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Greater Toronto Area

Coordinates: 43°38′33″N 79°23′14″W / 43.64250°N 79.38722°W / 43.64250; -79.38722
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"Toronto metropolitan area" redirects here. For the former regional municipality that existed from 1954 to 1998, see Metropolitan Toronto.
Greater Toronto Area
Metropolitan Area
Downtown Toronto from Lake Ontario
Downtown Toronto from Lake Ontario
Map
Country Canada
Province Ontario
Area
 • Total
7,124.15 km2 (2,750.65 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1][2][3][4][5]
 • Total
6,054,191
 • Density849/km2 (2,199/sq mi)
 Combined population of Halton, Peel, Toronto, York, Durham
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal Code
L, M
Area code(s)226, 289, 416, 437, 519, 647, 705, 905

Municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 6,054,191, and the census metropolitan area had a population of 5,583,064. The Greater Toronto Area is defined as the central city of Toronto, and the four regional municipalities that surround it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York.[6] The regional span of the Greater Toronto Area is sometimes combined with the city of Hamilton, Ontario and its surrounding region, to form the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.[7][8] The Greater Toronto Area is the northern part of the Golden Horseshoe.

Satellite image of the Greater Toronto Area

Etymology

The term Greater Toronto has been used in writing as early as the 1900s, although at the time, the term only referred to the old City of Toronto and its immediate townships and villages, which became Metropolitan Toronto in 1954 and became the current city of Toronto in 1998.[9] The usage of the term involving the four 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" (GTHA) or the still-broader "Greater Golden Horseshoe".[10] The latter includes communities like Barrie, Guelph and the Niagara Region. The GTA continues, however, to be in official use elsewhere in the Government of Ontario, such as the Ministry of Finance.

Census metropolitan area

A map of Toronto's Census Metropolitan Area, which contains a large portion of the Greater Toronto Area.
See also: List of municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area

Some municipalities that are considered part of the GTA are not within Toronto's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) whose land area (5,904 km2 in 2006)[11] and population (5,583,064 as of the 2011 census)[11] is thus smaller than the land area and population of the GTA planning area. For example, Oshawa, which is the centre of its own CMA, yet deemed part of the Greater Toronto Area.[12] Other municipalities, such as New Tecumseth in southern Simcoe County and Mono Township in Dufferin County are included in the Toronto CMA but not in the GTA.[12] 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 the urban population of Toronto.

Other nearby urban areas, such as Hamilton, Barrie or St. Catharines-Niagara and Kitchener-Waterloo, are not part of the GTA or the Toronto CMA, but form their own CMAs that are in fairly close proximity to the GTA.[13] Ultimately, all the aforementioned places are part of the Golden Horseshoe metropolitan region, an urban agglomeration,[14] which is the fifth most populous in North America. When the Hamilton, Oshawa and Toronto CMAs are agglomerated with Brock and Scugog, they have a population of 6,170,072.[15] It is part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis, containing an estimated 54 million people.

Municipalities in Greater Toronto Area and related CMAs
Census division Census subdivision In GTA Toronto CMA Oshawa CMA
Toronto Green tickY Green tickY
Durham Region Ajax Green tickY Green tickY
Clarington Green tickY Green tickY
Brock Green tickY
Oshawa Green tickY Green tickY
Pickering Green tickY Green tickY
Scugog Green tickY
Uxbridge Green tickY Green tickY
Whitby Green tickY Green tickY
Halton Region Burlington Green tickY
Halton Hills Green tickY Green tickY
Milton Green tickY Green tickY
Oakville Green tickY Green tickY
Peel Region Brampton Green tickY Green tickY
Caledon Green tickY Green tickY
Mississauga Green tickY Green tickY
York Region Aurora Green tickY Green tickY
East Gwillimbury Green tickY Green tickY
Georgina Green tickY Green tickY
King Green tickY Green tickY
Markham Green tickY Green tickY
Newmarket Green tickY Green tickY
Richmond Hill Green tickY Green tickY
Vaughan Green tickY Green tickY
Whitchurch–Stouffville Green tickY Green tickY
Dufferin County Mono Green tickY
Orangeville Green tickY
Simcoe County Bradford West Gwillimbury Green tickY
New Tecumseth Green tickY

Extended area

Main article: Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area

The term "Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area" (GTHA) refers to the usual GTA plus the former Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth, which was amalgamated to become the City of Hamilton in 2001.

History

See also: History of Toronto

Before 1900

The Greater Toronto Area was home to a number of First Nations groups who lived on the shore of Lake Ontario long before the first Europeans arrived in the region. At various times the Neutral,[16] Seneca, Mohawk and Huron nations were living in the vicinity of the region.[17] The Mississaugas arrived in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century, driving out the occupying Iroquois.[18][19] While it is unclear as to who was the first European to reach the Toronto area, there is no question that it occurred in the 17th century.[20]

The area would later become very crucial for its series of trails and water routes that led from northern and western Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Known as the "Toronto Passage", it followed the Humber River, as an important overland shortcut between Lake Ontario, Lake Simcoe and the upper Great Lakes.[21] For this reason area became a hot spot for French fur traders.[20] The French would later establish two trading forts, Magasin Royal in the 1720s, although abandoned within the decade and Fort Rouillé in the 1750s, which would later be burnt down and abandoned in 1759 by the French garrison, who were retreating from invading British forces.[20][22]

A map of York County during the 1880s

The first large influx of European settlers to settle the region were the United Empire Loyalists arriving after the American Revolution, when various individuals petitioned the Crown for land in and around the Toronto area.[20] In 1787, the British negotiated the purchase of more than a quarter million acres (1,000 km²) of land in the area of Toronto with the Mississaugas of New Credit.[23] York County, would later be created by Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1792, which would at its largest size, comprise all of what is now Halton Region, Toronto, Peel Region, York Region and parts of the current Durham Regional Municipality.[24] The Town of York (present day Toronto) would later be attacked by American forces in the War of 1812 in what is now known as the Battle of York, in 1813.[25] In 1816, Wentworth County and Halton County were created from York County.[26] York County would later serve as the setting for the beginnings of the Upper Canada Rebellion with William Lyon Mackenzie's armed march from Holland Landing towards York Township on Yonge Street, eventually leading up to the battle at Montgomery's Tavern.[27] In 1851, Ontario County and Peel County were separated from York.[26][28]

Since 1900

The idea towards a streamlined local government to control local infrastructure was made as early as 1907 by member of federal Parliament, and founder of the Toronto Globe, William Findlay Maclean, who called for the expansion of the government of the former City of Toronto in order to create a Greater Toronto.[9] The idea for a single government municipality would not be seriously explored until the late 1940s when planners decided that 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.[29] In 1953, the portion of York County south of Steeles Avenue, a concession road and township boundary, was severed from the county and incorporated as the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto.[30] 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, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York; as well as seven villages and towns, which became amalgamated into their surrounding townships in 1967.[31] The early Metro Toronto government debated over the annexation of surrounding townships of Markham, Pickering and Vaughan. The first Metro Toronto Chairman, Frederick Goldwin Gardiner, planned on the conversion of these townships into boroughs of the Metro Toronto government.[32] In 1971, the remaining areas of York County was replaced by the Ontario government with the Regional Municipality of York.[31] 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.[31]

In 1992, the Ontario government passed legislation requiring Metropolitan Toronto to include the rest of the Greater Toronto Area into its planning.[33] Despite this however, there was fear that different parts of the municipal system were working against one another and 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.[34] 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 that consolidation should only take place in such a way that the new municipalities would have a population between 400,000 and 800,000.[35] 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.[36] The incoming government of Mike Harris would later act on the recommendation of the task force with the elimination of Metro Toronto, consolidating the remaining municipalities into an enlarged City of Toronto.[37] The task force's recommendations towards a GTA-tier municipality however were not acted upon by the Harris government, as it similarly resembled the former Metro Toronto government.[38]

Geography

Rattlesnake Point near Milton.

The Greater Toronto Area covers a total area of 7,125 km2 (2,751 sq mi).[39] The region itself is bordered by Lake Ontario to the south, Kawartha Lakes to the east, the Niagara Escarpment to the west, and Lake Simcoe to the north. The region creates a natural ecosystem known as the Greater Toronto Bioregion.

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 holds large urban forest. For the most part designated as parkland, the ravines are largely undeveloped. Rouge Park is also one of the largest nature parks within the core of a metropolitan area.[40] Much of these areas also constitute the Toronto ravine system, and a number of conservation areas in the region which are managed by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.[41]

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, many of these areas including protected sections of the Oak Ridges Moraine, Rouge Park and the Niagara Escarpment.[42] Nevertheless, low-density suburban developments continue to be built, some on or near ecologically sensitive and protected areas. The provincial government has recently 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.[43]

Climate

The Greater Toronto Area is classified as a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa/Dfb), according to the Köppen climate classification. In winter, which begins in December and ends in March, typical high temperatures will range from −5 to 2 °C (23 to 36 °F) and low temperatures from −11 to −6 °C (12 to 21 °F). Occasional cold spells hold daytime highs below −10 °C (14 °F) for several days, while low temperatures sometimes drop below −18 °C (0 °F). Mild spells are also a feature of Toronto's winter, with temperatures occasionally surpassing 5 °C (41 °F) for several days. Spring is short and often mild, although snow sometimes falls as late as April. Summer is warm, sometimes hot and humid and begins in June and ends in late September. High temperatures typically range from 24 °C (75 °F) to 31 °C (88 °F) while low temperatures hover around 15 °C (59 °F) in the suburbs and 18–20 °C (64–68 °F) downtown and near the lake. Although fairly sunny, summers do feature occasional heavy, thundery showers. Heat wave conditions featuring temperatures between 32 °C (90 °F) and 35 °C (95 °F) are not uncommon. Temperatures are lower near the lake and higher inland. Although rare, the mercury sometimes rises above 38 °C (100 °F). Autumn alternates between wet and dry periods. Temperatures fall sharply in November and by December, cold and snowy weather is not uncommon.

Template:GTA weatherbox

Economy

A worker at the Oakville Assembly installs a battery on a Ford Flex

The Greater Toronto Area is a commercial, distribution, financial and economic centre, being the third largest financial centre in North America.[44] The region as a whole generates about a fifth of the GDP of Canada, and is home to 40% of Canada's business headquarters.[45][46] The economies of the municipalities in Greater Toronto themselves are largely intertwined with one another.[47] The work force is made up of approximately 2.9 million people and more than 100,000 companies[48] The Greater Toronto Area currently 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%).[45][49] In 2010, over 51% of the labour force in the Greater Toronto Area is employed in the service sector, with 19% in the manufacturing, 17% of the labour force employed in wholesale & retail trade, 8% of the labour force involved in transportation, communication &utilities, and 5% of the workforce is involved in construction.[50] Despite the fact that the service industry makes up only 51% of Greater Toronto's workforce, over 72% of the region's GDP is generated by service industries.[45]

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.[45] Notably, the five largest banks in Canada all have their operational headquarters located in Toronto's Financial District.[51] Toronto is also where the headquarters of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Standard and Poor TSX Composite Index are located, with offices of the TSX Venture Exchange also located in Toronto.[51] 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.[51]

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.[52] The Greater Toronto Area is currently the second largest automotive centre in North America (after Detroit). Currently,[when?] General Motors, Ford and Chrysler run six assembly plants in the area, with Honda and 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.[53] Magna International, the world's most diversified car supplier,[54] also has its headquarters located in Aurora.[55] The entire automobile industry within the region accounts for roughly 10% of the region's GDP.[45]

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 that there are 3,707 census farms in the GTA, down 4.2% from 2001 and covering 274,363 hectares (677,970 acres).[56] 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 which 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.[57] Most of the farmland in the GTA is located in Durham Region, with 55% of their total land area being farmland. This is followed by York Region with 41% of their lands being farm land, Peel Region with 34%, and Halton Region with 41%.[57] Toronto's remaining farmland is completely within Rouge Park. The average size of the farm in the GTA (183 acres (0.74 km2)) is much lower than the farms in the rest of Ontario (averaging 233 acres (0.94 km2)). This has been attributed to the shift of farm types in the GTA, shifting 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.[56]

The most numerous farms types however in the GTA is 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.[57] 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.[57] 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.[57]

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highway 401 serves as a major roadway in the Greater Toronto Area.
Toronto Rocket subway train in Rosedale subway station

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, which manages transportation planning including public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.[58] 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.[59] Implementation of a 'Presto card' by Metrolinx has created a common means for all fare payments and allow for seamless connection between these and other transit operators.[60]

Public transit operators in the GTA include[61] 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 GTA also has the largest and busiest freeway network in Canada, consisting of the King's Highways and supplemented by municipal expressways.[62] One of the most principal highways in the GTA, Highway 401 is also the longest in Ontario and is also one of the busiest highways in the world.[63] Notably, a segment of the highway passing through the GTA holds the distinction of being North America's busiest highway.[64] The GTA is laced with a number of limited-access highways, including the 400-series highways. These include:[65]

Note: "York", "Peel", "Durham" and "Halton" here refer to the regional municipalities.

The Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga serves as the primary airport for the GTA, and ranks among the world's busiest airports.

The main airport serving the GTA is Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, which is Canada's largest[66] and busiest airport. It processed over 38.5 million passengers in 2014 and over 41 million passengers in 2015.[67][68] Toronto Pearson International Airport is operated by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), and could potentially be asked to help observe in the operations of the other airports in the area, but has yet to be asked to do so.[69] John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in nearby Hamilton also handles international flights handles some discount flights and charters and acts as an alternate to Pearson.[70] The Toronto island airport on the Toronto Islands located near downtown is used for civil aviation, air ambulance traffic and regional scheduled airlines (it handled nearly two million passengers in 2012).[71][72] YTO is a multiple airport code that works for Pearson, City Centre, and Buttonville Municipal Airport (located in Markham). There are also a number of smaller airports which are scattered throughout the GTA.

The Greater Toronto Airport Authority has also placed a tentative proposal to develop a new airport in Pickering (which also spills over into Markham and Uxbridge).[73] As the GTAA predicts that Toronto Pearson would be unable to indefinitely be the sole provider for the bulk of Toronto's commercial air traffic in the next 20 years, they believe that 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.[69] The GTAA also stated that the new airport would create more opportunities for economic development in the eastern region of the Greater Toronto Area.[69]

Communication

Toronto at dusk

The Greater Toronto Area is served by seven distinct telephone area codes. Before 1993, the GTA used the 416 area code. In a 1993 zone split, Metropolitan Toronto retained the 416 code, while the other municipalities of the Greater Toronto Area were assigned the new area code 905.[74] 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".[75] Though for the most part this was correct, it is not entirely true as some portions of Durham and York Regions use the 705 area code.[76] Furthermore, there are areas, such as Hamilton, the Regional Municipality of Niagara and Port Hope (located in Northumberland County) that use the 905 area code, but are not part of the GTA.[76] The unincorporated community of Acton (located in Halton Hills), is the only community in the GTA that uses the 519 area code, which covers most of Southwestern Ontario.[77][78]

To meet the increased demand for phone numbers, two overlay area codes were introduced in 2001. Area code 647 (supplementing the 416 area code)[79] was introduced in March 2001 and area code 289 (supplementing the 905 area code) was introduced in July 2001.[80] 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 "1" to reach Hamilton, but not to reach Mississauga. Ten-digit telephone dialling, including the area code for local calls, is required throughout the GTA.[80] In March 2013, two additional area codes were introduced to the GTA: area code 437 in Toronto and area code 365 in the area currently served by 905 and 289.[81]

Government

Since the 2015 election, the Greater Toronto Area is represented by 47 Members of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons. Forty six Members of Provincial Parliament also represent the GTA in the Ontario Legislature. Five Senators from Ontario have also designated themselves as representatives of certain areas in the GTA in the Canadian Senate.[82]

Federal politics

Federally, the Conservatives, Liberals, and the New Democrats all hold several 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.[83]

From 1993 to 2004, a centre-right party failed to win a single seat in the former Metro Toronto. In the 2011 election, this trend turned around completely, where the political leanings of Toronto began to shift to mirror the surrounding communities that had been more likely to lean towards the Conservative party in their voting patterns.

The election of 2011 indicated that 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 federal election, the Liberals regained their dominance of the GTA area. They defeated a number of prominent incumbents from both the NDP and the Conservatives. All seats in the City of Toronto were won by the Liberal Party. In suburban 905-belt where the Liberals experienced devastating losses in 2011, they took back almost all the ridings. 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 area, while NDP failed to elect any MP in this area.[84]

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal/row
Federal Elections in the GTA 2000 2004 2006 2008 2011 2015
Liberal Seats: 44 40 36 32 7 49

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal/row

Vote: 57.4 51.3 47.3 43.7 30.6 48.4
  Conservative Seats: - 6 8 13 32 9
  Vote: - 27.8 31.7 31.5 42.2 34.3

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP/row

New Democrat Seats: 0 1 3 2 8 0

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP/row

Vote: 7.2 15.4 16 14.6 23.2 14.0
  Green Seats: 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Vote: 0.8 4.2 4.5 7.1 3.5 2.3
  Canadian Alliance Seats: 0 - - - - -
  Vote: 19.2 - - - - -

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives/row

Progressive Conservatives Seats: 0 - - - - -

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives/row

Vote: 14.3 - - - - -
Total seats: - - 44 47 47 47 47 58

Provincial politics

On the provincial level of government, the Conservatives, Liberals, and the New Democrats all hold electoral districts in the GTA.[85] While the GTA provided a strong base of support for the Progressive Conservative government between 1995 and 2003, Dalton McGuinty and the Ontario Liberal Party roared to victory in the region during the 2003 election and has enjoyed strong support from the region ever since. In the 2011 election, the Liberals won 33 of the 44 available seats in the GTA.[86] The 2014 election was an even bigger electoral landslide for the Liberals, as they now hold 38 seats in the region, including ridings like Durham, Burlington, Newmarket-Aurora and Halton, which had voted PC for decades. The PCs hold no seats in the Peel Region, and only one seat in the Halton, York, and Durham regions. While the NDP has been weak in the GTA since the 1995 election, they have seen some successes in Brampton and the Durham Region, where they hold one seat each.

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario has not been elected in a Toronto riding during a general election since 1999.[87] 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 since then.

Municipal politics

Currently 244 politicians govern the Greater Toronto Area below the provincial and federal levels, holding offices in cities, towns, and regional municipalities.[88] 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[89] and the Greater Toronto Services Board (GTSB) in 1998,[90][91] but have failed due to a lack of real authority in these agencies.[91][92]

Consequently, there are few interregional public authorities: Metrolinx, an agency of the provincial government, manages the GTA-wide GO Transit system,[93] while the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, manages watersheds and natural areas.[94] Notably, there is no organization with broad powers as in other Canadian cities, such as the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal, and Metro Vancouver.

Demographics

According to the latest census data from 2011 from Statistics Canada, the population of this area is 6,054,191. 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,[95] while the Ontario Ministry of Finance states that it could reach 7.7 million by 2025.[96] Statistics Canada identified in 2001 that four major urban regions in Canada exhibited a cluster pattern of concentrated population growth among which included the Greater Golden Horseshoe Census Region, which includes all of the Greater Toronto Area (which includes Oshawa), as well as other Southern Ontario cities including Niagara, Hamilton, Guelph, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo and Barrie. Combined, the Greater Golden Horseshoe has a population of 8,116,000 in 2006,[97] containing approximately 25% 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 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. 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.[46]

Statistics Canada also found that in 2006, there were 31,910 Aboriginal people living in the Greater Toronto Area, which represented 2.7 per cent of all Aboriginal persons in Canada and 13.2 per cent of those in Ontario.[98] 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.

Name Total area (km²) Population Density
Province of Ontario 1,076,395 km² 12,851,821 14.1 / km²
City of Toronto 630 km² 2,615,060 4,149.5/ km²
Regional Municipality of Durham 2,523.15 km² 608,124 241.0/ km²
Regional Municipality of Peel 1,241.99 km² 1,296,814 1,040.0/ km²
Regional Municipality of York 1,761.84 km² 1,032,524 585.9/ km²
Regional Municipality of Halton 967.17 km² 501,669 520.4/ km²
Greater Toronto Area 7124.15 km² 6,054,191 850.0/ km²
Mother tongue languages, Toronto CMA (2011)[99]
Language Toronto Ontario Canada
English 57.0% 70.4% 58.6%
Italian 3.2% 2.1% 1.3%
Cantonese 3.2% 1.5% 1.2%
Punjabi 3.0% 1.5% 1.4%
Unspecified Chinese 2.9% 1.6% 1.5%
Tagalog 2.5% 1.3% 0.9%
Spanish 2.3% 1.5% 1.3%
Urdu 2.2% 1.1% 0.6%
Tamil 2.1% 1.0% 0.4%
Portuguese 2.0% 1.2% 0.7%
Mandarin 1.8% 1.0% 0.6%
French 1.6% 4.4% 22.0%
Persian 1.5% 0.8% 0.5%
Russian 1.4% 0.8% 0.5%
Polish 1.4% 1.1% 0.6%
Arabic 1.3% 1.2% 1.1%
Gujarati 1.2% 0.6% 0.3%
Korean 1.0% 0.5% 0.4%
Hindi 0.9% 0.4% 0.3%
Vietnamese 0.9% 0.5% 0.5%
Greek 0.8% 0.5% 0.4%
German 0.7% 1.2% 1.3%
Bengali 0.6% 0.3% 0.2%
Ukrainian 0.5% 0.4% 0.3%
Romanian 0.5% 0.3% 0.3%
Serbian 0.4% 0.3% 0.2%
Croatian 0.3% 0.2% 0.2%
Somali 0.3% 0.2% 0.1%
Macedonian 0.2% 0.1% 0.1%
Albanian 0.2% 0.1% 0.1%
Turkish 0.2% 0.1% 0.1%
Armenian 0.2% 0.1% 0.1%
Hebrew 0.2% 0.1% 0.1%
Dutch 0.2% 0.5% 0.4%

Education

Education in the Greater Toronto Area is currently managed by the provincial Ministry of Education, who manages preschool, elementary and secondary education, while the provincial Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities is responsible for administration of laws relating to postsecondary education and skills training.[100][101] Since 1998, there are 12 school boards located in the GTA, each region operating a secular English school board and English Catholic school board. The entire GTA is also under the jurisdiction of a secular French school board and a French Catholic school board. The Peel Region's Catholic school board also holds jurisdiction over Dufferin County, which is outside of the GTA.

School boards in the Greater Toronto Area
Region Durham Region Halton Region Peel Region City of Toronto York Region
English Secular Durham District School Board Halton District School Board Peel District School Board Toronto District School Board York Region District School Board
English Catholic Durham Catholic District School Board Halton Catholic District School Board Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Toronto Catholic District School Board York Catholic District School Board
French Secular Conseil scolaire Viamonde
French Catholic Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud

Post-secondary education

The University of Toronto, which was established in 1827, is the largest higher education institution in Canada.

The Greater Toronto Area is home to five publicly funded universities, some of which are well known and respected throughout the world.[102] There also are eleven private religious universities spread throughout the GTA.[103] The five public degree-granting institutions are:

Three universities based outside of the GTA operate satellite campuses within the GTA, including McMaster University, Trent University, and the University of Guelph. The Ron Joyce Centre, located in Burlington, is a 4.5-acre (0.018 km2) site mainly used by the McMaster's DeGroote School of Business.[104] Trent University also operates a satellite campus in Oshawa, known as Trent in Oshawa.[105] Guelph's Humber Campus is located in Etobicoke, Toronto.[106]

The Greater Toronto Area is also home to six publicly funded colleges,[107] which have campuses spread in and around the Greater Toronto Area. The six publicly funded colleges are:

There are also a number of private career colleges spread throughout the Greater Toronto Area.[108]

See also

Footnotes

References

  1. ^ Halton: "Greater Toronto Area (Code 3524) Census Profile". 2011 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  2. ^ Peel: "Greater Toronto Area (Code 3521) Census Profile". 2011 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  3. ^ Toronto: "Greater Toronto Area (Code 3520) Census Profile". 2011 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada.
  4. ^ York: "Greater Toronto Area (Code 3519) Census Profile". 2011 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  5. ^ Durham: "Greater Toronto Area (Code 3518) Census Profile". 2011 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  6. ^ OECD "OECD Territorial Reviews OECD Territorial Reviews: Toronto, Canada 2009" OECD Publishing, ISBN 92-64-07940-8 p37
  7. ^ a b "Places to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe" (PDF). Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal. 2006. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "Places to Grow" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b "Amendment No. 38 to the Regional Plan (2006)". Regional Municipality of Hamilton. December 16, 2009. Cite error: The named reference "Halton ROPA 138" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Solomon, Lawrence "Toronto sprawls: a history." University of Toronto Press; 1 edition, ISBN 0-7727-8618-6 p3
  10. ^ "Planning for Growth" (PDF). Understanding the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal.
  11. ^ a b "Population and dwelling counts, for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2006 and 2001 censuses – 100% data". Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population. March 13, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
  12. ^ a b "What's the difference between the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and CMA Toronto (census metropolitan area)?". Computing in the Humanities and Social Sciences University of Toronto. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  13. ^ "Population of census metropolitan areas (2006 Census boundaries)". Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  14. ^ "2006 Census: Portrait of the Canadian Population in 2006: Subprovincial population dynamics". Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  15. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for census metropolitan areas, 2006 and 2001 censuses – 100% data". Canada 2006 Census. Statistics Canada. Retrieved July 25, 2008. The constituent CMAs are Toronto (5,113,149), Hamilton (692,911), Oshawa (330,594), Brock(11,979) and Scugog(21,439) for a total agglomerated population of 6,170,072.
  16. ^ The Archaeology Of Southern Ontario To A.D. 1650. London Chapter of the Ontario Archaeological Society. 1990. pp. 410–411. ISBN 0-919350-13-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "First Peoples, 9000 BCE to 1600 CE". Toronto Culture – Exploring Toronto's past. City of Toronto.
  18. ^ The Ojibwa-Iroquois War: The War the Five Nations Did Not Win. Leroy V. Eid. Ethnohistory, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Autumn, 1979), Duke University Press,pp. 297–324
  19. ^ Schmalz, Peter S., The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-2736-9. pp 21–22
  20. ^ a b c d "Natives and Newcomers, 1600–1793". Toronto Culture – Exploring Toronto's past. City of Toronto. 2009.
  21. ^ "The Toronto Carrying-place". Nature Conservancy of Canada. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  22. ^ Rayburn, Alan (September 18, 2007). "The real story of how Toronto got its name". Mapping Services. Natural Resources Canada.
  23. ^ Missisaugas of the New Credit CURRENT LAND CLAIMS
  24. ^ Ontario's Districts – 1798, Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved on 2010-02-06.
  25. ^ "A Provincial Centre, 1793–1851". Toronto Culture – Exploring Toronto's past. City of Toronto. 2009.
  26. ^ a b Archives of Ontario (February 28, 2010). "18th and 19th century Ontario Counties and Corresponding Districts". Queen's Printer for Ontario.
  27. ^ Robert M. Stamp (1991). "The Road to Rebellion". Tories and Reformers. Town of Richmond Hill Public Library.
  28. ^ Archives of Ontario (February 28, 2010). "Ontario's Districts – 1851". The Evolution of the District and County System 1788–1899. Queen's Printer for Ontario.
  29. ^ Solomon, Lawrence "Toronto sprawls: a history." University of Toronto Press; 1 edition, ISBN 0-7727-8618-6 p3-8
  30. ^ Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Act, Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved on 2010-02-06.
  31. ^ a b c Archives of Ontario (February 28, 2010). "Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York". Queen's Printer for Ontario.
  32. ^ Rose, Albert "Governing metropolitan Toronto: a social and political analysis, 1953–1971" Institute of Governmental Studies; University of California Press; 1st edition, ISBN 0-520-02041-3 p.107, 166
  33. ^ Fletcher, Thomas Hobbs "From Love Canal to environmental justice: the politics of hazardous waste on the Canada-U.S. border" University of Toronto Press, ISBN 1-55111-434-8 p28
  34. ^ Sanction, Andrew "Merger mania: the assault on local government" McGill-Queen's Press, ISBN 0-7735-2163-1 p.114
  35. ^ Sanction, Andrew "Merger mania: the assault on local government" McGill-Queen's Press, ISBN 0-7735-2163-1 p.115
  36. ^ Sanction, Andrew "Merger mania: the assault on local government" McGill-Queen's Press, ISBN 0-7735-2163-1 p.116
  37. ^ City of Toronto Act, 1997, Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved on 2010-02-06.
  38. ^ Sanction, Andrew "Merger mania: the assault on local government" McGill-Queen's Press, ISBN 0-7735-2163-1 p.121
  39. ^ Population and land area figures for Toronto and the regional municipalities come from the 2006 Canadian census: [1].
  40. ^ About Us, Rouge Park. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  41. ^ Jurisdiction and Participating Municipalities, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  42. ^ “Greenbelt Plan Area,” Greenbelt Protection. (Retrieved 2010-02-07.)
  43. ^ “4 Million More People, But Without the Sprawl,” Toronto Star. (Retrieved 2010-02-07.)
  44. ^ "Toronto's key industry clusters: Financial services". City of Toronto. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  45. ^ a b c d e “The Greater Toronto Area (GTA): Canada's Primary Economic Locomotive in Need of Repairs,” TD Financial. (Retrieved 2010-02-07.)
  46. ^ a b OECD "OECD Territorial Reviews OECD Territorial Reviews: Toronto, Canada 2009" OECD Publishing, ISBN 92-64-07940-8 p35
  47. ^ Lu, Vanessa (March 16, 2010). "Should Toronto go it alone?". Toronto Star. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  48. ^ [2] Archived 2005-10-27 at the Wayback Machine
  49. ^ Top 10 Reasons for Investing in the GTA, Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  50. ^ Labour Force, Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  51. ^ a b c Financial Services, Greater Toronto Marketing Services. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  52. ^ Markham's High-Tech Companies in The Branham Top 300 Canadian IT Companies, Town of Markham. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  53. ^ Automotive & Advanced Manufacturing, Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  54. ^ About Magna, Magna International. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  55. ^ Contact Us, Magna International. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  56. ^ a b GTA Agricultural Profile, Greater Toronto Area Agricultural Action Committee. Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
  57. ^ a b c d e “GREATER TORONTO AREA AGRICULTURAL PROFILE UPDATE,” Greater Toronto Area Agricultural Action Committee. (Retrieved 2010-02-12.)
  58. ^ The Big Move, Metrolinx. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  59. ^ What Is GO?, GO Transit. Retrieved on 2010-03-02.
  60. ^ About PRESTO, Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  61. ^ Public Transportation, Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance. Retrieved on 2010-03-02.
  62. ^ http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/trip/provroads.shtml, Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved on 2010-02-22
  63. ^ "Ontario government investing $401 million to upgrade Highway 401". Ministry of Transportation. August 6, 2002. Archived from the original on September 14, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2007. Highway 401 is the busiest highway in the world and represents a vital link in Ontario's transportation infrastructure, carrying more than 400,000 vehicles per day through Toronto.
  64. ^ Highway 401, Cameron Bevers. Retrieved on 2010-02-22.
  65. ^ "Southern Ontario Road Maps Map 3" (PDF). Ministry of Transportation. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  66. ^ GTAA – Toronto Pearson today, Greater Toronto Airports Authority. Retrieved on 2010-03-04.
  67. ^ http://www.torontopearson.com/40million/#
  68. ^ Passenger Statistics 2008, Greater Toronto Airports Authority. Retrieved on 2010-03-04.
  69. ^ a b c “Pickering Airport Draft Plan Report,” GTAA Pickering Project. (Retrieved 2010-01-29.)
  70. ^ Alternate Airports, Cheapflights. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  71. ^ "Tenant List". PortsToronto. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  72. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-island-airport-set-new-passenger-record-last-year-1.1316115
  73. ^ Byers, Jim (September 6, 2007). "Pickering airport idea revived". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  74. ^ "Area Why are some 905 numbers long distance while others aren't? And what's with this 647 business?". Toronto Life. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  75. ^ "Toronto Cultural Tips". National Geographic Society. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  76. ^ a b "Area Code Map for Toronto". WhitePages Inc. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  77. ^ "CO Code Status". Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
  78. ^ "CO Code Status". Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
  79. ^ Toronto to get extra area code, CBC News. Retrieved on 2010-02-07.
  80. ^ a b "Order CRTC 2001-840". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Archived from the original on February 3, 2004. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  81. ^ Telecommunications Alliance | New area codes for the Greater Toronto Area. Newswire.ca. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
  82. ^ "Senators in Alphabetical Order". Senate of Canada. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  83. ^ "Tories struggle in Toronto's Liberal strongholds". CTV News. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  84. ^ Toronto Star |http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/10/19/red-wave-rolls-over-the-gta.html. thestar.com. Retrieved on 2015-11-03.
  85. ^ "Ontario Votes 2007 – Regional results". Canada: CBC. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  86. ^ "Liberals surge in Toronto, 905 ridings". Canada: CBC. October 11, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  87. ^ "GTA Liberal ridings shut out vote-hungry Tories". Canada: CBC. October 7, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  88. ^ Lorinc, John. "How Toronto Lost Its Groove, and why the rest of Canada should resist the temptation to cheer", The Walrus, Toronto, November 2011. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  89. ^ Sancton, Andrew "Merger Mania" McGill-Queen's Press, ISBN 0-7735-2163-1 p113
  90. ^ Lu, Vanessa (July 15, 2009). "GTA needs economic 'war cabinet'". The Toronto Star. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  91. ^ a b e/?search=browseRepealed&context= Greater Toronto Services Board Act, 1998, Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved on 2010-02-22.
  92. ^ Rao, Nirmala. Cities in transition: growth, change and governance in six metropolitan areas. p. 65.
  93. ^ "Metrolinx – About Us". Metrolinx. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
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  97. ^ [3], Statistics Canada. Retrieved on 2010-02-22.
  98. ^ [4], City of Toronto. Retrieved on 2010-02-22.
  99. ^ "Toronto (CMA) – Detailed Mother Tongue". Canada 2011 Census. Statistics Canada. April 1, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  100. ^ Ministry of Education, Ontario (2010). "About the Ministry". Government of Ontario. Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2010.
  101. ^ Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Ontario (2010). "Welcome to TCU". Government of Ontario. Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  104. ^ Office of Public Relations, McMaster University (June 17, 2009). "Celebrating expansion into Burlington". McMaster Daily News. McMaster University.
  105. ^ Trent University (2010). "The Trent Difference in Oshawa". Trent University. Trent University.
  106. ^ University of Guelph and Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (2005). "bout the University of Guelph-Humber". University of Guelph-Humber.
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  109. ^ "About Us". Metrolinx Website. Metrolinx.

43°38′33″N 79°23′14″W / 43.64250°N 79.38722°W / 43.64250; -79.38722

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