Toronto is a Canadian city located in Ontario and is the largest city in the country with a population of over 2.7 million residents. Toronto is among the most multicultural cities in the world with over 48% of its population being foreign-born. The city is home to many headquarters of large multi-national companies.
Toronto is the most populous city in Canada with a population of over 2.7 million people. It is the anchor city of the Golden Horseshoe region which accounts for 26% of the total population of the entire country. Toronto has a high population density with 10,747 persons per square mile. According to the United Nations Development Programme, Toronto has the second-biggest proportion of foreign-born people after Miami in the United States. Females account for 52% of the population with men comprising the remaining 48% of the population. People of Caucasian origin make up the majority of the population accounting for 50.2% of the population.
Toronto and its metropolitan area (known as the Greater Toronto Area or GTA) form part of the Greater Toronto Bioregion which is bordered by Lake Ontario, the Oak Ridges Moraine region, and the Niagara Escarpment. The area is characterized by the humid continental climate. The city experiences a contrasting climate with warm summers and cold winters. No fewer than four months of the year experience temperatures above 10 degrees Celsius while the coldest month of the year has a mean temperature of -3 degrees Celsius. The hottest months of the year in Toronto are the months between May and September with temperatures peaking in July reaching 27 degrees Celsius, while the coldest months are months between November and March. January records the lowest temperatures which reaches lows of -7 degrees Celsius. The precipitation experienced in Toronto is evenly distributed, with September and November being the wettest months with an average precipitation of 3.3 inches. The annual average precipitation of Toronto is 32.72 inches. The city experiences all four seasons with autumn and spring seasons being shorter than the winter and summer seasons. The city’s average snowfall in winter is 47.8 inches with limited snowfall in spring. Lake Ontario is a key factor influencing the climatic conditions of the city where winds emanating from the lake during the summer induce humidity in the city.
3. Cultural Significance
As the largest city in Canada, Toronto is at the heart of the cultural heritage of the country. The city is a melting point for many different cultures from all over the world and is among the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. Toronto has a thriving arts scene and is home to many world-famous museums. One of the largest art museums in the city is the Art Gallery of Ontario which hosts a 480,000 square-foot gallery and is home to the largest collection of Canadian art in the world. The Art Gallery’s collection is made up of about 80,000 works, some of which are from the 1st century. Other museums located in the city include the Bata Shoe Museum which is home to the biggest shoe collection in the world and the Textile Museum of Canada which features a permanent collection of 13,000 pieces. Toronto is of great importance in the Canadian film industry and hosts the Toronto International Film Festival. The city also hosts the Caribana, an annual Caribbean festival which is the biggest of its kind in North America attracting over a million celebrants. The city has a vibrant nightlife with the “Entertainment District” having the highest concentration of nightclubs, bars, and restaurants in the city.
The most famous landmark in Toronto is the CN Tower which is synonymous with the city. The 1,815 foot tower is the tallest tower in the country and the third tallest free-standing structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa and the Canton Tower. The CN Tower is a communications tower with several observation decks, the highest of which is 1,465 feet high. The CN Tower is a symbol of Canada and is among the seven modern wonders of the world. Another key landmark in Toronto is the Ripley’s Aquarium, the largest aquatic park in the city whose biggest tank holds about 0.75 million gallons with over 13,000 aquatic creatures. Another landmark in the city is the Roger’s Centre (originally known as the SkyDome), the largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof which is home to sports teams such as the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team.
1. Famous People
Toronto is home to many notable individuals who are world-renowned in numerous sectors. The town has produced many world-famous musicians such as Drake, a three-time Grammy-Award winning rap artist who has sold millions of records across the globe. Other notable hip-hop artists from Toronto include K’naan, DL Incognito, and PartyNextDoor. The city has a significant jazz scene and has produced world-famous jazz artists such as George Evans and Gil Evans who are arguably the greatest orchestrators of the genre. Other musicians from Toronto include Juno-award winner Deborah Cox, Grammy-nominee Gerald Eaton, and Juno-award winner Harry Freedman among others. Grammy-award winning reggae artist Damian Marley has Toronto roots with his mother, Miss World 1976 Cindy Breakspeare, having been Toronto-born. Toronto has also produced many award-winning actors including Katheryn Winnick who stars in the award-winning hit series “Vikings.” Other Toronto-born actors include Stephen Amell who stars in the TV series “Arrow”, Rachel Skarsten who is a lead actress in “Fifty Shades of Grey”, Laura Vandervoort who acted in the American TV series “Smallville”, award-winning actor Patrick J. Adams who stars in the US hit drama “Suits”, Sarah Carter who was the lead actress in “Final Destination 2”, “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Caterina Scorsone, Shenae Grimes-Beech who is a lead actress in the TV series “90210”, and Howie Mandel who appears as a lead judge on the hit series, “America’s Got Talent”. Toronto has also produced many renowned sports personalities who include three-time NBA champion Rick Fox, award-winning Major League Baseball player and current coach Robert Thomas Ducey, award-winning NHL coach and former player Rick Dudley, retired ice hockey player Anson Horace Carter, retired boxer and five-time heavyweight champion George Louis Chuvalo, cruiserweight kickboxing champion Simon Marcus and professional wrestler and WWE Women’s Champion Gail Kim's.