History UsefulNotes / Toronto

The snow thing, incidentally, is a bit of a sore point. Back in 1999, a particularly major storm saw Mayor Mel Lastman calling in the [[UsefulNotes/CanucksWithChinooks army]] to help to clear it away. [[NeverLiveItDown Naturally this became a goldmine of mirth]] for other Canadian cities, like Montreal, which gets an average of almost twice as much snow as Toronto does, and Vancouver, which always enjoys getting all up in the rest of the country's faces about how they don't even '' have'' snow. [[note]]In reality the mayor's concern was at least partially justified, as while Toronto is well-used to snow in general, when a big storm hits, there's nowhere to ''put'' it all. Snowplows would cover the sidewalks, and sidewalk cleaners would push it back onto the roads. The eventual solution was to just dump it all in Lake Ontario.[[/note]]

** Which made it all the more hilarious when they forgot to airbrush it out in the original theatrical release of Film/ResidentEvil.

** Also appeared as the Umbrella Corporation's headquarters in the second ''Film/ResidentEvil'' movie.

One can easily detect outsiders by their painstaking "Tow-Rawn-Tow". Natives of the city and surrounding area typically drop the last T, and sometimes the first O, so it's "Toronno", "Tronna", or even "Ch'ronna" ("ch" as in "chair") [[note]]This trips up quite a few actors portraying Canadians, e.g. in ''Film/TheProposal'', where Creator/SandraBullock's character is supposed to be a native Torontonian but immediately spoils it by pronouncing the city name[[/note]]. Nicknames include T.O. or T-dot (an acronym of '''''T'''oronto, '''O'''ntario''), Hogtown (for its large meatpacking industry in the 19th century), The Big Smoke (from its general history as Canada's industrial powerhouse), and "Toronto the Good" (referring to the goody-two-shoes Methodists and other Protestants who made the city a center for uptight Victorian morality). Lately "The 6" (sometimes "The Six" or "The 6ix") has been popularized (although not created) by Toronto hip hop artist Music/{{Drake}}. [[note]] After some confusion, [[http://torontosun.com/2016/05/13/drake-finally-explains-the-six/wcm/14bd7267-22e9-40b8-91db-54372acb32fa he clarified it]] in an interview with Series/TheTonightShow: it's a reference to both the city's original telephone area code (416) and to the 6 municipalities that merged into the modern City of Toronto.[[/note]]

The joke is that Toronto has only two seasons: winter and construction. Actually, tourists would be well-advised to note that we also have a summer, that often slides into a long lingering autumn. The GTA is much further south than many American states, meaning the climate can best be compared to Chicago, not the North Pole.[[labelnote:*]]Toronto is at almost exactly the same latitude as [[UsefulNotes/BoiseStateUniversity Boise, Idaho]]. UsefulNotes/{{Portland}}, UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, and [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis–Saint Paul]] are all north of Toronto.[[/labelnote]] If you are coming up between May and August dressed for the igloos, you will '' not'' be a happy camper.

As for the construction... well, yes, because of potentially heavy snowfall[[note]]Most Canadians outside the Pacific coast will note that Toronto really doesn't get that much snow, due to its southern location and the place being sheltered from the horrendous lake effect blizzards that plague the southern and eastern shores of Lake Ontario. However, the snowfall Toronto does get is responded to by the heavy use of rock salt to melt the snow and ice buildup that ensues, which, combined with the season-long freeze and thaw cycle, causes no end of damage[[/note]] Toronto has to concentrate most building and all its road work in the summer months. Add in the fact that Southern Ontario highways are some of the busiest in the world; the GTA sprawls over many kilometres, and is rapidly outgrowing its aging transportation infrastructure, without any real consensus on what to do about it. The main east-west route, Highway 401, is by most measures ''the'' busiest highway in the world, with all ''eighteen'' lanes jammed for miles at rush hour. Meanwhile Toronto's north-south crosstown artery, the Don Valley Parkway--initially intended to relieve congestion on the city streets--has long been affectionately dubbed the Don Valley Parking Lot. When construction starts forcing lane closures, things get gnarled very quickly. There were plans for others, which likely would have taken some of the pressure off. However, the residents of the neighbourhoods that would have been bulldozed to put them in decided they were quite happy where they were, and successfully persuaded the Metro and Ontario governments to put a halt to them.

As for the construction... well, yes, because of potentially heavy snowfall[[note]]Most Canadians outside the Pacific coast will note that Toronto really doesn't get that much snow, due to its southern location and the place being sheltered from the horrendous lake effect blizzards that plague the southern and eastern shores of Lake Ontario. However, the snowfall Toronto does get is responded to by the heavy use of rock salt to melt the snow and ice buildup that ensues, which, combined with the season-long freeze and thaw cycle, causes no end of damage[[/note]] Toronto has to concentrate most building and all its road work in the summer months. Add in the fact that Southern Ontario highways are some of the busiest in the world; the GTA sprawls over many kilometres, and is rapidly outgrowing its aging transportation infrastructure, without any real consensus on what to do about it. The main east-west route, Highway 401, is by most measures ''the'' busiest highway in the world, with all ''eighteen'' lanes jammed for miles at rush hour. Meanwhile Toronto's north-south crosstown artery, the Don Valley Parkway--initially intended to relieve congestion on the city streets--has long been affectionately dubbed the Don Valley Parking Lot. When construction starts forcing lane closures, things get gnarled very quickly.

* The ironically (though not inaccurately) named Church Street - one of the most famous {{gayborhood}}s in North America. The street name actually comes from three major church buildings all located on or just off the thoroughfare, all dating back to the 19th century and all beautiful examples of neo-Gothic style; in order going north, St. James' Anglican Cathedral, the Metropolitan United Church, and St. Michael's Catholic Cathedral. The epicentre of the "gayborhood" is several blocks further north, centered around the intersection of Church and Wellesley Street East.

Originally established as York (or 'Muddy York') on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario in 1793, it was quickly designated as the capital of Upper Canada because it was believed to be safer from an American attack than the current capital in Niagara. York was briefly occupied by American troops during the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 but the Americans withdrew after a few weeks of looting and arson. The city was renamed to Toronto in 1834, coming from the Mohawk word tkaronto ("where there are trees standing in the water").

** And now there's a plan afoot to reassemble the iconic main sign, in all its flashy glory, on the side of the new Ed Mirvish Theatre. The mind boggles.

As for the construction... well, yes, because of potentially heavy snowfall[[note]] Most Canadians outside the Pacific coast will note that Toronto really doesn't get that much snow, due to its southern location and the place being sheltered from the horrendious lake effect blizzards that plague the southern and eastern shores of Lake Ontario [[/note]] Toronto has to concentrate most building and all its road work in the summer months. Add in the fact that Southern Ontario highways are some of the busiest in the world; the GTA sprawls over many kilometres, and is rapidly outgrowing its aging transportation infrastructure, without any real consensus on what to do about it. The main east-west route, Highway 401, is by most measures ''the'' busiest highway in the world, with all ''eighteen'' lanes jammed for miles at rush hour. Meanwhile Toronto's north-south crosstown artery, the Don Valley Parkway--initially intended to relieve congestion on the city streets--has long been affectionately dubbed the Don Valley Parking Lot. When construction starts forcing lane closures, things get gnarled very quickly.

On the plus side the GTA also features an extensive transit network, anchored by the red-and-white subways, streetcars and buses of the Toronto Transit Commission (known semi-affectionately as the TTC) and the green-and-white provincial GO commuter rail and intercity buses; if you're downtown, there's even an underground pedestrian tunnel network called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto) PATH]]. All told, though, it's a good thing that many families go up north to "cottage country" for vacations [[note]]Although that means more traffic on the way up...[[/note]].

* Eaton Centre - a really big, pretty, tourist-filled shopping mall, built when such malls were still a significant novelty. Formerly anchored by Eaton's, one of Canada's flagship department stores; currently Canada's first Nordstrom store resides where Eaton's used to be.

Theatre and film are other important ways in which the city reaches out for the world stage. Toronto's Theatre District is home to several new or beautifully restored old venues and is considered an important launching point for international productions. The annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a high profile event, considered second only to Cannes, that has become a site for major film premieres (including ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'', ''Film/{{Argo}}'', and ''Film/SilverLiningsPlaybook''). Toronto is also justifiably proud of its vibrant indie music scene which, while not as internationally renowned as Montreal's, has produced the likes of Drake, The Weeknd, K'naan, Snow, the Barenaked Ladies and sometime Bowie collaborator Emm Gryner. Residents still mourn the loss of the famous Sam the Record Man shop, which not only served as a landmark (thanks to its giant neon signs), but served as an incubator for many famous Canadian bands and singers.

... Unless you're the one spectacular exception, the Toronto Maple Leafs. A hockey team so loyally beloved that even though they haven't won UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup, or even made the Final, since 1967, they still always earn the most ''by far'' of any team in the NHL, and are one of two teams every young Canadian prospect dreams of starting for (the other being the hated rival Montreal Canadiens). The Leafs franchise is worth nearly double the next most valuable... every game is a sellout and the waiting list for season tickets is tens of thousands long. Many GTA residents are honestly terrified of what might happen if they ever actually start ''winning'' anything again[[note]] Given that the Raptors' winning the 2019 NBA Championship resulted in chaotic overnight street parties and 2 million people crowding the downtown core for a parade on a ''Monday'', there is now some solid evidence the city might actually burn down if the Leafs ever win the Stanley Cup again[[/note]].

On the plus side the GTA also features an extensive transit network, anchored by the red-and-white subways, streetcars and buses of the Toronto Transit Commission (known semi-affectionately as the TTC) and the green-and-white provincial GO commuter rail and intercity buses; if you're downtown, there's even an underground tunnel network called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto) PATH]]. All told, though, it's a good thing that many families go up north to "cottage country" for vacations [[note]]Although that means more traffic on the way up...[[/note]].

This... did not turn out quite the way they planned. After a series of brutally tacky scenes and quotes, meanwhile emphatically denying having ever used drugs (despite the Toronto Star newspaper discovering video proof of him sharing a crack pipe with local hoods) Ford [[ByNoIMeanYes admitted to doing so ]] during one of his, actual quote, "[[AlcoholInducedIdiocy drunken stupors]]". [[ImplausibleDeniability He then continued to deny that he was an alcoholic, or a drug addict.]] Although he rapidly became an international embarrassment, [[OffOnATechnicality provincial laws prevented city council from removing him from office unless sent to jail for at least 90 days]] [[note]]Obviously, the drafters of that law anticipated that any elected official doing half of Ford's idiocies would have had the social grace to resign in shame, but Ford had practically built his power base on brazen, bullying shamelessness.[[/note]]

However... Doug Ford was elected head of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in 2018 and became Premier of Ontario later that same year.[[note]]A position John Tory unsuccessfully tried to run for before becoming mayor.[[/note]] Once in power Doug promptly unveiled a plan to cut Toronto City Council in half (in the middle of local elections) in the name of "efficiency"... and succeeded. Stay tuned, world.

As for the construction... well, yes, because of potentially heavy snowfall[[note]] Most Canadians outside the Pacific coast will note that Toronto really doesn't get that much snow, due to its southern location [[/note]] Toronto has to concentrate most building and all its road work in the summer months. Add in the fact that Southern Ontario highways are some of the busiest in the world; the GTA sprawls over many kilometres, and is rapidly outgrowing its aging transportation infrastructure, without any real consensus on what to do about it. The main east-west route, Highway 401, is by most measures ''the'' busiest highway in the world, with all ''eighteen'' lanes jammed for miles at rush hour. Meanwhile Toronto's north-south crosstown artery, the Don Valley Parkway--initially intended to relieve congestion on the city streets--has long been affectionately dubbed the Don Valley Parking Lot. When construction starts forcing lane closures, things get gnarled very quickly.

* 299 Queen Street West-- A former church/printing facility converted in the 1980s by televisual wunderkind Moses Znaimer to serve as the base for the legendary Creator/CityTV and Creator/MuchMusic, both then at their creative zeniths. Though City has since relocated and the building is now owned by Creator/{{CTV}}, it's still a major broadcast center. Not to mention, there's one bit left from City they couldn't remove-- a newstruck embedded in the wall (though CTV redecoed it to remove the ''[=CityPulse=]'' deco).

The joke is that Toronto has only two seasons: winter and construction. Actually, tourists would be well-advised to note that we also have a summer, that often slides into a long lingering autumn. The GTA is much further south than many American states, meaning the climate can best be compared to Chicago, not the North Pole. If you are coming up between May and August dressed for the igloos, you will '' not'' be a happy camper.

One feature little-known to outsiders but central to Toronto's identity is its [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_ravine_system ravine system]]. The city is transected by several major groups of deep ravines running from hills to the city's north down to Lake Ontario. In fact, one prominent architect has described Toronto as being "UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco turned upside down," seeing the ravines as an inverted version of San Francisco's famous hills. The ravines also figure heavily in the works of Toronto's most prominent authors. While the largest of the ravines, the Don Valley, was heavily industrialized, most of the rest remain in something close to their natural state, making them extremely popular among hikers and cyclists, despite some crime concerns. With most of the industries now gone, efforts are being made to restore the Don to a more natural state.

-->-- '''Ontarian joke'''[[note]]It should be noted that this joke is inaccurate. [[UpToEleven Construction also takes place during the winter]].[[/note]]

As for the construction... well, yes, because of potentially heavy snowfall Toronto has to concentrate most building and all its road work in the summer months. Add in the fact that Southern Ontario highways are some of the busiest in the world; the GTA sprawls over many kilometres, and is rapidly outgrowing its aging transportation infrastructure, without any real consensus on what to do about it. The main east-west route, Highway 401, is by most measures ''the'' busiest highway in the world, with all ''eighteen'' lanes jammed for miles at rush hour. Meanwhile Toronto's north-south crosstown artery, the Don Valley Parkway--initially intended to relieve congestion on the city streets--has long been affectionately dubbed the Don Valley Parking Lot. When construction starts forcing lane closures, things get gnarled very quickly.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainFlamingo'', Halverston's name is pun on Palmerston which is a district in Toronto.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainFlamingo''

** He was also a theatre impresario, and is credited with revitalizing Toronto's theatre scene, starting in the '60s when he bought and restored the Royal Alexandria Theatre and opened restaurants in the area to create a bona-fide Theatre District. He then built the Princess of Wales Theatre (named in tribute to Diana) in 1993. Ed and his son David operated Mirvish Productions, which put on shows like ''Theatre/MammaMia'' and ''Disney/TheLionKing''.

That all (almost) changed in 1998, the year Toronto technically became a "[[MegaCity mega-city]]" and the governments of the various components of Metro Toronto were fully--and forcibly--merged. To paraphrase Creator/DouglasAdams: this made a lot of people very angry and was widely regarded as a bad move by the provincial government of the time. A kind of 'separate but equal' standoff has since been established, wherein everyone retains their unique local identities while also retaining the right to complain endlessly about the central government (very Canadian, this). Claiming you live in Toronto or, say, Scarborough is equally acceptable on official documents or mail.

Today, this fractured-yet-somehow functional metropolis is at least united in a deeply conscientious civic sensibility, overlaid with an eager cultural striving towards modernity and diversity. Its one overarching ambition, often mocked but deadly serious at heart, is to be acknowledged as a 'world-class city'. Peter Ustinov famously described it as "New York run by the Swiss", which is... not quite what Torontonians had in mind, but they will take it.

In the 1950s the provincial government established Metropolitan (or 'Metro') Toronto to standardize certain services between "Old Toronto" and the surrounding cities of York, North York, East York, Scarborough and Etobicoke[[note]]Pronounced Eh-''toe''-bih-''koe''[[/note]].

Toronto can technically be considered a "[[MegaCity mega-city]]" as of 1998, when the governments of the various cities in Metro Toronto were fully--and forcibly--merged. To paraphrase Creator/DouglasAdams: this made a lot of people very angry and was widely regarded as a bad move by the provincial government of the time. A kind of 'separate but equal' standoff has since been established, wherein everyone retains their unique local identities while also retaining the right to complain endlessly about the central government (very Canadian, this). Claiming you live in Toronto or, say, Scarborough is equally acceptable on official documents or mail.

As one of the first great urban settlements in British-held Canada, this 'City of Neighbourhoods' (140 by current consensus) features a deeply conscientious civic sensibility overlaid with an eager cultural striving towards modernity and diversity. Its one overarching ambition, often mocked but deadly serious at heart, is to be acknowledged as a 'world-class city'. Peter Ustinov famously described it as "New York run by the Swiss", which is... not quite what Torontonians had in mind, but they will take it.

However... Doug Ford was elected head of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in 2018, largely with the support of the same Ford Nation combined with the social conservative wing of the party. He then led the PC Party to victory in the election later that same year to become Premier of Ontario.[[note]]A position John Tory unsuccessfully tried to run for before becoming mayor.[[/note]] Once in power with a comfortable majority in the provincial legislature, Doug promptly unveiled a plan to cut Toronto City Council in half (in the middle of local elections) in the name of "efficiency". Stay tuned, world.

The whole shebang is only vaguely referred to as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), since very few natives can agree on just where the boundaries are. They roughly wrap around the western end of the lakeshore, and can plausibly stretch as far as Oshawa to the northeast down to Burlington at the southwest. Other terms used are Greater Toronto & Hamilton [[note]]which extends the boundaries further southwest to the next major city of Hamilton[[/note]] or the Golden Horseshoe[[note]]named for its shape and historical status as Canada's most prosperous and fertile region[[/note]], which centres on the Niagara Peninsula.

The whole shebang is only vaguely referred to as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), since very few natives can agree on just where the boundaries are. They roughly wrap around the western end of the lakeshore, and can plausibly stretch as far as Oshawa to the northeast down to Burlington at the southwest. Other terms used are Greater Toronto & Hamilton [[note]]which extends the boundaries further southwest to the next major city of Hamilton[[note]] or the Golden Horseshoe[[note]]named for its shape and historical status as Canada's most prosperous and fertile region[[/note]], which centres on the Niagara Peninsula.

Toronto can technically be considered a "[[MegaCity mega-city]]" as of 1998, when the governments of the various cities in Metro Toronto were fully merged. To paraphrase Creator/DouglasAdams: this made a lot of people very angry and was widely regarded as a bad move by the provincial government of the time. A kind of 'separate but equal' standoff has since been established, wherein everyone retains their unique local identities while also retaining the right to complain endlessly about the central government (very Canadian, this). Claiming you live in Toronto or, say, Scarborough is equally acceptable on official documents or mail.

In general, modern merged Toronto can be characterized as a divide between suburban (the five outer municipalities) and downtown (Old Toronto) mindsets. The suburbs tend to think of the downtown as snooty latte-sipping liberal elites who expect the much larger suburbs to help finance services that mostly benefit downtown (like the streetcar and subway systems); the downtown tend to see the suburbs as Molson-swilling reactionary yahoos who are happy to take advantage of the world-class thing even while clamouring for more public funding cuts. Also, as enablers of the Ford political dynasty... we'll get to that in a moment. The city is further roughly subdivided by the massive Don Valley into west (sleeker, wealthier, most of the landmarks) and east (older, scruffier, most of the cool ethnic neighborhoods) sides.

Not all of Toronto's suburbs became part of the mega-city; the communities within nearby York, Durham, Peel and Halton Regions[[note]]'region' here being shorthand for 'regional municipality'[[/note]] were determined to remain independent. Most locals divide the region based on their original area codes: the 416 refers to the City of Toronto, while the 905 refers to the surrounding politically-independent suburbs. The whole shebang is vaguely referred to as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Very few inhabitants therein can agree on just where the boundaries are; they roughly wrap around the western end of the lakeshore, and can plausibly stretch as far as Oshawa to the northeast down to Burlington at the southwest. Other terms used are Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (which extends the boundaries further southwest to the city of Hamilton) or the Golden Horseshoe[[note]]named for its shape and historical status as Canada's most prosperous and fertile region[[/note]], which includes the Niagara Peninsula.