout
• Lost River Walks
• History of Toronto and County of York
• Toronto Neighbourhoods
• Toronto Archives Image Database
• Scarborough Historical Society
• Toronto Museums
• CBC Radio feature by Al Skeoch and Mike Smee - Toronto Islands
• CBC Radio feature by Al Skeoch and Mike Smee - The Beach
• CBC Radio feature by Al Skeoch and Mike Smee - Sunnyside
• CBC Radio feature by Al Skeoch and Mike Smee - University Avenue Art
• CBC Radio feature by Al Skeoch and Mike Smee - Toronto's Hidden Garbage Dumps

Bibliography[link]

• Careless, J. M. S. Brown of the Globe (2 vols, Toronto, 1959–63), vol 1: The Voice of Upper Canada 1818-1859; vol 2: The Statesman of Confederation 1860-1880.
• Hayes, Derek. Historical Atlas of Toronto (2009)
• MacFarlane, David. Toronto: A City Becoming (2008); 304pp; essays discussing changes in the city
• Rawlings-Way, Charles, and Natalie Karneef. Toronto (2007)
• Bibliography of Toronto History Published since 1990 (from City of Toronto)
• Robertson, J. Ross (John Ross). Landmarks of Toronto. Toronto: J. Ross Robertson, 1894.

External links[link]

• Historicity - Toronto Then and Now from the Toronto Public Library
• Toronto: A Place of Meeting from the Toronto Public Library's virtual gallery
• Earliest Known Photos of Toronto by Armstrong, Beere & Hime ~1856, City of Toronto Archives.
• The History of the Battle of Toronto by William Lyon MacKenzie, 1839 from the Ontario Time Machine
• Historicist articles on Toronto History by Torontoist.ca
• Toronto Boom Town, a 1951 National Film Board of Canada documentary covering the first half of the 20th century

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Toronto
—  City  —
City of Toronto
From top left: Downtown Toronto featuring the CN Tower and Financial District from the Toronto Islands, City Hall, the Ontario Legislative Building, Casa Loma, Prince Edward Viaduct, and the Scarborough Bluffs
Flag Coat of arms of Toronto Coat of arms Official logo of Toronto Logo
Nickname(s): T.O., T-Dot, Hogtown, The Queen City, Toronto the Good, The City Within a Park
Motto: Diversity Our Strength
Location of Toronto and its census metropolitan area in the province of Ontario
Toronto Location of Toronto in Canada
Coordinates: 43°42′59.72″N 79°20′26.47″W / 43.7165889°N 79.3406861°W / 43.7165889; -79.3406861Coordinates: 43°42′59.72″N 79°20′26.47″W / 43.7165889°N 79.3406861°W / 43.7165889; -79.3406861
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Districts	East York, Etobicoke, North York, Old Toronto, Scarborough, York
Established	August 27, 1793 (as York)
Incorporated	March 6, 1834 (as Toronto)
Amalgamated	January 1, 1998 (from Metropolitan Toronto)
Government
• Mayor	Rob Ford
• Council	Toronto City Council
• MPs	List of MPs Mark Adler Carolyn Bennett John Carmichael Andrew Cash Corneliu Chisu Olivia Chow Joe Daniel Kirsty Duncan Dan Harris Roxanne James Jim Karygiannis Matthew Kellway Jack Layton Chungsen Leung John McKay Peggy Nash Joe Oliver Ted Opitz Bob Rae Judy Sgro Rathika Sitsabaiesan Mike Sullivan Bernard Trottier
• MPPs	List of MPPs Laura Albanese Bas Balkissoon Lorenzo Berardinetti Margarett Best Laurel Broten Donna Cansfield David Caplan Mike Colle Cheri DiNovo Brad Duguid Eric Hoskins Monte Kwinter Rosario Marchese Glen Murray Gerry Phillips Michael Prue Shafiq Qaadri Tony Ruprecht Mario Sergio Peter Tabuns Kathleen Wynne David Zimmer
Area[1]
• City	630 km2 (240 sq mi)
• Urban	1,749 km2 (675 sq mi)
• Metro	7,125 km2 (2,751 sq mi)
Elevation	76 m (249 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
• City	2,615,060 (1st)
• Density	4,149/km2 (10,750/sq mi)
• Urban	5,132,794 (1st)
• Metro	5,583,064 (1st)
• Demonym	Torontonian
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code span	M
Area code(s)	416, 647
NTS Map	030M11
GNBC Code	FEUZB
Website	www.toronto.ca

Toronto (/təˈrɒntoʊ/, colloquially /ˈtrɒnoʊ/) is the largest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from the Mississaugas of the New Credit. The settlement was later established as the Town of York and proclaimed as the new capital of Upper Canada by its lieutenant-governor, John Graves Simcoe. In 1834, York was incorporated as a city and renamed to its present name. The city was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812 and damaged in two great fires in 1849 and in 1904. Since its incorporation, Toronto has repeatedly expanded its borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities, most recently in 1998.

With over 2.6 million residents, it is the fifth most populous city in North America. Its metropolitan area has over 5.5 million residents. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, which has a population of nearly 9 million people as of 2011.^[2][3][4] The census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 5,583,064,^[5] and the Greater Toronto Area had a population of 6,054,191 in the 2011 Census.^[6] Its cosmopolitan and international population^[7] reflects its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada.^[8] Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, with about 49% of the population born outside Canada.^[7][8][9] Toronto is also consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.^[10][11]

As Canada's commercial capital and one of the top financial centres in the world, Toronto is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group.^[12][13] It is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange, the world's seventh largest in terms of market value. Toronto contains more corporate headquarters than any other Canadian city, including those of Canada's five largest banks.^[14] Toronto's leading economic sectors include finance, business services, telecommunications, aerospace, transportation, media, arts, film, music, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education, tourism, engineering, and sports industries.^[15][16] According to Forbes, Toronto is the tenth-most economically powerful city in the world and one of the fastest growing among the G7 nations, whilst PwC ranks the city as the world's second-best "metro powerhouse".^[17][18] Toronto was ranked twelfth in the world and fourth in the Americas in 2010 for economic innovation by 2thinknow.^[19] The cost of living in Toronto was ranked highest in Canada in 2011^[update].^[20]

History[link]

Before 1800[link]

When Europeans first arrived at the site of present-day Toronto, the vicinity was inhabited by the Huron tribes, who by then had displaced the Iroquois tribes that had occupied the region for centuries before c. 1500.^[21] The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto, meaning "place where trees stand in the water".^[22] It refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, led to widespread use of the name.

French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759.^[23] During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the unsettled lands north of Lake Ontario. In 1787, the British negotiated the Toronto Purchase with the Mississaugas of New Credit, thereby securing more than a quarter million acres (1000 km²) of land in the Toronto area.^[24]

In 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the existing settlement, naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe chose the town to replace Newark as the capital of Upper Canada,^[25] believing the new site would be less vulnerable to attack by the Americans.^[26] Fort York was constructed at the entrance of the town's natural harbour, sheltered by a long sand-bar peninsula. The town's settlement formed at the eastern end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street and Front Street (in the Corktown–St. Lawrence area).

1800–1945[link]

Map of Toronto, 1894

In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the town's capture and plunder by American forces.^[27] The surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. American soldiers destroyed much of Fort York and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation. The sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war. York was incorporated as the City of Toronto on March 6, 1834, reverting to its original native name. The population of only 9,000 included escaped African American slaves.^[28] Slavery was banned outright in Upper Canada in 1834. Reformist politician William Lyon Mackenzie became the first Mayor of Toronto and led the unsuccessful Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 against the British colonial government. The city grew rapidly through the remainder of the 19th century, as a major destination for immigrants to Canada. The first significant population influx occurred with the Great Irish Famine brought a large number of Irish to the city, some of them transient and most of them Catholic. By 1851, the Irish-born population had become the largest single ethnic group in the city. Smaller numbers of Protestant Irish immigrants were welcomed by the existing Scottish and English population, giving the Orange Order significant and long lasting influence over Toronto society.

The Great Toronto Fire of 1904.

Toronto was twice for brief periods the capital of the united Province of Canada: first from 1849 to 1852, following unrest in Montreal, and later 1856–1858 after which Quebec became capital until 1866 (one year before Confederation); since then, the capital of Canada has remained Ottawa.^[29] As it had been for Upper Canada from 1793, Toronto became the capital of the province of Ontario after its official creation in 1867, the seat of government located at the Ontario Legislature located at Queen's Park. Because of its provincial capital status, the city was also the location of Government House, the residence of the vice-regal representative of the Crown.

Yonge Street in 1900

In the 19th century, an extensive sewage system was built, and streets became illuminated with gas lighting as a regular service. Long-distance railway lines were constructed, including a route completed in 1854 linking Toronto with the Upper Great Lakes. The Grand Trunk Railway and the Northern Railway of Canada joined in the building of the first Union Station in downtown. The advent of the railway dramatically increased the numbers of immigrants arriving, commerce and industry, as had the Lake Ontario steamers and schooners entering port before which enabled Toronto to become a major gateway linking the world to the interior of the North American continent.

Toronto Street, looking north from King Street, 1908

Toronto became the largest alcohol distillation (in particular spirits) centre in North America; the Gooderham and Worts Distillery operations became the world's largest whiskey factory by the 1860s. A preserved section of this once dominant local industry remains in the Distillery District, the harbour allowed for sure access of grain and sugar imports used in processing. Expanding port and rail facilities brought in Northern Timber for export and imported Pennsylvania coal, industry dominated the waterfront for the next 100 years.

Horse-drawn streetcars gave way to electric streetcars in 1891, when the city granted the operation of the transit franchise to the Toronto Railway Company. The public transit system passed into public ownership in 1921 as the Toronto Transportation Commission, later renamed the Toronto Transit Commission. The system now has the third-highest ridership of any city public transportation system in North America.^[30]

The Great Toronto Fire of 1904 destroyed a large section of downtown Toronto, but the city was quickly rebuilt. The fire caused more than $10 million in damage, and resulted in more stringent fire safety laws and expansion of the city's fire department.

Toronto Harbour, 1919. Union Station can be seen under construction.

The city received new immigrant groups beginning in the late 19th century into early 20th century, particularly Germans, French, Italians, and Jews from various parts of Eastern Europe. They were soon followed by Chinese, Russians, Poles and immigrants from other Eastern European nations, as the Irish before them, many of these new migrants lived in overcrowded shanty type slums, such as "the Ward" which was centred on Bay Street, now the heart of the country's finances. Despite its fast paced growth, by the 1920s, Toronto's population and economic importance in Canada remained second to the much longer established Montreal. However, by 1934, the Toronto Stock Exchange had become the largest in the country.

V-E Day celebrations on Bay Street, May 1945

Since 1945[link]

Following the Second World War refugees from war-torn Europe and Chinese job-seekers arrived, as well as construction labourers, particularly from Italy and Portugal. Following elimination of racially based immigration policies by the late 1960s, immigration began from all parts of the world. Toronto's population grew to more than one million in 1951 when large-scale suburbanization began, and doubled to two million by 1971. By the 1980s, Toronto had surpassed Montreal as Canada's most populous city and the chief economic hub. During this time, in part owing to the political uncertainty raised by the resurgence of the Quebec sovereignty movement, many national and multinational corporations moved their head offices from Montreal to Toronto and Western Canadian cities.^[31]

In 1954, the City of Toronto and 12 surrounding municipalities were federated into a regional government known as Metropolitan Toronto.^[32] The postwar boom had resulted in rapid suburban development, and it was believed that a coordinated land use strategy and shared services would provide greater efficiency for the region. The metropolitan government began to manage services that crossed municipal boundaries, including highways, police services, water and public transit. In that year, a half-century after the Great Fire of 1904, disaster struck the city again when Hurricane Hazel brought intense winds and flash flooding. In the Toronto area, 81 people were killed, nearly 1,900 families were left homeless, and the hurricane caused more than $25 million in damage.^[33]

In 1967, the seven smallest municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto were merged into their larger neighbours, resulting in a six-municipality configuration that included the old City of Toronto and the surrounding municipalities of East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York. In 1998, the metropolitan government was dissolved by the Provincial Government in the face of vigorous opposition from the smaller component municipalities and all six municipalities were amalgamated into a single municipality, creating the current City of Toronto, with Mel Lastman as its first mayor (after being mayor of North York). David Miller was the second mayor and Rob Ford is the third and current mayor.

The city celebrated its 175th anniversary on March 6, 2009, since its inception as the City of Toronto in 1834. Toronto hosted the 4th G-20 summit during June 26–27, 2010, for which the largest security operation in Canadian history took place amidst large-scale protests. Toronto will host the Pan American Games in 2015.

Geography[link]

A simulated-colour image of Toronto taken by the NASA Landsat 7 satellite from 2004. Yonge Street can clearly be seen bisecting the city just right of centre in the image. The other prominent road, running east-west, is Highway 401.

Toronto covers an area of 630 square kilometres (243 sq mi),^[34] with a maximum north-south distance of 21 kilometres (13 mi) and a maximum east-west distance of 43 km (27 mi). It has a 46-kilometre (29 mi) long waterfront shoreline, on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. The Toronto Islands and Port Lands extend some distance out into the lake, allowing for a somewhat sheltered Toronto Harbour immediately south of the downtown core.^[35] The city's borders are formed by Lake Ontario to the south, Etobicoke Creek and Highway 427 to the west, Steeles Avenue to the north and the Rouge River to the east.

Topography[link]

The city is intersected by three rivers and numerous tributaries: the Humber River in the west end and the Don River east of downtown at opposite ends of the Toronto Harbour, and the Rouge River at the city's eastern limits. The harbour was naturally created by sediment build-up from lake currents that created the Toronto Islands. The many creeks and rivers cutting from north toward the lake created large tracts of densely forested ravines, and provide ideal sites for parks and recreational trails. However, the ravines also interfere with the city's grid plan, and this results in major thoroughfares such as Finch Avenue, Leslie Street, Lawrence Avenue, and St. Clair Avenue terminating on one side of ravines and continuing on the other side. Other thoroughfares such as the Prince Edward Viaduct are required to span above the ravines. These deep ravines prove useful for draining the city's vast storm sewer system during heavy rains, but some sections, particularly near the Don River are prone to sudden, heavy floods.

During the last ice age, the lower part of Toronto was beneath Glacial Lake Iroquois. Today, a series of escarpments mark the lake's former boundary, known as the Iroquois Shoreline. The escarpments are most prominent from Victoria Park Avenue to the mouth of Highland Creek, where they form the Scarborough Bluffs. Other observable sections include the area near St. Clair Avenue West between Bathurst Street and the Don River, and north of Davenport Road from Caledonia to Spadina Road; the Casa Loma grounds sit above this escarpment. Despite its deep ravines, Toronto is not remarkably hilly, but does increase in elevation steadily away from the lake. Elevation differences range from 75 metres (246 ft) above-sea-level at the Lake Ontario shore to 209 m (686 ft) ASL near the York University grounds in the city's north end at the intersection of Keele Street and Steeles Avenue.^[36] There are occasional hilly areas, in particular midtown Toronto has a number of rolling hills, some of which are of considerable height. Lake Ontario remains occasionally visible from the peaks of these ridges as far north as Eglinton Avenue, 7 to 8 kilometres (4.3 to 5.0 mi) inland.

Much of the current lakeshore land area fronting the Toronto Harbour is artificial landfill filled during the late 19th century. Until then the lakefront docks (then known as wharves) were set back further inland than today. Much of the adjacent Port Lands are also fill. The Toronto Islands were a natural landspit until a storm in 1858 severed their connection to the mainland, creating a channel later used by shipping interests to access the docks.

Climate[link]

Toronto's climate is moderate for Canada owing to its southerly location within the country. It has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with warm, humid summers and cold winters. The city experiences four distinct seasons, with considerable variance in day to day temperature, particularly during the colder weather season. Owing to urbanization and its proximity to water, Toronto has a fairly low diurnal temperature range (day-night temperature difference). The denser urban scape makes for warmer nights year around and is not as cold throughout the winter than surrounding areas (particularly north of the city); however, it can be noticeably cooler on many spring and early summer afternoons under the influence of a lake breeze. Other low-scale maritime effects on the climate include lake-effect snow, fog and delaying of spring- and fall-like conditions, known as seasonal lag.

Toronto winters sometimes feature short cold snaps where maximum temperatures remain below −10 °C (14 °F), often made to feel colder by wind chill. Snowstorms, sometimes mixed with ice and rain can disrupt work and travel schedules, accumulating snow can fall any time from November until mid-April. However, mild stretches with temperatures in the 5 to 12 °C (41 to 54 °F) range and infrequently higher also occur in most winters melting accumulated snow. Summer in Toronto is characterized by long stretches of humid weather. Usually in the range from 23 °C (73 °F) to 31 °C (88 °F), daytime temperatures occasionally surpass 35 °C (95 °F) accompanied by high humidity making it feel oppressive during these brief periods of hot weather. Spring and autumn are transitional seasons with generally mild or cool temperatures with alternating dry and wet periods.

Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, but summer is usually the wettest season, the bulk falling during thunderstorms. There can be periods of dry weather, but drought-like conditions are rare. The average yearly precipitation is about 830 mm (32.7 in), with an average annual snowfall of about 133 cm (52 in). Toronto experiences an average of 2,038 sunshine hours, or 44% of daylight hours, varying between a low of 27% in December to 59% in July.^[37]

Cityscape[link]

360-degree panorama of Toronto as seen from the CN Tower. The Toronto Islands and the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on Lake Ontario are visible on the left side of the image while buildings of Downtown Toronto are visible on the right.

Architecture[link]

Art Gallery of Ontario

Lawrence Richards, a member of the faculty of architecture at the University of Toronto, has said "Toronto is a new, brash, rag-tag place—a big mix of periods and styles."^[39] Toronto buildings vary in design and age with many structures dating back to the mid-19th century, while other prominent buildings were just newly built in the first decade of the 21st century.

Defining the Toronto skyline is the CN Tower, completed in 1976. At a height of 553.33 metres (1,815 ft 5 in) it was the world's tallest^[40] freestanding structure until 2007 when it was surpassed by Burj Khalifa, but it is still the tallest tower in the western hemisphere surpassing the Willis Tower by 110 metres. It is an important telecommunications hub and a centre of tourism in Toronto.

Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place

Toronto is a city of high-rises, having 1,800 buildings over 30 metres (98 ft), second only to New York City (which has over 5,000 such buildings) in North America.^[41] Most of these buildings are residential (either rental or condominium), whereas the central business district contains the taller commercial office towers. There has been recent media attention given for the need to retrofit many of these buildings, which were constructed beginning in the 1950s as residential apartment blocks to accommodate a quickly growing population. As of December 2011, Toronto had 132 high-rise buildings under-construction, which was the highest among all cities in North America, significantly beating Mexico City (88), New York City (86), and Chicago (17).^[42]

Through the 1960s and 1970s, significant pieces of Toronto's architectural heritage were demolished to make way for redevelopment or, simply, parking. In contrast, since the 2000s, Toronto is experiencing a period of architectural revival, with several buildings by world-renowned architects having opened in the last five years. Daniel Libeskind's Royal Ontario Museum addition, Frank Gehry's remake of the Art Gallery of Ontario, and Will Alsop's distinctive Ontario College of Art & Design expansion are among the city's new showpieces.^[43] The historic Distillery District, located on the eastern edge of downtown, is North America's largest and best preserved collection of Victorian era industrial architecture. It has been redeveloped into a pedestrian-oriented arts, culture and entertainment neighbourhood. Modern glass and steel highrises have begun to transform the majority of the downtown area as the condominium market has exploded and triggered widespread construction throughout the city's centre. Trump International Hotel and Tower, Ritz-Carlton Toronto, Four Seasons Hotel and Residences, and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts are just some of the many high rise luxury condominium-hotel projects currently under construction in the downtown core.

Neighbourhoods[link]

Row houses in Old Toronto; some of the houses shown have the distinctive bay-and-gable design, common in many parts of Old Toronto.

The many residential communities of Toronto express a character distinct from that of the skyscrapers in the commercial core. Victorian and Edwardian-era residential buildings can be found in enclaves such as Rosedale, Cabbagetown, The Annex, and Yorkville. Wychwood Park is historically significant for the architecture of its homes, and for being one of Toronto's earliest planned communities. The Wychwood Park neighbourhood was designated as an Ontario Heritage Conservation district in 1985. The Casa Loma neighbourhood is named after Casa Loma, a storybook castle built in 1911 complete with stunning gardens, multiple turrets, massive stables, an elevator, secret passages, and bowling alleys. Spadina House is a 19th century manor that is now a museum.

The City of Toronto encompasses a geographical area formerly administered by six separate municipalities. These municipalities have each developed a distinct history and identity over the years, and their names remain in common use among Torontonians. Throughout the city there exist hundreds of small neighbourhoods and some larger neighbourhoods covering a few square kilometres. Former municipalities include East York, Etobicoke, North York, Old Toronto, Scarborough, and York.

Map of Toronto with major traffic routes. Also shown are the boundaries of six former municipalities, which form the current City of Toronto.

The Old City of Toronto covers the area generally known as downtown. It is the historic core of Toronto and remains the most densely populated part of the city. The Financial District contains the largest cluster of skyscrapers in Canada, including the First Canadian Place, Toronto-Dominion Centre, Scotia Plaza, Royal Bank Plaza, Commerce Court and Brookfield Place. This area includes, among others, the neighbourhoods of St. James (not to be confused with St. James Town to the north), Garden District, St. Lawrence, Corktown, and Church and Wellesley. From that point, the Toronto skyline extends northward along Yonge Street. Old Toronto is also home to many historically wealthy residential enclaves, such as Yorkville, Rosedale, The Annex, Forest Hill, Lawrence Park, Lytton Park, Deer Park, Moore Park, and Casa Loma, most stretching away from downtown to the north. These neighbourhoods generally feature upscale homes, luxury condominiums and high-end retail. At the same time, the downtown core vicinity includes neighbourhoods with many recent immigrants and low-income families living in social housing and rental high-rises, such as St. James Town, Regent Park, Moss Park, Alexandra Park and Parkdale. East and west of Downtown, neighbourhoods such as Kensington Market, Chinatown, Leslieville, Cabbagetown and Riverdale are home to bustling commercial and cultural areas as well as vibrant communities of artists with studio lofts, with many middle and upper class professionals. Other neighbourhoods in the central city retain an ethnic identity, including two Chinatowns, the popular Greektown area, the trendy Little Italy, Portugal Village, and Little India, along with others.

The inner suburbs are contained within the former municipalities of York and East York. These are mature and traditionally working class areas, primarily consisting of post–World War I small, single-family homes and small apartment blocks. Neighbourhoods such as Crescent Town, Thorncliffe Park, Weston, and Oakwood–Vaughan mainly consist of high-rise apartments, which are home to many new immigrant families. During the 2000s, many neighbourhoods have become ethnically diverse and have undergone gentrification, as a result of increasing population and a housing boom during the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century. The first neighbourhoods affected were Leaside and North Toronto, gradually progressing into the western neighbourhoods in York. Some of the area's housing is in the process of being replaced or remodelled.

The outer suburbs comprising the former municipalities of Etobicoke (west), Scarborough (east) and North York (north) largely retain the grid plan laid before post-war development. Sections were long established and quickly growing towns before the suburban housing boom began and the emergence of Metro Government, existing towns or villages such as Mimico, Islington and New Toronto in Etobicoke; Willowdale, Newtonbrook and Downsview in North York; Agincourt, Wexford and West Hill in Scarborough where suburban development boomed around or between these and other towns beginning in the late 1940s. Upscale neighbourhoods were built such as the Bridle Path in North York, the area surrounding the Scarborough Bluffs in Guildwood, and most of central Etobicoke, such as Humber Valley Village, and The Kingsway. One of largest and earliest "planned communities" was Don Mills, parts of which were first built in the 1950s.^[44] Phased development mixing single-detached housing with higher density apartment blocks became more popular as a suburban model of development. To some this model has been copied in other GTA municipalities surrounding Toronto, albeit with less population density. Over the late 20th century and early 21st century, North York City Centre, Etobicoke City Centre and Scarborough City Centre have emerged as secondary business districts outside Downtown Toronto. High-rise development in these areas have given the former municipalities distinguishable skylines of their own with high-density transit corridors serving them.

Industrial[link]

The Distillery District

In the earlier industrial era of Toronto, industry became concentrated along the Toronto Harbour and lower Don River mouth.

The Distillery District contains the largest and best-preserved collection of Victorian industrial architecture in North America. Once the largest alcohol processing centre in North America, related structures along the Harbour include the Canada Malting Co. grain processing towers and the Redpath Sugar Refinery. Although production of spirits has declined over the decades, Toronto still has a robust and growing microbrewery industry.

The District is a national heritage site, it was listed by National Geographic magazine as a "top pick" in Canada for travellers. Similar areas that still retain their post-industrial character, but are now largely residential are the Fashion District, Corktown, and parts of South Riverdale and Leslieville. Toronto still has some active older industrial areas, such as Brockton Village, Mimico and New Toronto. In the west end of Old Toronto and York, the Weston/Mount Dennis and Junction areas have a sense of grit to them, as they still contain factories, meat packing facilities and railyards close to medium density residential.

Beginning in the late 19th century as Toronto sprawled out, industrial areas were set up on the outskirts. Over time, pockets of industrial land mostly followed rail lines and later highway corridors as the city grew outwards. This trend continues to this day, the largest factories and distribution warehouses have mostly moved to the suburban environs of Peel and York Regions; but also within the current city: Etobicoke (concentrated around Pearson Airport), North York, and Scarborough. Many of Toronto's former industrial sites close to (or Downtown) have been redeveloped including parts of the Toronto waterfront and Liberty Village, large-scale development is underway in the West Don Lands.

The still mostly vacated Port Lands remain largely undeveloped, apart from a power plant, a shipping container facility and out-of-commission industrial facilities. There are future plans for development, including residential areas under the guidance of Waterfront Toronto.

Public spaces[link]

High Park in Toronto, with Menashe Kadishman's Yellow Circles (1967)

Toronto has a diverse array of public spaces, from city squares to public parks overlooking ravines. A group called the Toronto Public Space Committee was formed to protect the city's public spaces. Nathan Phillips Square is the city's main square in downtown, and forms the entrance to City Hall. Yonge-Dundas Square, a newer, privately owned square near to City Hall, has also gained attention in recent years as one of the busiest gathering spots in the city. Other squares include Harbourfront Square, on the revitalized Toronto waterfront, and the civic squares at the former city halls of the defunct Metropolitan Toronto, most notably Mel Lastman Square in North York.

There are many large downtown parks, which include Grange Park, Moss Park, Allan Gardens, Little Norway Park, Queen's Park, Riverdale Park, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Christie Pits, and the Leslie Street Spit, which mainly consists of Tommy Thompson Park and opens on weekends. The Toronto Islands have several acres of park space, accessible from downtown by ferry. Large parks in the outer areas include High Park, Humber Bay Park, Centennial Park, Downsview Park, Guildwood Park, and Rouge Park. An almost hidden park is the compact Cloud Gardens,^[45] which has both open areas and a glassed-in greenhouse in downtown Toronto.

Nathan Phillips Square, Harbourfront Centre, and Mel Lastman Square feature popular rinks for public ice-skating. Etobicoke's Colonel Sam Smith Trail opened in 2011 and is Toronto's first skating trail. Centennial Park and Earl Bales Park offer outdoor skiing and snowboarding slopes with a chair lift, rental facilities, and lessons.

Nathan Phillips Square is undergoing a major redesign by PLANT Architect Inc., Shore Tilbe Irwin + Partners, Peter Lindsay Schaudt Landscape Architecture Inc., and Adrian Blackwell (winners of the international design competition in 2007). West 8, a Dutch architecture firm, won the Central Waterfront Innovative Design Competition in 2006 to redesign the central part of the Toronto waterfront.^[46][47] In 1999, Downsview Park initiated an international design competition to realise its vision of creating Canada's first national urban park. In May 2000, the winning park design was announced: "TREE CITY", by the team of Bruce Mau Design, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Oleson Worland Architect and Inside/Outside.

Panoramic view of Nathan Phillips square in 2011.

Culture[link]

The Royal Alexandra Theatre

Toronto is a major scene for theatre and other performing arts, with more than fifty ballet and dance companies, six opera companies, two symphony orchestras and a host of theatres. The city is home to the National Ballet of Canada, the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Electronic Ensemble, and the Canadian Stage Company. Notable performance venues include the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Roy Thomson Hall, the Princess of Wales Theatre, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Massey Hall, the Toronto Centre for the Arts, the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres and the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (originally the "O'Keefe Centre" and formerly the "Hummingbird Centre").

Ontario Place features the world's first permanent IMAX movie theatre, the Cinesphere,^[48] as well as the Molson Amphitheatre, an open-air venue for large-scale music concerts. Each summer, the Canadian Stage Company presents an outdoor Shakespeare production in Toronto's High Park called "Dream in High Park". Canada's Walk of Fame acknowledges the achievements of successful Canadians, with a series of stars on designated blocks of sidewalks along King Street and Simcoe Street.

The Distillery District is a pedestrian village containing boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, artist studios and small breweries, including the well-known Mill Street Brewery. A new theatre in the district, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, is the home of the Soulpepper Theatre Company and the drama productions of nearby George Brown College.

The production of domestic and foreign film and television is a major local industry. Many movie releases are screened in Toronto before wider release in North America. The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the most important annual events for the international film industry. Europe's largest film studio, The Pinewood Studios Group, operates Pinewood Toronto Studios in the city's west-end.

Toronto's Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival (formerly known as Caribana) takes place from mid-July to early August of every summer, and is one of North America's largest street festivals.^[49] Primarily based on the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, the first Caribana took place in 1967 when the city's Caribbean community celebrated Canada's Centennial. More than forty years later, it has grown to attract one million people to Toronto's Lake Shore Boulevard annually. Tourism for the festival is in the hundred thousands, and each year, the event generates over $400 million in revenue into Ontario's economy.^[50]

Pride Week in Toronto takes place in late June, and is one of the largest LGBT festivals in the world. One of the largest events in the city, it attracts more than one million people from around the world.

Tourism[link]

Toronto Eaton Centre is the largest and busiest shopping mall in Toronto.

The CN Tower is a major tourist attraction in Toronto.

Royal Ontario Museum is one of Canada's leading museums.^[51]

Toronto is among the world's top international tourist destinations, ranking at 40th place, according to Euromonitor.^[52] The city's most prominent landmark is the CN Tower, which once stood as the tallest free-standing land structure in the world at 553 metres (1,814 ft). To the surprise of its creators, the tower held the world record for over 30 years.^[53]

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a major museum for world culture and natural history. The Toronto Zoo, one of the largest in the world,^[54][55] is home to over 5,000 animals representing over 460 distinct species. The Art Gallery of Ontario contains a large collection of Canadian, European, African and contemporary artwork, and also plays host to exhibits from museums and galleries all over the world. The Gardiner Museum of ceramic art is the only museum in Canada entirely devoted to ceramics, and the Museum's collection contains more than 2,900 ceramic works from Asia, the Americas, and Europe. The Ontario Science Centre always has new hands-on activities and science displays particularly appealing to children, and the Bata Shoe Museum features many unique exhibitions focused on footwear throughout history. The centrally located Textile Museum of Canada possesses another niche collection of great quality and interest. Other prominent art galleries and museums include Design Exchange, Museum of Inuit Art, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Institute for Contemporary Culture, Toronto Sculpture Garden, CBC Museum, Redpath Sugar Museum, University of Toronto Art Centre, Hart House, TD Gallery of Inuit Art and the future Aga Khan Museum. The city also runs its own museums, which includes the Spadina House.

The Don Valley Brick Works is a former industrial site, which opened in 1889, and was partly restored as a park and heritage site in 1996, with further restoration and reuse being completed in stages since then. The Canadian National Exhibition is held annually at Exhibition Place, and it is the oldest annual fair in the world. It is Canada's largest annual fair and the fifth largest in North America, with an average attendance of 1.25 million.^[56]

The Yorkville neighbourhood is one of Toronto's most elegant shopping and dining areas. On many occasions, celebrities from all over North America can be spotted in the area, especially during the Toronto International Film Festival. The Distillery District, Queen West, Harbourfront, the Entertainment District, the Financial District, and the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood are also popular areas for tourists. The Eaton Centre is one of North America's top shopping destinations, and Toronto's most popular tourist attraction with over 52 million visitors annually.^[57]

Greektown on the Danforth, is another one of the major attractions of Toronto which boasts one of the highest concentrations of restaurants per kilometre in the world. It is also home to the annual "Taste of the Danforth" festival which attracts over one million people in 2½ days.^[58] Toronto is also home to Canada's most famous "castle" – Casa Loma, the former estate of Sir Henry Pellatt, a prominent Toronto financier, industrialist and military man. Other notable neighbourhoods and attractions include The Beaches, the Toronto Islands, Kensington Market, Fort York, and the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Intersection of Dundas Street and McCaul Street in the Grange Park district, with the CN Tower, OCAD University, the Art Gallery of Ontario and a Toronto streetcar visible (centre left to right)

Sports[link]

The Hockey Hall of Fame, housed in a former bank erected in 1885, is located at the intersection of Front Street and Yonge Street in Downtown Toronto.

Toronto is the only Canadian city with representation in seven major league sports, with teams in the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Canadian Football League, Major League Soccer, Canadian Women's Hockey League and W-League. The National Football League's Buffalo Bills also play select home games in the city. The city's major sports venues include the Air Canada Centre, Rogers Centre (formerly known as SkyDome), Ricoh Coliseum, and BMO Field.

Toronto is home to the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of the National Hockey League's Original Six clubs, and has also served as home to the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1958. The city has a rich history of hockey championships. Along with the Maple Leafs' 13 Stanley Cup titles (second all-time), the Toronto Marlboros and St. Michael's College School-based Ontario Hockey League teams combined have won a record 12 Memorial Cup titles. The Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League also play in Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum and are the farm team for the Maple Leafs. They are currently the only AHL team that is located in the same market as its NHL parent club.

Toronto is currently home to the only National Basketball Association franchise outside the United States. The Toronto Raptors entered the league in 1995, and have since earned five playoff spots in 15 seasons. The Raptors won the Atlantic Division title in the 2006–07 NBA season, led by former star player Chris Bosh. The Raptors are the only NBA team with their own television channel, NBA TV Canada. They and the Maple Leafs play their home games at the Air Canada Centre.

BMO Field immediately after Danny Dichio scored the first goal in Toronto FC history.

The Toronto Rock are the city's National Lacrosse League team. They are one of the league's most successful franchises, winning five Champion's Cup titles in seven years in the late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century, appearing in an NLL record five straight championship games from 1999 to 2003, and are currently first all-time in the number of Champion's Cups won. The Rock share the Air Canada Centre with the Maple Leafs and the Raptors.

The city is represented in the Canadian Football League by the Toronto Argonauts, who have won a league-leading 15 Grey Cup titles. Toronto played host to the 95th Grey Cup in 2007, the first held in the city since 1992. In addition, the city has hosted several National Football League exhibition games; Ted Rogers leased the Buffalo Bills from Ralph Wilson for the purposes of having the Bills play eight home games in the city between 2008 and 2012. The city is also home to Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays, who have won two World Series (1992 and 1993) titles and are currently the only Major League Baseball team in Canada. Both the Argonauts and Blue Jays (as well as the Bills when they are in town) play their home games at the Rogers Centre, in the downtown core.

Toronto was home to the International Bowl, an NCAA sanctioned post-season football game that pitted a Mid-American Conference team against a Big East Conference team. Beginning in 2007, the game was played at Rogers Centre annually in January.

Toronto Blue Jays host the Detroit Tigers at the Rogers Centre.

Toronto, along with Montreal, hosts an annual Tennis Tournament called the Rogers Cup between the months of July and August. In odd-numbered years, the men's tournament is held in Montréal, while the women's tournament is held in Toronto, and vice-versa in even-numbered years.

Besides team sports, the city annually hosted Champ Car's Molson Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place from 1986 to 2007. The race was revived in 2009 as the Honda Indy Toronto, part of the IndyCar Series schedule. Both thoroughbred and standardbred horse racing events are conducted at Woodbine Racetrack in Rexdale.

Historic sports clubs of Toronto include the Granite Club (established in 1836), the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (established in 1852), the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club (established in pre-1827), the Argonaut Rowing Club (established in 1872), the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club (established in 1881), and the Badminton and Racquet Club (established in 1924).

Toronto was a candidate city for the 1996 and 2008 Summer Olympics, which were awarded to Atlanta and Beijing respectively. The Canadian Olympic Committee was considering a Toronto bid for the 2020 Games,^[59] however, in August 2011 it was announced that Toronto would not bid for the 2020 games.^[60] It has been suggested that Toronto may bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.^[61]

Toronto will be hosting the 2015 Pan American Games in July 2015. It contested against the cities of Lima, Peru and Bogotá, Colombia.^[62]

The Toronto Argonauts hosting the Montreal Alouettes at Rogers Centre, home of the 100th Grey Cup.

Media[link]

Toronto is Canada's largest media market,^[63] and among the largest print-media centres in North America with four conventional dailies, two alt-weeklies, and two free commuter papers in a greater metropolitan area of about 5.5 million inhabitants. The Toronto Star and the Toronto Sun are the prominent daily city newspapers, while national dailies, The Globe and Mail and the National Post are also headquartered in the city. Metro, 24 Hours and t.o.night are distributed as free commuter newspapers. The city's two most prominent general-interest weeklies are Now and The Grid.

Toronto contains the headquarters of the major English-language Canadian television networks, including the English-language branch of the national public broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the largest private broadcaster CTV, and the flagship stations of Citytv and Global. Canada's premier sports television networks are also based in Toronto, including The Sports Network (TSN), Sportsnet and The Score. MuchMusic, MuchMore and MTV Canada are the main music television channels based in the city, though they no longer primarily show music videos due to channel drift, a primarily American phenomenon in which television channels no longer reflect their name and/or their original mandate.

The bulk of Canada's periodical publishing industry is centred in Toronto including magazines such as Maclean's, Chatelaine, Flare, Canadian Living, Canadian Business, and Toronto Life. Many art, design, architecture and fashion magazines were created or are based in the city, including Fashion, Monocle, Azure, Canadian Interiors, Canadian Architect and Wallpaper*.

Economy[link]

View of Toronto's Financial District from the CN Tower.

Toronto is a major international centre for business and finance. Generally considered the financial capital of Canada, Toronto has a high concentration of banks and brokerage firms on Bay Street, in the Financial District. The Toronto Stock Exchange is the world's seventh-largest stock exchange by market capitalization.^[64] The five largest financial institutions of Canada, collectively known as the Big Five, are headquartered in Toronto, as are a majority of Canada's corporations.^[15]

The city is an important centre for the media, publishing, telecommunication, information technology and film production industries; it is home to Bell Media, Rogers Communications, and Torstar. Other prominent Canadian corporations in the Greater Toronto Area include Magna International, Celestica, Manulife Financial, Sun Life Financial, the Hudson's Bay Company, and major hotel companies and operators, such as Four Seasons Hotels and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

Although much of the region's manufacturing activities take place outside the city limits, Toronto continues to be an important wholesale and distribution point for the industrial sector. The city's strategic position along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor and its extensive road and rail connections help support the nearby production of motor vehicles, iron, steel, food, machinery, chemicals and paper. The completion of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959 gave ships access to the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean.

The city's net debt stood at $4.4 billion as of the end of 2010 and has a AA credit rating.^[65] Toronto is expected to pay $400 million of the debt in 2011.^[65] The city's debt increased by $721 million in 2010.^[65] The city’s unemployment rate was 8.1% in November 2011, down from 8.3% year over year.^[66]

Demographics[link]