Toronto

**Toronto** is the capital city of the province of Ontario. It is found on the northwest side of Lake Ontario behind New York City and Chicago. With a 2021 population of 2,794,356 people, Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth-most populous city in North America. Even more people live in the regions around it. All together, the Greater Toronto Area is home to over 6.2 million people. This makes it the biggest metropolitan area in Canada.

## History

Toronto was created in 1793 by John Graves Simcoe as the capital of what was then called "_Upper Canada_". At the time, it was called the "Town of York" after the Duke of York. When York was incorporated as a city in 1834, the name was changed to "Toronto". With the Canadian Confederation in 1867, it became the capital of the newly created province of Ontario. Toronto was one of two cities (along with Montreal, Quebec) that wanted to be the capital of Canada. Queen Victoria decided that Ottawa should be the national capital because it was located between the two.

As the 19th century moved on, the city began to grow. This was mainly because of immigration, where people from all over the world left their home and moved to Canada. Many of the immigrants were Irish people. They brought their Catholic faith with them when they left Ireland because of the Irish Potato Famine.

During World War I and World War II, Toronto was used to train members of the Canadian Army. After the wars, even more immigrants came to the city. The population was becoming so big that the Government of Ontario decided to create Metropolitan Toronto in 1954, combining a number of local municipalities. These were Old Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke, and Scarborough.

By 1981, Toronto had more people than Montreal even though it was created after Montreal. Because of that, the Ontario government decided to make Toronto a "megacity" in 1998 with an area of . The first mayor of Toronto was Mel Lastman. As Toronto moved into the 21st century, it became host to a number of worldwide events. These included World Youth Day in 2002, WorldPride in 2014, and the 2015 Pan American Games.

On April 23, 2018, a white van collided with numerous pedestrians, killing nine and injuring sixteen others at Yonge Street.

The city was also attacked during the war of 1812 and was burned down.

## Climate

Toronto has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: _Dfa_).

## Things to see and do

Toronto has a humid continental climate (_Dfa_ in the Köppen climate classification). This is because although the city is next to Lake Ontario, the lake is not big enough to keep its temperature mild.

As the biggest city in Canada and one of the biggest in all of North America, Toronto is a popular destination for tourists. It is where you can find the CN Tower, which is the tallest free-standing (not supported) structure in the Americas and one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. There are some other buildings, including the City Hall and the Rogers Centre, that are well known for their design style. There are many skyscrapers, because many large banks of Canada and other companies have their main offices in Toronto, and the Toronto Stock Exchange which is the biggest stock market in Canada.

Because Toronto is the capital of Ontario, it is where the provincial government meets. Visitors can see how the province is run by visiting the legislature in Queen's Park. There are museums, including the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Ontario Science Centre, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the headquarters of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In the suburbs of the city is the Toronto Zoo and Canada's Wonderland. Many visitors also like to go to Niagara Falls, just an hour's drive away from Toronto.

Toronto is full of places to visit, eat, shop, and enjoy. In the downtown area are shopping centres, including the Eaton Centre, St. Lawrence Market, and the Distillery District. There are several theatres, many which are run by the Mirvish family. The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, opened in June 2006, is home to the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada. Across the harbor are the Toronto Islands, the best known of which is Centre Island.

Toronto has many sports teams. Some of them belong to the most commonly-followed leagues in North America. They include the Toronto Maple Leafs in ice hockey (NHL) and the Toronto Raptors in basketball (NBA), both of which play in the Air Canada Centre. The nearby Rogers Centre is where the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team plays. BMO Field in Exhibition Place is home to the Toronto Argonauts in Canadian football and Toronto F.C., a soccer club.

Toronto is a very multicultural city. Different people from around the world have moved to Toronto to live since the 20th century. There is a Chinatown, Little Italy, Little Tokyo, Greektown, Little Portugal, and other places where different cultures are kept alive. These people hold festivals where they share their culture with others. Among the most popular is the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), which happens every year in August.

## Transport

Like many cities around the world, Toronto has an airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport. There are flights to many places in Canada and the rest of the world. The airport is just northwest of the city centre. Since 2015, there has been a train service, the Union Pearson Express. It goes from the airport to Downtown in less than half an hour.

Toronto's main public transportation system is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The main part of its public transport network is the Toronto subway system. That system includes three heavy-rail rapid transit lines spanning the city, including the U-shaped Line 1 and east–west Line 2 and Line 4. The TTC also operates an extensive network of buses and streetcars. The streetcars serve the downtown core. The buses provide service to many parts of the city not served by the sparse subway network.

The Government of Ontario also operates a commuter rail and bus transit system called GO Transit in the Greater Toronto Area. GO Transit carries over 250,000 passengers every weekday (2013) and 57 million annually. Most of them travel to or from Union Station. GO Transit is implementing RER (Regional Express Rail) into its system.

## Housing and population

Housing in Toronto was ranked as 10th-least affordable in the world. The study compared Toronto with ninety other metropolitan areas in different countries. Hong Kong came in as the least affordable place to live in.

In 2021, 51% of residents in Toronto were born outside Canada. About 200 different languages are spoken in Toronto, with 45% of the residents speak a first language other than French or English.

### TV stations

|OTA virtual channel (PSIP)|OTA channel|Rogers Cable|Bell Fibe TV|Call Sign|Network|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|5.1|20 (UHF))|6|205|CBLT-DT|CBC Television||
|11.1|15 (UHF)|12|12|CHCH-DT|Independent||
|9.1|9 (VHF)|8|201|CFTO-DT|CTV||
|19.1|19 UHF|19|19|CHLF-DT|TFO||
|19.1|19 (UHF)|2|209|CICA-DT|TVOntario|Provincial public educational broadcaster|
|57.1|44 (UHF)|7|204|CITY-DT|Citytv||
|41.1|41 (UHF)|3|203|CIII-DT|Global||
|47.1|47 (UHF)|4|206|CFMT-DT|Omni Television (OMNI 1)|Multicultural (America)|

## Other websites

- City of Toronto - Official city website.
- Tourism Toronto  - Visitor's bureau website.

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Toronto
- **official name**: City of Toronto
- **settlement type**: List of cities in Ontario, City (List of municipalities in Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier)
- **image size**: 250px
- **image flag**: Toronto Flag.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **flag link**: Flag of Toronto
- **image seal**: Coat of arms of Toronto.png
- **seal type**: Coat of arms
- **seal size**: 95px
- **seal link**: Coat of arms of Toronto
- **image blank emblem**: Toronto, City of.svg
- **blank emblem type**: Logo
- **blank emblem size**: 140px
- **etymology**: From the Mohawk language, Mohawk word  ('tree in the water there'), the name of a channel between Lakes Lake Simcoe, Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, Couchiching
- **nicknames**: Name of Toronto#Nicknames, See list
- **motto**: Diversity Our Strength
- **pushpin map**: Ontario#Canada
- **pushpin mapsize**: 250px
- **pushpin map caption**: Location of Toronto in Ontario
- **pushpin label**: Toronto
- **pushpin label position**: left
- **pushpin relief**: yes
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: Canada
- **subdivision type1**: Provinces and territories of Canada, Province
- **subdivision name1**: Ontario
- **subdivision type2**: List of regions of Canada, Region
- **subdivision name2**: Southern Ontario
- **parts type**: Amalgamation of Toronto, Communities
- **established title1**: Established
- **established date1**: (as York, Upper Canada, York)
- **established title2**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date2**: (as Municipal government of Toronto, City of Toronto)
- **established title3**: List of census divisions of Ontario, Amalgamated into division
- **established date3**: (as Metropolitan Toronto)
- **established title4**: Merger (politics), Amalgamated
- **established date4**: (as current City of Toronto)
- **government type**: List of municipalities in Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, Single-tier municipality with a Mayor–council government, mayor–council system
- **governing body**: Toronto City Council
- **leader title**: Mayor of Toronto, Mayor
- **leader name**: Olivia Chow
- **leader title1**: Deputy Mayor of Toronto, Statutory Deputy Mayor
- **leader name1**: Ausma Malik
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **total type**: City
- **area total km2**: 631.10
- **area urban km2**: 1829.05
- **area metro km2**: 5902.75
- **elevation m**: 76.5
- **population as of**: 2021 Canadian census, 2021
- **population rank**: List of North American cities by population, 4th in North America
List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, 1st in Canada
- **population density km2**: 4,427.8
- **population total**: 2,794,356 (List of the largest population centres in Canada, 1st)
- **population blank1 title**: Greater Toronto Area, Metro
- **population blank1**: 6,202,225 (List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada, 1st)
- **population blank2 title**: Golden Horseshoe, Region
- **population blank2**: 9,765,188
- **population demonym**: Torontonian
- **postal code type**: Postal code span
- **postal code**: List of postal codes of Canada: M, M
- **area codes**: Area codes 416, 647, and 437, 416, 647, 437
- **blank name sec1**: Gross domestic product, GDP (Toronto )
- **blank info sec1**: 473.7 billion (2021)
- **blank1 name sec1**: GDP per capita (Toronto )
- **blank1 info sec1**: 73,176 (2021)
- **timezone**: Eastern Standard Time, EST
- **utc offset**: −05:00
- **timezone dst**: Eastern Daylight Time, EDT
- **utc offset dst**: −04:00