The resources of the surrounding land were also important to Toronto’s development. The rich sedimentary soils of southern Ontario provided excellent farmland, and the ancient rock of the Canadian Shield to the north not only was a source of valuable mineral wealth but also was endowed with forests of spruce and pine.
Toronto is an international centre for business and finance. Generally considered the financial and industrial 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. The five largest financial institutions of Canada, collectively known as the Big Five, have national offices in Toronto.
Toronto has a continental climate that is modified considerably by the proximity of the Great Lakes. Average temperature for January is in the low to mid-20s F (about –4.2 °C), but the wind chill factor can decrease this temperature considerably. In summer, the average July temperature is in the low 70s F (about 22.2 °C); however, it is not unusual to have summer days where the temperature exceeds 90 °F (32 °C) and the humidity is 100 percent. A major increase in the population of Toronto (nearly fourfold expansion, from 1.3 million in 1951 to over 5 million by 2006) and national economic growth influenced the city skyline, which is dominated by the CN Tower (a communications and observation spire 1,815 feet [553 metres] high) as well as by the First Canadian Place (Bank of Montreal), Scotia Plaza, Canada Trust Tower, Manulife Centre, Commerce Court, Toronto-Dominion Centre, and Bay Adelaide Centre, each of which is more than 50 stories high. Other prominent buildings include City Hall (1965), Eaton Centre (a large indoor shopping complex), the gilded Royal Bank Plaza, the Toronto Reference Library, the Ontario Science Centre, the Royal Ontario Museum, with its crystal-shaped facade, and Roy Thomson Hall, noted for its excellent acoustics. The city’s lakefront is separated from the downtown area by railway tracks and the Gardiner Expressway. However, there are many points of access to the waterfront, which is almost entirely public space and includes Sunnyside Pool, Balmy Beach Park, and the Waterfront Bike Trail.
Toronto is a city with scores of neighbourhoods, some of which have identities that have been imposed upon them by realtors, whereas others are of much longer standing and have a more distinctive character. West of the central business district, following Queen Street W, is West Queen West, once a trendy bohemian section, now a more mainstream shopping district. Northeast of this area are two of Toronto’s best-known neighbourhoods, Chinatown and Kensington Market, the latter of which features an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants that reflect the city’s multicultural diversity.
To the northeast of Queen’s Park is Rosedale, one of the most attractive residential areas in Toronto. It is an older neighbourhood of dignified houses and winding tree-lined streets quite close to the downtown centre, which itself contains many attractive streets of modest well-designed houses. South of Rosedale and bounded on the north by St. James Cemetery and on the east by the Don River is Cabbagetown, which takes its name from the cabbages that were once grown on lawns in this neighbourhood that is now the site of many beautifully restored vintage residences.
Toronto gained importance as a financial centre with the headquarters of several banks and a dominant stock exchange capitalizing on the many metal mines being opened in Canada generally and in the Canadian Shield to the north particularly. By the 1980s manufacturing jobs in Toronto had become more specialized (e.g. electronics), and the main shift was to service employment as Toronto became a major financial, administration, real estate, insurance, educational, wholesaling, retailing, and tourist destination centre. The city gained national financial supremacy housing five of the six national banks.
The influx of people resulted in higher-density core development as well as suburbanization, and both increased the need for public transportation, which has a long history in this city. A horse-drawn omnibus service was in place as early as 1849 but was replaced by the horse-drawn streetcar by 1861. The rail lines expanded, and, streetcars became electrified by the 1890s. The system of streetcar lines was rather uncoordinated because of the mix of private and publicly owned lines until the consolidation of all lines by the city in 1921.
With the creation of the Metropolitan level of government in 1953 came the creation of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to provide public transportation for the whole region. New subway lines and extensions were added to the system, although many were delayed because of a lack of funding. Other changes to the transit system included phasing out the trolleys
Toronto is home to two airports. Both were established in 1938, and each has undergone a number of upgrades to runways and terminals as well as name changes. In close proximity to the heart of the city is Toronto Island’s airport—initially the Port George VI Airport, which had its name changed to Toronto City Centre Airport in 1994 and since 2009 has been known as the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Toronto’s international airport is located some 20 miles (30 km) to the west of the city, in the community of Malton, and therefore was called the Malton Airport until being designated Toronto International Airport in 1960 and later, in 1984, Toronto Pearson International Airport, named after Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.
Tourism is a vital industry for Toronto. The Toronto Eaton Centre is the primary tourist attraction in Toronto, with over 47 million visitors per year. Other commercial areas that receive many tourists include the PATH network, which is the world’s largest underground shopping complex and the eclectic Kensington and St. Lawrence Market. The Toronto Islands are a major tourist draw, attracting people for the beauty of the scenery, the ban of private motor vehicles on the islands outside of the airport, and proximity to downtown Toronto. As well, the CN Tower, Casa Loma, Toronto’s theater and musicals as well as Yonge-Dundas Square, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada are magnets for tourists.
Within a few hours’ drive, Hamilton’s John C. Munro International Airport (IATA: YHM) and Buffalo’s Buffalo Niagara International Airport (IATA: BUF) serve as alternate airports for the Toronto area in addition to serving their respective cities. A secondary international airport, to be located north-east of Toronto in Pickering, has been planned by the Government of Canada.
Intercity transportation
Toronto Union Station serves as a hub for VIA Rail’s intercity services in Central Canada and includes services to various parts of Ontario, Corridor services to Montreal and national capital Ottawa, and long-distance services to Vancouver and New York City.
Places To Visit:
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history. The Toronto Zoois 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 city also hosts the Ontario Science Centre, the Bata Shoe Museum, and Textile Museum of Canada.
Other prominent art galleries and museums include the Design Exchange, the Museum of Inuit Art, the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada, the Institute for Contemporary Culture, the Toronto Sculpture Garden, the CBC Museum, the Redpath Sugar Museum, the University of Toronto Art Centre, Hart House, the TD Gallery of Inuit Art and the Aga Khan Museum. The city also runs its own museums, which include the Spadina House.
The Hockey Hall of Fame is a museum dedicated to ice hockey, as well as a Hall of Fame.
The Don Valley Brick Works is a former industrial site that opened in 1889 and was partly restored as a park and heritage site in 1996, with further restoration being completed in stages since then. The Canadian National Exhibition (“The Ex”) is held annually at Exhibition Place, and is the oldest annual fair in the world. The Ex has an average attendance of 1.25 million.
City shopping areas include the Yorkville neighbourhood, Queen West, Harbourfront, the Entertainment District, the Financial District, and the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood. The Eaton Centre is Toronto’s most popular tourist attraction with over 52 million visitors annually
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, Sun Life Financial, the Hudson’s Bay Company, and major hotel companies and operators, such as Four Seasons Hotels and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
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