By car, Toronto is about 450 kilometres (280mi) from Ottawa, 540 kilometres (340mi) from Montreal, 2,115 kilometres (1,314mi) from Winnipeg, 1,796 kilometres (1,116mi) from Halifax, and a long-haul 4,375 kilometres (2,718mi) from Vancouver. From the United States, Toronto is 100 miles (160km) from Buffalo; 353 miles (568km) from New York City; 562 miles (904km) from Boston; 240 miles (390km) from Detroit; and 464 miles (747km) from Chicago.
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 631 square kilometres (244 square miles). 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.
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.
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 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
Air
Pearson International Airport from above
Like many cities around the world, Toronto has two airports, Toronto Pearson International Airport and Billy Bishop 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 Downtown to the airport in less than half an hour.
Toronto has many forms of rail transport such as streetcars, light rail, subways, heavy rail, freight rail, and inter-city rail (trains that go between cities). The main transportation network in Toronto is the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Each year about 800 million people ride the TTC. The TTC has three heavy rail lines, Line 1, Line 2, and Line 4. There are also two light rail lines, Line 5 and Line 6 running east to west. In addition, the TTC also operates a large downtown streetcar network.
GO Train car
Union Station is Toronto's main railway station, used for regional, inter-city rail, streetcar, subway, and freight operations. GO Transit is a regional rail network that connects Toronto to the surrounding area. Each year, GO Transit carries over 79 million passengers each year, most passengers that take the GO travel to or from Union station. Via Rail is an inter-city rail system owned by the national government that carries passengers from Toronto to other cities across Canada.
Bus
The Toronto Transit Commission runs a large bus system, with over 8,000 stops. The system mainly works in areas without streetcar or subway routes. Each year, more than 389 million trips are made on the bus.
Toronto FerryHighway 401 in 2006
Sea
The Port of Toronto, in the Toronto Harbour handles more than 2 million tons each year.
The Toronto ferries carry passengers from Downtown Toronto to the Toronto Islands, these ferries are owned by the government and carry over 1.3 million people each year.
Streets and Highways
Toronto's major roads were built using straight roads in a grid pattern, where main roads were placed 100 chains (6,600ft; 2,000m) apart. The grid is tilted about 18.5° to the west.
There are many highways in the city. The busiest highway is Highway 401, which is the busiest highway in North America. Highway 400 runs from Toronto to Northern Ontario.
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.
↑Toronto, City of (2020). "History of City Symbols". www.toronto.ca. City of Toronto. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
↑"TORONTO'S LANGUAGES". Endangered Language Alliance Toronto. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
↑The motto is typically rendered without punctuation, while the city's coat of arms uses typographical bullets to space the words used in the motto. However, some sources from the municipal government of Toronto use punctuation to describe the motto as "Diversity, Our Strength."
↑Maximum and minimum temperature data at The Annex was recorded by human observers from March 1840 to June 2003 under the station name "TORONTO". From July 2003 to present, climate data has been recorded by an automatic weather station under the name "TORONTO CITY".
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