The town was named York by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1793, when he selected it to replace Newark as the capital of Upper Canada. By 1800, the town was still smaller than Kingston, and consisted of probably not more than fifty families. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, York was captured and major buildings were burned by American soldiers. The town's surrender was negotiated by John Strachan.
The city grew rapidly through the remainder of the 19th century, as a major destination for immigrants to Canada. On March 6, 1834, York reverted to its original Iroquois name of Toronto. By then a bustling steamboat entry port, the city's development was aided by the addition of gaslit street lights and sewers. Toronto's growth further accelerated after it was linked by rail to the Upper Great Lakes in 1854. Industrialization in the 1870s ensured Toronto's place as a major economic centre in the new Canadian Confederation.
By the 1920s, Toronto's population and economic importance in Canada was surpassed only by Montreal, and in 1934 the Toronto Stock Exchange had become the largest in the country. The city experienced an influx of immigrants following the Second World War and sustained immigration after 1970. By the 1980s, Toronto had emerged as Canada's most populous city and the generally-acknowledged economic hub. The city became home to a majority of corporate headquarters in Canada and the largest banking and exchange centre.
The Toronto Docks at the foot of Yonge Street in 1910.
In 1954, the City of Toronto was federated into a regional government known as Metropolitan Toronto. 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, water and public transit. In 1967, the seven smallest municipalities of the region were merged into their larger neighbours, resulting in a six-city configuration that included the City of Toronto and the surrounding municipalities of East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York.
In 1998, the metropolitan government was dissolved and the six municipalities were amalgamated into a single municipality, creating the current City of Toronto.
Toronto is an Iroquois word meaning "place where trees stand in the water". It refers to the area north and south of what is now Lake Simcoe (then known as Lake Toronto), where the Huron Indians planted tree saplings to corral fish. The portage between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron along this route was called the Toronto Portage.
Toronto covers an area of 629.91 square kilometres (243.21 sq mi),Statistics Canada with a maximum north-south distance of 21 kilometres (13 mi) and a maximum east-west distance of 43 kilometres (27 mi). It is bounded 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.
The city is further intersected by two other rivers and numerous tributaries: the Humber River in the west end and the Don River east of downtown. The many creeks and rivers create 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, St. Clair Avenue and Keele Street terminating on one side of ravines and continuing on the other side. Other thoroughfares such as the Bloor Street Viaduct are required to span above the ravines.
Toronto's climate is moderated by its southerly location within Canada and its proximity to Lake Ontario; its climate is among the mildest of any place in Canada east of the Rocky Mountain range. The city experiences four distinct seasons with considerable variance in daily temperature, particularly during the winter months.
Toronto winters are usually accompanied by several cold snaps where maximum temperatures drop to the -10 °C (14 °F) to -15 °C (5 °F) range, often made to feel colder by windchill. Mild days also occur throughout winter, with temperatures around 5 – 9°C (40 – 50 °F). The average maximum temperature in January is -2.1 °C (28.2 °F), and the average minimum is -10.5 °C (13.1 °F). Summer in Toronto is characterized by long stretches of humid weather. The average July maximum temperature is 26.8 °C (80 °F), and the average minimum is 14.8 °C (58.6 °F). Daytime temperatures sometimes approach or exceed 35 °C (95 °F), but usually for very brief periods.
Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, but summer is usually the wettest season. The average yearly precipitation is 793 millimetres (31.7 in), with an average annual snowfall of about 115 centimetres (46 in).
The inner-city districts of York and East York are older, traditionally middle-class sections that became ethnically diverse in recent decades. Many neighbourhoods in the inner suburbs experienced accelerated gentrification as a result of increasing population and a housing boom that ran through the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first neighbourhoods affected were Leaside and North Toronto, gradually progressing into the western neighbourhoods in York. Much of the housing in these areas consist of post-World War I single-family homes, but many of them are in the process of being replaced or remodelled.
The outer districts of Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York are generally suburban, although they largely retain the grid patterns of the streets laid before the post-war suburban development. Upscale neighborhoods include 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. Other sections contain large apartment blocks of low-income families, mixed with typical detached housing found in suburbia. More recently, North York Centre and Scarborough City Centre have emerged as secondary business districts outside the downtown core. Highrise development in these areas have given North York and Scarborough distinguishable skylines of their own.
Toronto is also in an odd situation in terms of neighborhoods. Because of it's multiethnicity, it's many areas are highly distinct. However, being that they are distinct, they can change quite suddenly. Form example, areas along Lawrence Avenue are mostly fairly upscale, however as it comes closer to Jane Street, it drops off into an area of high-crime. Many other neighborhoods in this situation exist, however they mostly exist in suburbia. A neighborhood vamped-up by accelerated gentrification can drop off into an intersection plagued by rampant crime and surrounded by high-rise, low-income apartments. A sharp increase in house-prices leads to this situation in the exact same block at Jane and Finch.[citation needed]
The last complete census by Statistics Canada estimated there were 2,481,494 people residing in Toronto in 2001.Statistics Canada: 2001 Census, City of Toronto The city's population grew by 4 percent between 1996 and 2001, at an annualized rate of 0.8 percent. Persons aged 14 years and under made up 17.5 percent of the population, and those aged 65 years and over made up 13.6 percent. The median age of the population was 36.9 years. As of July 1, 2006, the population is estimated at 2,629,030.Ontario Population Projections. Ontario Ministry of Finance (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-20.
With a long history as a major destination for immigrants to Canada, Toronto is one of the world's most multicultural cities. As of 2001, more than 40 percent of the city's residents belong to a visible minority group,Community Highlights for Toronto. Statistics Canada (2001). Retrieved on 2006-09-08. and visible minorities are projected to comprise a majority in Toronto by 2017.Canada's visible minority population in 2017. Statistics Canada (2005). Retrieved on 2006-09-08.. According to the United Nations Development Programme, Toronto has the second-highest percentage of foreign-born population among world cities, after Miami, Florida. While Miami's foreign-born population consists mostly of Cubans and other Latin Americans, no single nationality or culture dominates Toronto's immigrant population.
Christianity is the largest religious group in Toronto. The 2001 census reports that 31.4 percent of the city's population is Roman Catholic, followed by Protestants at 21.2 percent, Eastern Orthodox Christians at 4.9 percent and other Christians at 3.9 percent. Islam is the second largest religion in the city, with Muslims accounting for 6.7 percent of the population, while Judaism comprise 4.2 percent, Hinduism comprise 4.8 percent, Sikhism comprise 0.9 percent, Buddhism comprise 2.7 percent and other Eastern Religions comprise 0.2 percent. Another 18.9 percent of the population profess no faith.Community Highlights for Toronto. Statistics Canada (2001). Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
The city council is divided into six standing committees with between 9 and 12 members: policy and finance, administration, works, economic development and parks, community services, and planning and transportation. Additionally, the city has four community councils that make recommendations on local matters to the city council, but possess no final authority. Each city councillor serves as a member on a community council.
Toronto has an operating budget of C$7.1 billion. The city receives funding from the Government of Ontario in addition to tax revenues, including $2.5 billion dollars for mandated purposes, $2.0 billion for special-purpose bodies such as the Toronto Public Library and Toronto Zoo, $1.7 billion of directly-controlled funds, and $900 million for capital financing and non-programs.2005 operating budget - Where the Money Goes. City of Toronto (2005). Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
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, the country's equivalent to Wall Street in New York. The Toronto Stock Exchange is the world's sixth-largest stock exchange by market capitalization. All of the Big Five banks of Canada are headquartered in Toronto.
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 St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 gave ships access to the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean.
The Toronto Public Library is the largest public library system in Canada, consisting of 99 branches with more than 11 million items in its collection.
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