Toronto

City of Toronto
The skyline of Toronto
Flag
Nickname(s): T.O., T-Dot, Hogtown, The Queen City, Toronto the Good, The City Within a Park
Motto: Diversity Our Strength
City of Toronto Where Toronto is located in Ontario
Coordinates: 43°42′59.72″N 79°20′26.47″W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Districts	East York, Etobicoke, North York, Old Toronto, Scarborough, York
Founded	August 27, 1793 (as York)
Incorporated	March 6, 1834 (as Toronto)
Merged	January 1, 1998 (from Metropolitan Toronto)
Government
• Mayor	John Tory
• Council	Toronto City Council
• MPs	Mark Adler Carolyn Bennett John Carmichael Andrew Cash Corneliu Chisu Olivia Chow Joe Daniel Kirsty Duncan Dan Harris Dan Harris Roxanne James Jim Karygiannis Matthew Kellway Chungsen Leung John McKay Peggy Nash Joe Oliver Ted Opitz Bob Rae Craig Scott Judy Sgro Rathika Sitsabaiesan Mike Sullivan Bernard Trottier
• 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
• City	630 km2 (240 sq mi)
• Urban	1,749 km2 (675 sq mi)
• Metro	5,905 km2 (2,280 sq mi)
Elevation	76 m (249 ft)
Population (2011)
• City	2,615,060
• Density	4,149/km2 (10,750/sq mi)
• Urban	5,132,794
• Metro	5,583,064
• Demonym	Torontonian
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code span	M
Area code(s)	416, 647
Website	City of Toronto Website

Toronto is the capital city of the province of Ontario in Canada. It is also the largest city in both Ontario and Canada. Found on the north-west side of Lake Ontario, the City of Toronto has a population of over 3 million people and even more people live in the regions around it. All together, the Greater Toronto Area is home to over 6 million people making 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, but was given its current name in 1834. 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 in Quebec) that wanted to be the capital of Canada, but Queen Victoria decided that Ottawa should be the national capital as 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 and 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 had an important part in military, being 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, joining together 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. So the Ontario government decided to make Toronto a "megacity" in 1998, and the first mayor of Toronto was Mel Lastman. As Toronto moved into the 21st century, it became host to a number of worldwide events, such as World Youth Day in 2002, WorldPride in 2014, and the 2015 Pan American Games.

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, 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, such as City Hall and the Rogers Centre, that are well-known for their design style. There are also 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, and visitors can see how the province is run by visiting the legislature in Queen's Park. There are also a number of 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, and 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 a number of shopping centres, including the Eaton Centre, St. Lawrence Market, and the Distillery District. There are also 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 which belong to the most commonly-followed leagues in North America. They include the Toronto Maple Leafs in ice hockey and the Toronto Raptors in basketball, both of which play in the Air Canada Centre. The nearby Rogers Centre is where the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team plays, and meanwhile, 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, because 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 many more places where different cultures are kept alive. These people hold festivals where they share their culture to others, and among the most popular is the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), which happens every year in August.

Toronto City Hall

Other websites

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