Greater Toronto
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The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the
City of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
and the
regional municipalities A regional municipality (or region) is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place. Reg ...
of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
, Halton, Peel, and
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater Toronto Area begins in
Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...
in Halton Region, and extends along
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
past
downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...
eastward to
Clarington Clarington ( 2021 population 101,427) is a lower-tier municipality in the Regional Municipality of Durham in Ontario, Canada. It was incorporated in 1973 as the town of Newcastle with the merging of the town of Bowmanville, the Village of Newca ...
in Durham Region. According to the 2021 census, the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) of Toronto has a total population of 6,202,225. However, the Greater Toronto Area, which is an economic area defined by the Government of Ontario, includes communities which are not included in the CMA as defined by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
. Extrapolating the data for all 25 communities in the Greater Toronto Area from the 2021 Census, the total population for the economic region included 6,712,341 people. The Greater Toronto Area is a part of several larger areas in
Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...
. The area is also combined with the city of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
to form a conurbation known as the
Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is a contiguous urban region that is composed of some of the largest cities and metropolitan areas by population in the Canadian province of Ontario. The GTHA consists of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) ...
(GTHA). The GTHA combined with
Niagara Region The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern ...
form the core of the
Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The r ...
.


Etymology

The term "Greater Toronto" was first used in writing as early as the 1900s, although at the time, the term only referred to the
old city of Toronto Old Toronto is that part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that corresponds to the original City of Toronto which existed from 1834 to 1998. It was first incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the town of York, and being part of York ...
and its immediate townships and villages, which became
Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...
in 1954 and became the current city of Toronto in 1998. Solomon, Lawrence "Toronto sprawls: a history." University of Toronto Press; 1 edition, p3 The use of the term involving the four surrounding regional municipalities came into formal use in the mid-1980s, after it was used in a widely discussed report on municipal governance restructuring in the region and was later made official as a provincial planning area. However, it did not come into everyday usage until the mid- to late 1990s. In 2006, the term began to be supplanted in the field of spatial planning as provincial policy increasingly began to refer to either the "
Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is a contiguous urban region that is composed of some of the largest cities and metropolitan areas by population in the Canadian province of Ontario. The GTHA consists of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) ...
" (GTHA) or the still-broader "
Greater Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The r ...
". The latter includes the Greater Toronto Area's satellite municipalities, such as
Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
,
Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...
,
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
, Kitchener, Waterloo,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
and
Niagara Region The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern ...
. The GTA continues, however, to be in official use elsewhere in the
Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor†...
, such as the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...
.


Census metropolitan area

Some municipalities considered part of the GTA are not within the Toronto
Census Metropolitan Area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of sta ...
(CMA) which is smaller than the land area and population of the GTA planning area. For example,
Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...
is the centre of its own CMA, yet deemed part of the Greater Toronto Area, while other municipalities, such as
New Tecumseth New Tecumseth is a town in Simcoe County, in south-central Ontario, Canada. While it is not officially a part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is counted, in terms of the census, as being a part of the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area. History ...
in southern
Simcoe County Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...
and Mono Township in
Dufferin County Dufferin County is a county and census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Wade Mills. The current chief administrative officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of , ...
are included in the Toronto CMA but not in the GTA. These different border configurations result in the GTA's population being higher than the Toronto CMA by nearly one-half million people, often leading to confusion amongst people when trying to sort out Toronto's urban population. Other nearby urban areas, such as
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
,
Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...
, St. Catharines-Niagara or
Kitchener-Waterloo The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...
, are not part of the GTA or the Toronto CMA, but form their own CMAs near the GTA. Ultimately, all the aforementioned places are part of the Greater
Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The r ...
metropolitan region, an
urban agglomeration An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
, which is the sixth most populous in North America. It is part of the Great Lakes megalopolis, containing an estimated 59 million people in 2011.


Extended area

The term "
Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is a contiguous urban region that is composed of some of the largest cities and metropolitan areas by population in the Canadian province of Ontario. The GTHA consists of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) ...
" (GTHA) refers to the GTA, and the city of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
, located along the western border of the Greater Toronto Area. The term has been adopted by several organizations, including
Metrolinx Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union Sta ...
and the
Ministry of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...
) due to growing commuter population in the combined region. The GTHA and the
Regional Municipality of Niagara The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern ...
form the inner ring of the larger
Greater Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The r ...
, an urban agglomeration and secondary region of Ontario.


History


Early history

Historically the Greater Toronto Area was home to a number of
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
who lived on the shore of
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
long before the first Europeans arrived in the region. At various times the
Neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
, the
Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...
, the
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...
and the
Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
nations were living in the vicinity. The
Mississaugas The Mississauga are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwe. The name "Mississauga" comes from the Anishinaabe word ''Misi-zaagiing'', meaning "hose ...
arrived in the late 17th or early 18th century, driving out the occupying
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
. While it is unclear as to who was the first European to reach the Toronto area, there is no question it occurred in the 17th century. The area would later become very crucial for its series of trails and water routes that led from northern and
western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada†...
to the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
. Known as the " Toronto Passage", it followed the Humber River, as an important overland shortcut between Lake Ontario,
Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk'' ...
and the upper
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
. For this reason the area, under French
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
rs, became a major part of the
North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the commercial trade in furs in North America. Various Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded furs with other tribes during the pre-Columbian era. Europeans started their participation in the North American fur ...
. The French would later establish three trading forts,
Magasin Royal Magasin royal () was the generic name given to a trading post under the purview of the King of France. The name also applied specifically to two trading posts that were built during the 18th century for French fur trading near the Humber River in ...
in the 1720s, although abandoned within the decade,
Fort Toronto Fort Toronto, also known as Fort Portneuf, was a French trading post that was located near the mouth of the Humber River in what is now Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was constructed in 1750 by French military officer Pierre Robineau de Portneuf, wh ...
in 1750 and
Fort Rouillé Fort Rouillé was a French trading post located in what is now Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Fort Rouillé was constructed by the French in 1751, building upon the success of a trading post they established in the area a year earlier, known as Fort T ...
in 1751. During the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754†...
both forts were abandoned but Fort Toronto was later renovated. Fort Rouillé was burnt down after the
Battle of Fort Niagara The Battle of Fort Niagara was a siege late in the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British siege of Fort Niagara in July 1759 was part of a campaign to remove French control of the Great Lakes and Oh ...
in 1759 by the French garrison during the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
. The first large influx of European settlers to settle the region were the
United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...
s arriving after the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, when various individuals petitioned
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
for land in and around the Toronto area. In 1787, the British negotiated the purchase of more than a quarter million acres () of land in the area of Toronto with the Mississaugas of New Credit. York County, would later be created by Governor
John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...
in 1792, which would at its largest size, comprise all of what is now Halton Region, Toronto, Peel Region, York Region and parts of Durham Region. The GTA saw three American incursions during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. The
Town of York A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
(present-day Toronto) was attacked by American forces at
Battle of York The Battle of York was a War of 1812 battle fought in York, Upper Canada (today's Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on April 27, 1813. An American force supported by a naval flotilla landed on the lakeshore to the west and advanced against the town, whi ...
, on April 27, 1813; and was subsequently occupied until May 8. The second incursion occurred several months later, in July 1813, with two landings in the GTA. On July 29, American forces landed at Burlington Beach (present-day Burlington) in an attempt to dislodge British forces at the adjacent Burlington Heights. However, finding the British forces too well-entrenched for any assault to be successful, the American naval force withdrew and proceeded east towards York. The American landings at York on July 31 went unopposed, with most of the soldiers garrisoned at York directed to defend Burlington Heights. The third incursion occurred a year later, when an American naval squadron arrived outside of York's harbour on August 6, 1814. The squadron dispatched to enter the harbour in order to gauge the town's defences, where it briefly exchanged cannon fire with
Fort York Fort York (french: Fort-York) is an early 19th-century military fortification in the Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used to house members of the British and Canadian militaries, and to defend the entrance of t ...
before withdrawing to rejoin the American squadron outside the harbour. American forces did not attempt a landing during this incursion, although remained outside York's harbour for three days before departing. In 1816, Wentworth County (which would later become the city of Hamilton) and
Halton County Halton County is a former county in the Canadian province of Ontario, with an area of . It is also one of the oldest counties in Canada. History Halton County is named after Major William Mathew Halton (1746-1823), a British Army officer, who ...
were created from York County. York County would later serve as the setting for the beginnings of the
Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the rebellion in Lower Canada (p ...
with
William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented Yor ...
's armed march from
Holland Landing Holland Landing is a community in the town of East Gwillimbury, located in the northern part of the Regional Municipality of York, in south-central Ontario, Canada. Its major road is Yonge Street (bypassed by the former Highway 11) and the commun ...
towards York Township on
Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...
, eventually leading up to the battle at Montgomery's Tavern. In 1851, Ontario County (present-day Durham Region) and Peel County were separated from York.


Since 1901

The idea towards a streamlined local government to control local infrastructure was made as early as 1907 by,
William Findlay Maclean William Findlay Maclean (August 10, 1854 – December 7, 1929) was a Canadian politician. Born in Ancaster, Wentworth County, Ontario, the son of John Maclean and Isabella Findlay, he was educated at the Hamilton Public School and the Univ ...
, a member of parliament and founder of ''
The Toronto World ''The Toronto World'' was a newspaper based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It existed between 1880 and 1921, and a Sunday edition operated from 1891 to 1924. Founded by William Findlay "Billy" Maclean, it was popular among Toronto's working class a ...
'', who called for the expansion of the government of the former City of Toronto in order to create a ''Greater Toronto''. The idea for a single government municipality would not be seriously explored until the late 1940s when planners decided the city needed to incorporate its immediate suburbs. However, due to strong opposition from suburban politicians, a compromise was struck, which resulted in the creation of
Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...
. In 1953, the portion of York County south of
Steeles Avenue Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of Regional Municipality of York, York Region in Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area from ...
, a concession road which formed a common boundary between several townships across the width of the county, was severed from it and incorporated as the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. With the concession of Metro Toronto, the offices of York County were moved from Toronto to Newmarket. Originally, the membership in Metropolitan Toronto included the City of Toronto and five townships:
East York East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...
,
Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
,
North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...
,
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
and
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
; as well as seven villages and towns, which became amalgamated into their surrounding townships in 1967. The early Metro Toronto government debated over the annexation of surrounding townships of Markham, Pickering and Vaughan. Frederick Goldwin Gardiner, the first
Metro Toronto Chairman The Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto or Metro Chairman was the regional chair of Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the most senior political figure in the municipality. The Metro Chairman was elected by the members ...
, planned on the conversion of these townships into boroughs of the Metro Toronto government. In 1971, the remaining areas of York County was replaced by the Ontario government with the Regional Municipality of York. In 1974, Ontario and Durham County, Ontario, Durham Counties were reorganized to become the Regional Municipality of Durham; West Rouge, Pickering west of Rouge River was transferred to Scarborough at that time. Peel County became Peel Region in 1974 as well. In 1980, North York would be incorporated into a city, with York following suit in 1983 and Etobicoke and Scarborough in 1984, although still part of the Metropolitan Toronto municipal government. In 1992, the Ontario government passed legislation requiring Metropolitan Toronto to include the rest of the Greater Toronto Area into its planning. Despite this however, there was fear different parts of the municipal system were working against one another. Because of this, Bob Rae, then the Premier of Ontario, appointed Anne Golden to head a GTA task force to govern the region's quality of life, competitiveness and governance. During this time, the Metro Toronto government advocated to the task force the creation of a new GTA authority, which would be made up of 21 of the 30 existing municipalities in the GTA at the time. The proposal from Metro Toronto would have resulted in 15 new municipalities. The City of Mississauga argued consolidation should only take place in such a way the new municipalities would have a population between 400,000 and 800,000. The Town of Markham had similarly advocated municipal consolidation in York Region, although it was opposed to complete consolidation into a single municipality. Municipal consolidation faced stiff opposition however from smaller communities such as Ajax, Milton, and the borough of East York. The task force's recommendation to eliminate the Metro Toronto government, and Amalgamation of Toronto#1998 amalgamation, consolidate its remaining municipalities into an enlarged City of Toronto was completed in 1997 and became official in 1998, under the Common Sense Revolution of the then premier, Mike Harris. However, the task force's recommendation to create a GTA-tier municipality was not taken up by the Harris government, fearing a GTA-wide municipality would recreate the inter-municipal competitiveness that was believed to have impaired the former Metro Toronto government.
Metrolinx Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union Sta ...
, an agency of the Government of Ontario, was established to oversee public transit development across the Greater Toronto Area. The Greater Toronto Area hosted the 2015 Pan American Games.


Geography

The Geography of Toronto, Greater Toronto Area covers an area of .Population and land area figures for Toronto and the regional municipalities come from the 2006 Canadian census

.
The region itself is bordered by
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
to the south, Kawartha Lakes (Ontario), Kawartha Lakes to the east, the Niagara Escarpment to the west, and
Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk'' ...
to the north. The region creates a natural ecosystem known as the Greater Toronto Bioregion. The Greater Toronto Area forms part of the neck of the Ontario Peninsula. Vast parts of the region remain farmland and forests, making it one of the distinctive features of the geography of the GTA. Most of the urban areas in the GTA hold large urban forest. For the most part designated as parkland, the ravines are largely undeveloped. Rouge National Urban Park, Rouge Park is also one of the largest nature parks within the core of a metropolitan area. Much of these areas also constitute the Toronto ravine system, which consists of deep and steep valleys, and a number of conservation areas in the region which are managed by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. The Cheltenham Badlands in Caledon is an example of environmental degradation due to poor agricultural practice. The Scarborough Bluffs are part of the Glacial Lake Iroquois shoreline. In 2005, the Government of Ontario also passed legislation to prevent urban development and sprawl on environmentally sensitive land in the Greater Toronto Area, known as the Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe), Greenbelt, many of these areas including protected sections of the Oak Ridges Moraine, Rouge Park and the Niagara Escarpment. Nevertheless, low-density suburban developments continue to be built, some on or near ecologically sensitive and protected areas. The provincial government attempted to address this issue through the "Places to Grow" legislation passed in 2005, which emphasizes higher-density growth in existing urban centres over the next 25 years (i.e., until 2030).


Climate

The Geography of Toronto#Climate, climate of the Greater Toronto Area is classified as humid continental climate, humid continental, according to the Köppen climate classification. Much of the Greater Toronto Area is under Köppen ''Dfb'' (Humid continental climate#Warm summer subtype, warm summer subtype) zone, while Old Toronto (excluding the Toronto Islands) and some areas between there and
Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...
to the south-west, are under the Köppen ''Dfa'' climate zone, the Humid continental climate#Hot summer subtype, hot summer subtype. Precipitation averages annually, fairly distributed through the year but driest in later winter with higher average totals in the later summer. In winter, typical high temperatures will range from and low temperatures from . Cold arctic outbreaks keep daytime highs below for several days but this does not occur in every winter, while low temperatures sometimes drop below , accompanying wind chill makes this feel much colder. Annual snowfall averages between across the area. Mild and snow-free spells are also a feature of Toronto's winter, with temperatures surpassing for several days, to occasionally above . Spring is short and often cool to mild, snow can sometimes fall well into April, rarely accumulating. The transition from spring into summer can be rapid. Summer is warm on average to hot and moderately humid with high temperatures usually between , while low temperatures average between in the suburbs and downtown and near the lake. Although fairly sunny, summers do feature occasional heavy, thundery showers. Heat wave conditions with temperatures between are not uncommon but very rarely does the temperature exceed . Immediate lakeshore locations have generally lower average maximum temperatures but they can also experience hot conditions when offshore winds prevail. Normally in autumn it alternates between wet and dry with lengthy periods of mild and calm weather. Temperatures fall and windspeeds increase sharply in November and by December, cold and snowy weather are more common as the temperature average falls below .


Economy

The Greater Toronto Area is a commercial, distribution, financial and economic centre, being the second largest financial centre in North America. The region generates about a fifth of Canada's GDP and is home to 40% of Canada's business headquarters.The Greater Toronto Area (GTA): Canada's Primary Economic Locomotive in Need of Repairs
," ''TD Financial''. ''(Retrieved February 7, 2010.)''
OECD "OECD Territorial Reviews OECD Territorial Reviews: Toronto, Canada 2009" OECD Publishing, p35 The economies of the municipalities in Greater Toronto are largely intertwined. The work force is made up of approximately 2.9 million people and more than 100,000 companies The Greater Toronto Area produces nearly 20% of the entire nation's GDP with $323 billion, and from 1992 to 2002, experienced an average GDP growth rate of 4.0% and a job creation rate of 2.4% (compared to the national average GDP growth rate of 3% and job creation rate of 1.6%). Greater Toronto has the largest regional economy in Canada, with its GDP surpassing the province of Quebec in 2015. In 2010, over 51% of the labour force in the Greater Toronto Area is employed in the Tertiary sector of the economy, service sector, with 19% in the Secondary sector of the economy, manufacturing, 17% of the labour force employed in wholesale & retail trade, 8% of the labour force involved in transportation, communication and utilities, and 5% of the workforce is involved in construction. Despite the fact the service industry makes up only 51% of Greater Toronto's workforce, over 72% of the region's GDP is generated by service industries. The largest industry in the Greater Toronto Area is the financial services in the province, accounting for an estimated 25% of the region's GDP. Notably, the Big Five banks of Canada, five largest banks in Canada all have their operational headquarters in Toronto's Financial District, Toronto, Financial District.Financial Services
, ''Greater Toronto Marketing Services''. Retrieved on February 7, 2010.
Toronto is also home to the headquarters of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the S&P/TSX Composite Index, Standard and Poor TSX Composite Index and offices of the TSX Venture Exchange. The TMX Group, the owners and operators of TSX Exchanges as well as the Montreal Exchange, are also headquartered in Toronto. The TSX and the TSX Venture Exchange represent 3,369 companies, including more than half of the world's publicly traded mining companies. Markham also attracted the highest concentration of high tech companies in Canada, and because of it, has positioned itself as ''Canada's High-Tech Capital''. The Greater Toronto Area is the second largest automotive centre in North America (after Detroit). Currently, General Motors Canada, General Motors, Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ford and FCA Canada, Chrysler run six assembly plants in the area, with Honda of Canada Manufacturing, Honda and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Toyota having assembly plants just outside the GTA. General Motors, Ford, Honda, KIA, Mazda, Suzuki, Nissan, Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Subaru, Volvo, BMW, and Mitsubishi have chosen the Greater Toronto Area for their Canadian headquarters. Magna International, the world's most diversified car supplier, also has its headquarters in Aurora, Ontario, Aurora. The automobile industry within the region accounts for roughly 10% of the region's GDP. As with the rest of Canada, the economy of the Greater Toronto Area has been hit very hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020s.


Agriculture

While it was once the most dominant industry for residents in the Greater Toronto Area, agriculture now occupies a small percentage of the population, but still a large part of land in the surrounding four regional municipalities. Census data from 2006 has shown there are 3,707 census farms in the GTA, down 4.2% from 2001 and covering .GTA Agricultural Profile
, ''Greater Toronto Area Agricultural Action Committee''. Retrieved on February 12, 2010.
Almost every community in the GTA is currently experiencing a decrease in the acreage of farmland, with Mississauga seeing the most significant. The only communities in the GTA that are experiencing a growth in the acreage of farmland are Aurora, Georgina, Newmarket, Oshawa, Richmond Hill and Scugog, with Markham experiencing neither any growth nor decline.GREATER TORONTO AREA AGRICULTURAL PROFILE UPDATE
," ''Greater Toronto Area Agricultural Action Committee''. ''(Retrieved February 12, 2010.)''
Most of the GTA's farmland is in Durham Region, with 55% of their total land area being farmland. This is followed by York Region with 41% of their lands being farmland, Peel Region with 34%, and Halton Region with 41%. Toronto's remaining farmland is completely within Rouge National Urban Park, Rouge Park in the Rouge River (Ontario), Rouge Valley. The average size of the farm in the GTA () is much lower than the farms in the rest of Ontario (averaging ). This has been attributed to the shift of farm types in the GTA from the traditional livestock and cash crop farms (requiring an extensive land base), towards more intensive enterprises including greenhouse, floriculture, nursery, vegetable, fruit, sheep and goats. The most numerous farm types in the GTA are miscellaneous specialty farms (including horse and pony, sheep and lamb, and other livestock specialty), followed by cattle, grain and oilseed, dairy and field crop farms. Although the output of dairy production has dropped with farms from within the GTA, dairy has remained the most productive sector in the agricultural industry by annual gross farm receipts. Despite the decreased amount of farmland around the region, farm capital value increased from $5.2 billion in 1996 to $6.1 billion in 2001, making the average farm capital value in the GTA continued to be the highest in the province.


Infrastructure


Transportation

There are a number of public transportation operators within the Greater Toronto Area, providing services within their jurisdictions. While these operators are largely independent, provisions are being made to integrate them under
Metrolinx Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union Sta ...
, which manages transportation planning including public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. GO Transit, which merged with Metrolinx during the late 2000s, is Ontario's only intra-regional public transit service, linking the communities in the GTA and the city of Hamilton, as well as the rest of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Implementation of a 'Presto card' by Metrolinx has created a common means for all fare payments and allows for seamless connection between these and other transit operators. Public transit operators in the GTA includePublic Transportation
, Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance. Retrieved on March 2, 2010.
Brampton Transit, Burlington Transit, Durham Region Transit, GO Transit, Milton Transit, MiWay (serving Mississauga), Oakville Transit, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), and York Region Transit. The TTC operates the Toronto subway system, which runs in Toronto and in Vaughan, the latter of which began to be served by the system in December 2017 with an extension of Line 1 Yonge–University, Line 1 to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station on Ontario Highway 7, Highway 7 at Jane Street. The GTA also consists of a number of Ontario Provincial Highway Network#The King's Highway, King's Highways and supplemented by municipal expressways. One of the principal highways in the GTA, Ontario Highway 401, Highway 401, is also the longest in Ontario and is also one of the busiest highways in the world. Notably, a segment of the highway passing through the GTA is North America's busiest highway. The GTA is laced with a number of limited-access road, limited-access highways including the 400-series highways. These include: ''Note: "
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
", " Peel", "
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
" and " Halton" here refer to the
regional municipalities A regional municipality (or region) is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place. Reg ...
.''
* Ontario Highway 400, Highway 400 – York, Toronto * Ontario Highway 401, Highway 401 – Durham, Toronto, Peel, Halton * Ontario Highway 403, Highway 403 – Peel, Halton * Ontario Highway 404, Highway 404 – York, Toronto * / Ontario Highway 407, 407 ETR / Highway 407 – Durham, Peel, York, Halton (toll route) * Ontario Highway 409, Highway 409 – Toronto, Peel * Ontario Highway 410, Highway 410 – Peel * Ontario Highway 412, Highway 412 – Durham * Ontario Highway 418, Highway 418 – Durham * Ontario Highway 427, Highway 427 – York, Toronto, Peel * Queen Elizabeth Way – Peel, Halton, Toronto * Gardiner Expressway – Toronto * Don Valley Parkway – Toronto * Allen Road, William R. Allen Road – Toronto The main airport serving the GTA is Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, which is Canada's largest and busiest airport. It processed over 47 million passengers in 2017 and nearly 50 million passengers in 2018. Toronto Pearson International Airport is operated by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA). John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in nearby
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
also handles international flights handles some discount flights and charters and acts as an alternative to Pearson. The Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the Toronto Islands near downtown is used for civil aviation, air ambulance traffic and regional scheduled airlines (it handled nearly two million passengers in 2012). There are also a List of airports in the Greater Toronto Area, number of smaller airports scattered throughout the GTA. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) uses ''YTO'' as a code for multiple airports in the area, including those without passenger service. The Greater Toronto Airport Authority has also placed a tentative proposal to develop a Pickering Airport Lands, new airport in Pickering (which also extends over into Markham and Uxbridge). As the GTAA predicts Toronto Pearson would be unable to be the sole provider for the bulk of Toronto's commercial air traffic in the next 20 years from the report's publication in 2004 (i.e. in 2024), they believe a new airport in Pickering would address the need for a regional/reliever airport east of Toronto Pearson, as well as complement the airport in Hamilton, Ontario.Pickering Airport Draft Plan Report
Originally published 2004 , ''GTAA Pickering Project''. ''(Retrieved January 29, 2010.)''
The GTAA also stated the new airport would create more opportunities for economic development in the eastern region of the Greater Toronto Area. The region also has significant maritime infrastructure being on the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
-St. Lawrence Seaway system. The Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority, Port of Oshawa and PortsToronto, Port of Toronto handle between 2 and 4 million tonnes of cargo annually. The Port of Toronto also has an International Marine Passenger Terminal, which had 12,000 cruise passengers in 2019.


Communication

The Greater Toronto Area is served by seven distinct telephone Telephone numbering plan, area codes. Before 1993, the GTA used the Area codes 416, 647, and 437, 416 area code. In a 1993 zone split,
Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...
retained the 416 code, while the other municipalities of the Greater Toronto Area were assigned the new Area codes 905, 289, and 365, area code 905. This division by area code has become part of the local culture to the point where local media refer to something inside Toronto as "the 416" and outside of Toronto as "the 905". For example, the Raptors 905 basketball team in the NBA G League is named after the area code the team represents. Though for the most part, the use of the area 905 as shorthand for the suburban areas outside Toronto city limits was correct, it is not entirely true as some portions of Durham and York Regions use the Area codes 705 and 249, 705 area code. Furthermore, there are areas, such as
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
, the
Regional Municipality of Niagara The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern ...
and Port Hope, Ontario, Port Hope (in Northumberland County, Ontario, Northumberland County) that use the 905 area code, but are not part of the GTA. The unincorporated community of Acton, Ontario, Acton (in Halton Hills), is the only community in the GTA that uses the Area codes 519, 226, and 548, 519 area code, which covers most of Southwestern Ontario. To meet the increased demand for phone numbers, two overlay area codes were introduced in 2001. Area code 647 (supplementing the 416 area code) was introduced in March 2001 and area code 289 (supplementing the 905 area code) was introduced in July 2001. Some individuals within the 905 area code region may have to dial long distance to reach each other; although residents of Mississauga and Hamilton share the same area code (905), an individual from Toronto, for example, would have to dial "List of country calling codes#At a glance, 1" to reach Hamilton, but not to reach Mississauga. Ten-digit dialing, Ten-digit telephone dialling, including the area code for local calls, is required throughout the GTA. In March 2013, two additional area codes were introduced to the GTA: area code 437 in Toronto and area code 365 in the area served by 905 and 289.


Government

Since the 2015 election, the Greater Toronto Area has been represented by 58 List of House members of the 42nd Parliament of Canada, Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada. Forty-six Legislative Assembly of Ontario#List of members, Members of the Provincial Parliament also represent the GTA in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Ontario Legislature. Five List of Ontario senators, Senators from Ontario have also designated themselves as representatives of certain areas in the GTA in the Senate of Canada, Canadian Senate.


Federal politics

Federally, the Conservative Party of Canada, Conservatives, Liberal Party of Canada, Liberals, and the New Democratic Party, New Democrats (NDP) all hold several electoral district (Canada), electoral districts in the GTA. The City of Toronto has often been supportive of the Liberal Party. Traditionally, Liberal support is strongest in Downtown Toronto, while Conservative support is stronger in the surrounding communities outside Toronto. The NDP also has a strong base within the GTA. The Greater Toronto Area has the ability to influence election results and determine the governing party in Canada, due in part to its large population and riding count. From 1993 Canadian federal election, 1993 to 2011 Canadian federal election, 2011, a centre-right party failed to win a single seat in the former Metro Toronto. In the 2011 election, however, a surge in NDP support combined with a collapse in Liberal support allowed the Conservatives to win eight seats in Toronto itself, and another 24 in the suburbs. Toronto's political leanings now appeared to mirror those of surrounding communities that leaned toward the Conservatives. The election of 2011 showed Liberal support, based on votes in the GTA, had collapsed from 43.7% to 30.6%, giving the Liberals only 14.9% of the local seats in the House of Commons. However, the support of the Conservatives and NDP increased accordingly, with the Conservatives increasing their vote share from 31.5% to 42.2% (and capturing 68.1% of the GTA seats) and the NDP increasing from 14.6% to 23.2% of the vote and 17% of the local Federal ridings. In the 2015 Canadian federal election, 2015 federal election, the Liberals regained their dominance of the GTA after suffering devastating losses there four years earlier. They defeated a number of prominent incumbents from both the NDP and the Conservatives. The Liberals took all of Toronto itself. They also took back almost all of the suburban ridings they had lost in 2011. Both the NDP and the Conservatives suffered heavily as their support collapsed in the inner city and the suburbs respectively. Only a few Conservatives held onto their seats in the outer ring of the GTA, while the NDP failed to elect any MPs in this area. The 2019 Canadian federal election, 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal election, 2021 federal elections have similar results.


Provincial politics

Toronto is the capital of Ontario with the Ontario Legislative Building, often Metonymy, metonymically known as Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park after the street and park surrounding it, being located in
downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...
. Most of the provincial government offices are also located in downtown Toronto. On the provincial level of government, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Ontario Progressive Conservatives, Ontario Liberal Party, Ontario Liberals, and the Ontario New Democratic Party, Ontario New Democrats all hold electoral districts in the GTA. While the GTA provided a strong base of support for the Progressive Conservative government between 1995 and 2003, the Ontario Liberal Party achieved a major victory in the GTA during the 2003 Ontario general election, 2003 election and has enjoyed strong support from the region ever since. In the 2011 Ontario general election, 2011 election, the Liberals won 33 of the 44 available seats in the GTA, allowing Premier Dalton McGuinty to hold onto a minority government. The 2014 Ontario general election, 2014 election under McGuinty's successor, Kathleen Wynne, was an even bigger electoral landslide for the Liberals, as they won 38 seats in the region. They even took a number of ridings in territory that had voted PC for decades, like Durham, Burlington, Newmarket-Aurora and Halton. The PCs hold no seats in Peel Region, and only one seat in each of the Halton, York, and Durham regions. While the NDP has been weak in the GTA since the 1995 Ontario general election, 1995 election, they have seen some successes in Brampton and Durham Region, where they hold one seat each. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario has not won a riding in the city of Toronto during a general election since 1999. On the other end of the spectrum, the NDP saw major losses in Toronto during the 2014 election, and only hold two seats in the city. This is no longer the case since the 2018 Ontario general election, 2018 provincial election, as the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP made significant gains at the expense of the Liberals and this continues to hold true in the 2022 Ontario general election, 2022 provincial election.


Municipal politics

In 2011, 244 politicians govern the Greater Toronto Area below the provincial and federal levels, holding offices in cities, towns, and regional municipalities. Unusual for a large North American urban agglomeration, the GTA has very few agencies with powers that can cross boundaries. Attempts to create an interregional organization have been made, such as the Province of Ontario's Office of the Greater Toronto Area (OGTA) in 1988 and the Greater Toronto Services Board (GTSB) in 1998,e/?search=browseRepealed&context= Greater Toronto Services Board Act, 1998
Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved on February 22, 2010.
but have failed due to a lack of real authority in these agencies. Consequently, there are few interregional public authorities:
Metrolinx Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union Sta ...
, an agency of the provincial government, manages the GTA-wide GO Transit system, while the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority manages some of the GTA's watersheds and natural areas. Notably, there is no organization with broad powers as in other Canadian cities, such as the Greater Montreal, Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal and Metro Vancouver Regional District.


Demographics

According to the latest census data 2021 Canadian census, from 2021 from
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
, the population of this area is 6,712,341. Population growth studies have projected the City of Toronto's population in 2031 to be 3,000,000 and the Greater Toronto Area's population to be 7,450,000, while the Ministry of Finance (Ontario), Ontario Ministry of Finance states it could reach 7.7 million by 2025. Statistics Canada identified in 2001 that four major urban regions in Canada exhibited a cluster pattern of concentrated population growth among which included the Golden Horseshoe, Greater Golden Horseshoe Census Region, which includes all of the Greater Toronto Area (which includes Oshawa), as well as other
Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...
cities including Niagara, Hamilton, Guelph, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo and Barrie. Combined, the Greater Golden Horseshoe has a population of 9,765,188 in 2021, containing over 20% of Canada's population. The Toronto CMA also has the largest proportions of foreign-born residents (46%) as a share of the total population out of all metropolitan areas in the OECD, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Toronto region is also unusually diverse over the composition of its ethnicities. The four largest foreign-born populations of Toronto only constitute 15% of the total foreign-born population. This is opposed to the four largest foreign-born populations of other metropolitan areas such as New York and London, where they make up 25% of their respective foreign-born populations. Statistics Canada also found in 2006, there were 31,910 Indigenous people living in the Greater Toronto Area, which represented 2.7% of all Indigenous peoples in Canada and 13.2% of those in Ontario. The majority of which, however, are not registered with the Indian reserves within the Greater Toronto Area, the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation and the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.


Education

Education in the Greater Toronto Area is managed by the provincial Ministry of Education (Ontario), Ministry of Education, who manages preschool, elementary and secondary education, while the provincial Ministry of Colleges and Universities administers laws relating to tertiary education, including college (Canada), colleges, universities, and vocational schools.


Primary and secondary education

There are presently twelve state school, public English first language Board of education, school boards, and two French first language school boards operating within the GTA. Seven of these school boards operate secular education, secular schools, whereas the other seven operate separate schools; the seven separate school boards in the Greater Toronto Area all serve the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic faith. In addition to public schools, there are also a number of Independent school, private schools that operate within Greater Toronto. Three of these GTA-based public school boards also manage institutions outside Greater Toronto, the two French first language school boards, based in Toronto, as well as the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB). Conversely, English first language public schools in
Clarington Clarington ( 2021 population 101,427) is a lower-tier municipality in the Regional Municipality of Durham in Ontario, Canada. It was incorporated in 1973 as the town of Newcastle with the merging of the town of Bowmanville, the Village of Newca ...
, a municipality within Durham Region, are managed by school boards based outside the GTA.


Post-secondary education


Colleges

The Greater Toronto Area is also home to six publicly funded colleges that have campuses spread in and around the metropolitan area. The six publicly funded colleges based in the Greater Toronto include: * Centennial College (Toronto, Pickering) * Durham College (Pickering, Brock, Scugog, Oshawa, Uxbridge) * George Brown College (Toronto) * Humber College (Toronto) * Seneca College (King, Markham, Newmarket, Toronto, Vaughan) * Sheridan College (Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville) Another publicly funded college, Collège Boréal, also maintains a satellite campus in Toronto. However, Collège Boréal's main campus, and administration, is based outside the GTA, in Greater Sudbury. In addition to publicly funded colleges, there are also a number of private career colleges spread throughout the Greater Toronto Area.


Universities

The Greater Toronto Area is home to six publicly funded universities. Universities based within Greater Toronto include: * OCAD University (Toronto) * Ontario Tech University (Oshawa) * Toronto Metropolitan University (Toronto, formerly Ryerson University) * Université de l'Ontario français (Toronto) * University of Toronto (Toronto, Mississauga) * York University (Toronto) Three publicly funded universities based outside of the GTA operate satellite campuses within the GTA, including the Hamilton-based McMaster University, Peterborough-based Trent University, and the Guelph-based University of Guelph. The McMaster's DeGroote School of Business operates the Ron Joyce Centre in Burlington; Trent University operates a satellite campus in Oshawa, referred to as Trent in Oshawa; The University of Guelph operates an affiliated school, affiliated institution alongside Humber College, the University of Guelph-Humber, in Toronto. There also are eleven private religious universities spread throughout the GTA.


See also

* Greater Toronto Hockey League * Environmental issues in Toronto * Toronto Region Research Alliance


Notes


Footnotes


References


External links

* {{Authority control Greater Toronto Area, Metropolitan areas of Ontario