Toronto

Toronto is a major city in Canada, most populous city in the country, and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario.

The history of Toronto began in the late 18th century when the British Crown purchased its land from the Mississaugas of the New Credit. The British established a settlement there, called the Town of York, which its lieutenant governor, John Graves Simcoe, designated as the capital of Upper Canada. The city was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812. In 1834, York was incorporated as a city and renamed Toronto. It was damaged in two huge fires in 1849 and 1904. Over the years, Toronto has expanded its borders several times through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities, most recently in 1998. According to the 2011 Census, the city is the fifth-most populous city in North America.

Quotes

 * York is just emerging from the woods, but bids fair to be a flourishing town.
 * John Bennett, the King's Printer in Upper Canada (1801)


 * Toronto feels especially unsafe for Jews. There's been regular news about targeted assault, arson, bomb threats and the blockade of a Jewish neighbourhood. But is it actually worse here than elsewhere? Let's look at the data...
 * Jesse Brown [via a X] (Jan 11, 2024)


 * Houses of ill-fame in Toronto? Certainly not. The whole city is an immense house of ill fame.
 * C. S. Clark, Of Toronto the Good (1898)
 * It is not squalid like Birmingham, or cramped like Canton, or scattered like Edmonton, or sham like Berlin, or hellish like New York, or tiresome like Nice. It is all right. The only depressing thing is that it will always be what it is, only larger, and that no Canadian city can ever be anything better or different. If they are good they may become Toronto.
 * Rupert Brooke (1913)
 * I found Toronto an immensely likeable city, spacious and gentle and slightly dignified, but in a low-key, friendly way. The only people who didn’t seem to think much of it were its inhabitants, who could hardly wait for you to ask directions, because that gave them the perfect opportunity to apologise for it. What they were apologising for I never understood.
 * John Cleese, So, Anyway … (2014)
 * Toronto as a city carries out the idea of Canada as a country. It is a calculated crime against the aspirations of the soul and the affection of the heart.
 * Aleister Crowley, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley (1970)
 * Indeed I have always found that the only thing in regard to Toronto which faraway people know for certain is that McGill University is in it.
 * Stephen Leacock, My Discovery of the West (1937)


 * I used to think that it was way too cold 'Til I went to Canada and saw some beautiful hoes. Now I hit the Caribana every year in Toronto, Then fly to Illinois to get a taste of Chicago.
 * Ludacris, "Pimpin' All Over The World", The Red Light District (2004)
 * The foreign laborers described incidents of false promises, which included documentation, quality of housing, their work hours, and their pay. They also described living in deplorable conditions with dozens of people sleeping on mattresses on the floor, a lack of food, a lack of privacy and bug infestations
 * Det. Sgt. Gary McBride according to Police rescue 64 Mexican nationals from 'deplorable' alleged human trafficking ring in Toronto-area by Chris Fox (Updated March 3, 2023 9:56 a.m. PST Published March 3, 2023 9:02 a.m. PST)
 * Could we expect Canada to compete with European cultures that have existed for centuries? Their history is literally carved into their cities. Toronto will often claim it’s a world-class city. Paris simply claims it is Paris.
 * Mike Myers, Canada (2016)
 * Last night I Had a dream about Toronto. I was on my bicycle, cruising about in front of the old house. And, as usual in my dreams, I was a little girl again. A little girl in Toronto, with long golden curls.
 * Mary Pickford, in an interview with the Toronto Telegram (22 June 1968)
 * Parish's observant father had once commented to her that Toronto was a city of straight streets and square corners built by Scottish bankers to make money - not to look at the beautiful lake or the wonderful valleys and forests. He was mostly right, but Bay was a rare exception to the city's linear grid.
 * Robert Rotenberg, Old City Hall (2009)


 * I could put you in the condo All the way up in Toronto; Baby, put you in the fur coat Riding the Murciélago.
 * T-Pain, "Can't Believe It" (June 2008)


 * Despite recent progress, urban growth continues to put pressure on local biodiversity. The number of people using the city’s natural system is increasing; invasive species are displacing native plants and animals; and a changing climate is affecting the life cycles of many species and negatively impacting the ability of our natural areas to provide ecosystem services.
 * Toronto City Planning and Parks, Forestry and Recreation with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority according to Wild, Connected And Diverse: A Biodiversity Strategy For Toronto (September 2019)