126-671: The Canadian Somali Congress ( CSC ) is a Somali community organization based in Toronto , Ontario . Lawyer Ahmed Hussen serves as the CSC's national President. The body works closely with national and regional authorities to strengthen civic relations. Among other initiatives, the Canadian Somali Congress has formed a partnership with the Canadian International Peace Project and Canadian Jewish Congress to establish
252-745: A Big3 event. The Toronto Raptors hosted their first ever NBA Finals in 2019 vs. the Golden State Warriors . Game 1, which was played on May 30, 2019, at Scotiabank Arena , marked the first ever NBA Finals game to be held outside the United States. On June 13, 2019, the Raptors defeated the Warriors in Game 6 at Oracle Arena in Oakland , California, to win their first ever Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy , which
378-644: A U.S. court. The MLGL group also bid on the Giants, with Ballard stating that they had offered $ 15 million for the team, after having previously negotiated with the owners of the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics in their attempt to acquire a team for Toronto. The Labatt group then pursued a NL expansion team, but when the NL only agreed to consider expanding in March 1976, while
504-666: A bid on the St. Louis Browns in 1953, but the team was sold to a competing group which relocated them to become the Baltimore Orioles the following season. The AL considered Toronto as a potential home for the Philadelphia Athletics before they became the Kansas City Athletics in 1955, after Cooke bid on them, but the city's lack of a major league venue was an obstacle to acquiring a team. Cooke unsuccessfully bid on
630-716: A capital. In 1787, the British Lord Dorchester arranged for the Toronto Purchase with the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, thereby securing more than a quarter of a million acres (1000 km ) of land in the Toronto area. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto. The first 25 years after the Toronto purchase were quiet, although "there were occasional independent fur traders" present in
756-633: A channel to the harbour. The peninsula was formed by longshore drift taking the sediments deposited along the Scarborough Bluffs shore and transporting them to the Islands area. The other source of sediment for the Port Lands wetland and the peninsula was the deposition of the Don River, which carved a wide valley through the sedimentary land of Toronto and deposited it in the shallow harbour. The harbour and
882-482: A dedicated practice facility and instead utilize other existing facilities, like the Toronto Argonauts with Coca-Cola Coliseum (weight rooms) and Lamport Stadium (practice field). The following are practice facilities in Toronto used by professional teams: The following is a list of arenas and stadiums that hosted professional teams, but were later demolished: Several multi-purpose sports venues are open to
1008-456: A left-right-left series of turns until rejoining Prince's Boulevard and heading east towards the start/finish line. The city has hosted the race for over thirty years and it is now IndyCar's second-longest running street race, only behind the Grand Prix of Long Beach and the fourth oldest race on the current IndyCar schedule in terms of number of races run. Historically, the city played host to
1134-502: A majority support of 10–2 it failed to pass due to lack of unanimity and was put off for two weeks. The NL objected to the AL's expansion in to Toronto, arguing that the NL was a better match for the city with a natural rivalry with the Montreal Expos , and asked baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn to intervene so they could reconsider their own expansion plans. Kuhn requested a moratorium on
1260-765: A member of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association . Students of Collège Boréal 's Toronto campus are also able to compete for that college's athletic programs; although most of the athletic facilities for the Collège Boréal Vipères is based outside Toronto, at the university's main campus in Greater Sudbury . There are several social athletics and sporting clubs in Toronto. They include: There are several sporting venues used in Toronto that host professional sport teams and major events. Many of these venues are multi-purpose and can host
1386-632: A presence in the city at the minor league level since 1896 with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the AAA International League . It was in a game against the Leafs on September 4, 1914, at Hanlan's Point Stadium where Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run while also pitching a complete game one-hitter for the visiting Providence Grays . A year after the conclusion of his MLB career, hall of famer Nap Lajoie served as player manager for
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#17328868400821512-579: A ravine or valley and continue on the other side. Toronto has many bridges spanning the ravines. Large bridges such as the Prince Edward Viaduct were built to span broad river valleys. Despite its deep ravines, Toronto is not remarkably hilly, but its elevation does increase steadily away from the lake. Elevation differences range from 76.5 metres (251 ft) above sea level at the Lake Ontario shore to 209 m (686 ft) above sea level near
1638-599: A relocation. In 1976, MLGL attempted to buy the Atlanta Hawks . In 1979, a Toronto group which included Ballard again pushed for an expansion franchise, but lost out to the Dallas Mavericks . Toronto interests considered purchasing and relocating the Kansas City Kings in 1979. In 1983, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien stated that "the chances are 999-to-1" that his team would be relocated and renamed
1764-438: A replacement option in 1992. This also marked the first time that this tournament would allow current American NBA players that had already played in an official NBA regular season game to participate. Prior to that only professionals from other leagues were allowed to compete, since players from other leagues were still considered amateurs. The tournament was won by the United States's Dream Team II , who beat Russia 137–91 in
1890-608: A variety of sports. However, a select number of venues are dedicated to hosting only a specific type of sport. Several venues are located near one another, like in Exhibition Place , whose grounds are also used as a race course for the Honda Indy Toronto and the Toronto Marathon . The Discovery District and York University Heights are neighbourhoods that also hold several sporting venues, most of which were built by
2016-536: A varsity level. There are presently four public colleges in Toronto that operate a competitive athletics program. They include Centennial College 's Centennial Colts, George Brown College 's George Brown Huskies, Humber College's Humber Hawks, and the Seneca College 's Seneca Sting. All four college varsity programs are members of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association ; which itself is
2142-761: Is a 20-over cricket tournament played in Canada. The first season of the tournament started in June 2018, with six teams competing, including the Toronto Nationals . The Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City, Ontario hosted all matches for the first season of the competition. In 2019, the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ontario hosted all the matches for the second season of the competition. On May 16, 2023, Cricket Canada announced that
2268-524: Is a National Lacrosse League team is based outside the city limits of Toronto, but is located within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). The team played their home games in Toronto from 1999 to 2021, when it relocated to FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario . Although the team is no longer physically based Toronto, the team continues to use Toronto as a part of its moniker; claiming that
2394-436: Is a list of multi-purpose sports venues in Toronto that are used by the community. Venues dedicated to a specific sport, like bowling alleys , curling rinks , golf courses , and ice hockey rinks are not included: Universities in Toronto manage several sports facilities for their students, varsity programs, and athletic clubs. These venues are also utilized by several other sports clubs in Toronto, with notable examples being
2520-454: Is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canada's major national broadcast networks and media outlets . Its varied cultural institutions , which include numerous museums and galleries , festivals and public events , entertainment districts, national historic sites , and sports activities , attract over 43 million tourists each year. Toronto
2646-617: Is also the location of the Canadian Football League 's headquarters. Toronto is notable among Canadian cities in sports for having several sports teams associated with American based professional leagues , particularly the most Canadian pro-sports teams in the major leagues . Toronto has teams in nearly every North American major professional league , including the Toronto Blue Jays ( MLB ), Toronto Argonauts ( CFL ), Toronto Raptors ( NBA ), Toronto FC ( MLS ) and
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#17328868400822772-566: Is an IndyCar Series race, held annually in July on a temporary street circuit . The start/finish line is located on Princes' Boulevard, slightly west of Newfoundland Drive. From the Start/Finish line, drivers head East towards the Princes' Gates, turning right (south) onto Canada Boulevard before reaching the gate. From Canada Boulevard, the track goes right onto Lake Shore Boulevard (west) which includes
2898-921: Is home to a number of clubs, including the Granite Club (est. 1836), the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (est. 1852), the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club (est. pre-1827), the Argonaut Rowing Club (est. 1872), Toronto Argonauts football club (est. 1873), the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club (est. 1881), and the Badminton and Racquet Club (est. 1924). A number of heritage venues have developed in Toronto such as: Christie Pits (est. 1899), Coca-Cola Coliseum (est. 1921), Varsity Arena (est. 1926), and Maple Leaf Gardens (est. 1931). Toronto
3024-509: Is its escarpments. During the last ice age , the lower part of Toronto was beneath Glacial Lake Iroquois . Today, a series of escarpments mark the lake's former boundary, known as the "Iroquois Shoreline". The escarpments are most prominent from Victoria Park Avenue to the mouth of Highland Creek , where they form the Scarborough Bluffs . Other observable sections include the area near St. Clair Avenue West between Bathurst Street and
3150-660: Is known for its many skyscrapers and high-rise buildings , in particular the CN Tower , the tallest freestanding structure on land outside of Asia. The city is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange , the headquarters of Canada's five largest banks , and the headquarters of many large Canadian and multinational corporations. Its economy is highly diversified with strengths in technology, design, financial services, life sciences, education, arts, fashion, aerospace, environmental innovation, food services, and tourism. Toronto
3276-579: Is now a museum. The pre-amalgamation City of Toronto covers the downtown core and older neighbourhoods to the east, west, and north. It is the most densely populated part of the city. The Financial District contains the First Canadian Place , Toronto-Dominion Centre , Scotia Plaza , Royal Bank Plaza , Commerce Court and Brookfield Place . This area includes, among others, the neighbourhoods of St. James Town , Garden District , St. Lawrence , Corktown , and Church and Wellesley . From that point,
3402-566: Is the third-largest tech hub in North America after Silicon Valley and New York City , and the fastest-growing hub. The word Toronto has been recorded with various spellings in French and English, including Tarento , Tarontha , Taronto , Toranto , Torento , Toronto , and Toronton . The most frequent early spelling, Taronto , referred to 'The Narrows', a channel of water through which Lake Simcoe discharges into Lake Couchiching where
3528-567: The 1958 Jim Mideon 500 , a NASCAR Cup Series racing event at Exhibition Stadium. Legendary NASCAR driver Lee Petty won this race, defeating his son Richard in the latter's Cup Series debut. Canadian Tire Motorsports Park , formerly known as Mosport Park, is located approximately 100 km east of Toronto in the community of Bowmanville . The venue holds the unique distinction in motorsport of having hosted Formula One , IndyCar , NASCAR , Can-Am , MotoGP and World Superbike events. The track hosts Canada's largest annual sportscar race,
3654-400: The 2026 FIFA World Cup . Toronto covers an area of 630 square kilometres (243 sq mi), with a maximum north–south distance of 21 kilometres (13 mi). It has a maximum east–west distance of 43 km (27 mi), and it has a 46-kilometre (29 mi) long waterfront shoreline, on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario . The Toronto Islands and Port Lands extend out into
3780-780: The Broadview Hawks , High Park Demons , Central Blues , Etobicoke Kangaroos , Lakeshore Rebels , Toronto Downtown Dingos , and the Toronto Eagles . In addition to teams based in Toronto, two teams from the AFL Ontario are also based within the Greater Golden Horseshoe , the Hamilton Wildcats and the Grand River Gargoyles . Some of these organizations operate a men's and women's team. The Honda Indy Toronto
3906-680: The Cincinnati Reds for Toronto in 1961 after their owner died. In 1967, with mounting losses, the owner of the baseball Maple Leafs sough a buyer to keep the team in Toronto. Maple Leaf Gardens Limited , owner of the Maple Leafs of the NHL, considered purchasing the team, but the deal ultimately fell apart due to concerns about the team's home, Maple Leaf Stadium , which needed up to $ 250,000 in repairs and whose owner wanted $ 4 million to purchase it. Harold Ballard, part owner of MLGL, said that
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4032-533: The Detroit Pistons , which were seeking $ 5 million for the franchise, but pulled out when the price was raised to $ 8.25 million. MLGL attempted to purchase the Braves for $ 8.5 million and relocate them to Toronto in 1974, and again several times later, with Carling O'Keefe also considering purchasing the team in 1976, but the owners eventually chose to move the team to San Diego . When Toronto
4158-519: The Detroit Tigers in 1956, reportedly to move them to Toronto. In 1957 he submitted a bid for a NL expansion team for Toronto. In 1958, Cooke offered to withdraw from Toronto if the Los Angeles Dodgers , who were considering relocating, moved to the city, in exchange for partial ownership of the club. That same year it was reported that Toronto was one of the cities that the owner of
4284-569: The Great Irish Famine ; most of them were Catholic . By 1851, the Irish-born population had become the largest single ethnic group in the city. The Scottish and English population welcomed smaller numbers of Protestant Irish immigrants, some from what is now Northern Ireland, which gave the Orange Order significant and long-lasting influence over Toronto society. Almost every mayor of Toronto
4410-745: The Hamilton Honey Badgers at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre . On May 13, 2023, Scotiabank Arena hosted a preseason WNBA game between the Minnesota Lynx & the Chicago Sky with the Sky defeating the Lynx 82-74. This marked the first ever WNBA game of any sort to have been played in Canada, and it was played before a sold-out crowd of 19,800. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert remarked that
4536-485: The Intercounty Baseball League . Toronto has also hosted parts of the 2009 World Baseball Classic . Basketball is among the fastest growing sports in Toronto and is the most popular sport among the city's youth and millennials . Although not as historically entrenched in Toronto culture as other sports, basketball does have significant milestones in the city. The first major professional basketball game in
4662-622: The Mississaugas had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars , with most returning to their homeland in present-day New York state. French traders founded Fort Rouillé in 1750 (the current Exhibition grounds were later developed there), but abandoned it in 1759 during the Seven Years' War . The British defeated the French and their indigenous allies in
4788-846: The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship , the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250, the NASCAR Pinty's Series , the Pirelli World Challenge and the Canadian Superbike Championship along with other events. The track was the original home of Formula One 's Canadian Grand Prix from 1961 to 1977 (except for 1968 and 1970). Professional baseball has had
4914-438: The NBA G League and Toronto FC II of MLS Next Pro . The Raptors 905 is an NBA G League basketball team that primarily plays home games at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in the neighbouring city of Mississauga , although they do play occasional home games at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Raptors 905 was named after the 905 area code used by the metropolitan area surrounding the City of Toronto. The Toronto Rock
5040-400: The Rogers Centre ). Although the team performed poorly, placing last in the American League East for each of its first three years, successful drafting and team management resulted in improved performance that led to the team's first pennant in 1985, and culminated with consecutive World Series victories in 1992 and 1993. The city is also home to the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club of
5166-400: The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail , led to widespread use of the name. The pronunciation of the city is broadly / t ə ˈ r ɒ n t oʊ / tə- RONT -oh , which locals pronounce [təˈɹɒnoʊ] or [ˈtɹɒnoʊ] , leaving the second 't' silent. The site of Toronto lay at the entrance to one of the oldest routes to the northwest, a route known and used by
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5292-453: The Toronto Maple Leafs ( NHL ). Toronto is one of five North American cities (alongside Chicago , Los Angeles , Washington, D.C. , and the New York Tri-state area ) to have won titles in its five major leagues (MLB, NHL, NBA, MLS and either NFL or CFL), and the only one to have done so in the Canadian Football League. Rogers Communications operates the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team through Rogers Blue Jays Baseball Partnership and
5418-546: The University of Toronto and the Varsity Blues (est. 1877), and York University and the York Lions (est. 1968). The athletic programs of the three universities are a part of the Ontario University Athletics program, which itself is a member of U Sports . The University of Guelph-Humber is a jointly-operated post-secondary institution in Toronto between the University of Guelph (based in Guelph ), and Humber College , and does not maintain its athletic programs. However, students attending Guelph-Humber can participate in
5544-445: The Washington Senators was considering relocating his team to. In 1959 Cooke became one of the founding owners in the Continental League , a proposed third major league of baseball, getting a team for Toronto for a fee of $ 50,000, but the league disbanded a year later without ever staging a game. Cooke later applied to the AL for a Toronto expansion team in 1960, but found the expansion terms too onerous, and considered purchasing
5670-479: The York University grounds in the city's north end at the intersection of Keele Street and Steeles Avenue. There are occasional hilly areas; in particular, midtown Toronto , as well as the Silverthorn and Fairbank neighbourhoods, have several sharply sloping hills. Lake Ontario remains occasionally visible from the peaks of these ridges as far north as Eglinton Avenue, 7 to 8 kilometres (4.3 to 5.0 mi) inland. The other major geographical feature of Toronto
5796-422: The 19th century, the city built an extensive sewage system to improve sanitation, and streets were illuminated with gas lighting as a regular service. Long-distance railway lines were constructed, including a route completed in 1854 linking Toronto with the Upper Great Lakes. The Grand Trunk Railway and the Northern Railway of Canada joined in the building of the first Union Station in downtown. The advent of
5922-422: The 2000s, many neighbourhoods became ethnically diverse and underwent gentrification due to increasing population and a housing boom during the late 1990s and the early 21st century. The first neighbourhoods affected were Leaside and North Toronto , gradually progressing into the western neighbourhoods in York. Sports in Toronto The city of Toronto , Ontario, Canada, has a long history of sport . It
6048-513: The 3rd edition of Global T20 Canada would be played from July 20, 2023 – August 6, 2023 at the Brampton Sports Park. There are several golf courses in Toronto. Five of these golf courses are maintained by the municipal government of Toronto, including Dentonia Park Golf Course, Don Valley Golf Course, Humber Valley Golf Course, Scarlett Woods Golf Course, and Tam O’Shanter Golf Course. In addition to publicly-operated golf courses, several private golf and country clubs also maintain golf courses in
6174-429: The AL voted to grant Toronto a team, they switched gears. A second Toronto group backed by Carling O'Keefe also applied for the AL expansion team. Less than a week later, the AL awarded the team to the Labatt group, which included Webster, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), for $ 7 million. A few days later the NL had their own vote on expanding to Toronto and Washington, but while receiving
6300-409: The AL's expansion plans, but a second non-unanimous vote by the NL on expanding to Toronto left Toronto uncontested to the AL. The Toronto Blue Jays ' inaugural campaign was in 1977 with Exhibition Stadium chosen as the site for the team's home games. Built in the 1950s, it was rebuilt in 1976 to satisfy the requirements for baseball. In 1989, the team moved to the newly built SkyDome (now known as
6426-401: The Canadian Somali-Jewish Mentorship Project, the first national mentoring and development project between a sizable Muslim community and the Jewish community. Toronto Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario . With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the fourth-most populous city in North America . The city is
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#17328868400826552-471: The City of Toronto in 1834. Toronto hosted the 4th G20 summit during June 26–27, 2010. This included the largest security operation in Canadian history. Following large-scale protests and rioting, law enforcement arrested more than 1,000 people, the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. On July 8, 2013, severe flash flooding hit Toronto after an afternoon of slow-moving, intense thunderstorms. Toronto Hydro estimated 450,000 people were without power after
6678-431: The Don River, and north of Davenport Road from Caledonia to Spadina Road ; the Casa Loma grounds sit above this escarpment. The geography of the lakeshore has dramatically changed since the first settlement of Toronto. Much of the land on the harbour's north shore is landfill, filled in during the late 19th century. Until then, the lakefront docks (then known as wharves) were set back farther inland than today. Much of
6804-465: The Final at SkyDome. Since 2015, Toronto has hosted the BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game , an annual all-star game showcasing the country's top high school basketball players of the year, at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport on the campus of the University of Toronto . Toronto hosted the 2016 NBA All-Star Game weekend February 12–14, 2016. The All-Star Weekend events were held at Air Canada Centre and Ricoh Coliseum . This marked
6930-574: The Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. This narrows was called tkaronto by the Mohawk , meaning 'where there are trees standing in the water', and was recorded as early as 1615 by Samuel de Champlain . The word Toronto , meaning 'plenty', also appears in a 1632 French lexicon of the Huron language , which is also an Iroquoian language. It also appears on French maps referring to various locations, including Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe, and several rivers. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, known as
7056-419: The Huron, Iroquois, and Ojibwe . Archaeological sites show evidence of human occupation dating back thousands of years. The site was of strategic importance from the beginning of Ontario's recorded history. In the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon (Bead Hill) on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagon on the banks of the Humber River . By 1701,
7182-418: The Huskies folded after the league's inaugural season following losses thought to total $ 60,000. Numerous exhibition and regular season NBA and American Basketball Association (ABA) games were held at both MLG and SkyDome over the years, including a total of 16 regular season Buffalo Braves games at MLG from 1971 to 1975 in an attempt to gauge the city's interest in a full-time team. Ruby Richman,
7308-439: The Maple Leafs and a third group led by Bill Ballard and Michael Cohl which included Magic Johnson , and the Toronto Raptors joined the NBA for the 1995–96 season, giving the city its own team once again. The franchise was one of two Canadian expansion teams announced by the NBA in 1993, the other being the Vancouver Grizzlies , which moved south of the border to Memphis after the 2000–01 season. The Toronto Tornados of
7434-402: The Maple Leafs in 1917, winning the International League's batting title with a .380 average at 42 years of age, while also managing his team to the league's championship in his only season with the team. In 1926, hall of fame pitcher Carl Hubbell was assigned to the Maple Leafs, and finished the season with a 7–7 record on that championship winning team. In 1943, hall of fame hitter Ralph Kiner
7560-414: The Mattamy Athletic Centre and York Lions Stadium, both of which serve as hosts to professional teams. Some university varsity teams practice and play in community venues or parks, like TMU Bold's varsity soccer teams, which play at Downsview Park . The following is a list of sporting venues in Toronto operated by universities: Toronto currently has seven different Australian rules football teams called
7686-497: The President of the AL Ban Johnson , to break away and form their own new major league, which would include Toronto. In 1922 a Toronto group attempted to purchase the Boston Red Sox to relocate them to Toronto. The owner of the Boston Braves , Lou Perini , tried to sell his team to Toronto interests in the early 1950s before relocating them to become the Milwaukee Braves . While owning the Maple Leafs baseball team, Jack Kent Cooke set his sights on bringing MLB to Toronto. He made
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#17328868400827812-487: The Progressive Conservatives' majority. North York mayor Mel Lastman became the first "megacity" mayor, and the 62nd mayor of Toronto, with his electoral victory . Lastman gained national attention after multiple snowstorms, including the January Blizzard of 1999 , dumped 118 centimetres (46 in) of snow and effectively immobilized the city. He called in the Canadian Army to aid snow removal by use of their equipment to augment police and emergency services. The move
7938-425: The Rock represents the entire province, and the GTHA in particular. For the 2025 NLL season, the Toronto Rock will return to the Greater Toronto Area to play their home games at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga while FirstOntario Centre undergoes renovations. Three public universities in Toronto operate a varsity program . They include Toronto Metropolitan University and the TMU Bold (est. 1948),
8064-418: The Rogers Centre. Rogers Communications and Bell Canada are partners in a jointly-owned holding company that also own 75 per cent of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment , which itself owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Argonauts, and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer , as well as their minor league farm teams , the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL), Raptors 905 of
8190-552: The Toronto Harbour), and the Rouge River at the city's eastern limits. Most of the ravines and valley lands in Toronto today are parklands and recreational trails are laid out along the ravines and valleys. The original town was laid out in a grid plan on the flat plain north of the harbour, and this plan was extended outwards as the city grew. The width and depth of several of the ravines and valleys are such that several grid streets, such as Finch Avenue , Leslie Street , Lawrence Avenue , and St. Clair Avenue , terminate on one side of
8316-410: The Toronto Towers, playing their games in MLG, with Carling O'Keefe thought to be involved financially in the deal, but he ultimately sold it to a local group. A Toronto group which included Bill Ballard , son of Harold, and Basketball Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain submitted an application and $ 100,000 deposit for an NBA expansion franchise for MLG in 1986, but of the six cities to apply Toronto
8442-404: The Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest , for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase , when the Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown , the British established the town of York in 1793 and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada . During the War of 1812 , the town
8568-622: The Toronto skyline extends northward along Yonge Street. Old Toronto is also home to many historically wealthy residential enclaves, such as Yorkville , Rosedale, The Annex, Forest Hill, Lawrence Park , Lytton Park , Deer Park , Moore Park , and Casa Loma, most stretching away from downtown to the north. East and west of downtown, neighbourhoods such as Kensington Market , Chinatown , Leslieville , Cabbagetown and Riverdale are home to bustling commercial and cultural areas as well as communities of artists with studio lofts, with many middle- and upper-class professionals. Other neighbourhoods in
8694-498: The University of Toronto and York University respectively. The following is a list of sporting venues in Toronto that either host professional sports teams or major national or international events: Several professional teams also maintain a practice facility. As opposed to arenas and stadiums, these facilities are dedicated to the practice and training of professional athletes. These facilities are typically not used to host official games or events. Some professional teams do not have
8820-474: The West. Like the Irish before them, many of these migrants lived in overcrowded shanty-type slums, such as " the Ward ", which was centred on Bay Street , now the heart of the country's Financial District . As new migrants began to prosper, they moved to better housing in other areas, in what is now understood to be succession waves of settlement. Despite its fast-paced growth, by the 1920s, Toronto's population and economic importance in Canada remained second to
8946-405: The adjacent Port Lands on the harbour's east side was a wetland filled in early in the 20th century. The shoreline from the harbour west to the Humber River has been extended into the lake. Further west, landfill has been used to create extensions of land such as Humber Bay Park. The Toronto Islands were a natural peninsula until a storm in 1858 severed their connection to the mainland, creating
9072-563: The anchor of the Golden Horseshoe , an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario , while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture and is one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited
9198-405: The architecture of its homes, and for being one of Toronto's earliest planned communities, was designated as an Ontario Heritage Conservation district in 1985. The Casa Loma neighbourhood is named after "Casa Loma", a castle built in 1911 by Sir Henry Pellat , complete with gardens, turrets, stables, an elevator, secret passages, and a bowling alley. Spadina House is a 19th-century manor that
9324-478: The area, with the usual complaints of debauchery and drunkenness. In 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany . Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York, believing the new site would be less vulnerable to attack by the United States. The York garrison
9450-669: The capital until 1865 (two years before Canadian Confederation). Since then, the capital of Canada has remained Ottawa , Ontario. Toronto became the capital of the province of Ontario after its official creation in 1867. The seat of government of the Ontario briefly returned to the same building that hosted the Third Parliament Building of Upper Canada, before moving to the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in 1893. Because of its provincial capital status,
9576-668: The central city retain an ethnic identity, including two smaller Chinatowns, the Greektown area, Little Italy , Portugal Village , and Little India , among others. The inner suburbs are contained within the former municipalities of York and East York. These are mature and traditionally working-class areas, consisting primarily of post–World War I small, single-family homes and small apartment blocks. Neighbourhoods such as Crescent Town , Thorncliffe Park , Flemingdon Park , Weston, and Oakwood Village consist mainly of high-rise apartments, which are home to many new immigrant families. During
9702-464: The channel of the Don River have been dredged numerous times for shipping. The lower section of the Don River was straightened and channelled in the 19th century. The former mouth drained into a wetland; today, the Don River drains into the harbour through a concrete waterway, the Keating Channel . To mitigate flooding in the area, as well as to create parkland, a second more natural mouth was built to
9828-735: The city granted the operation of the transit franchise to the Toronto Railway Company . The public transit system passed into public ownership in 1921 as the Toronto Transportation Commission , later renamed the Toronto Transit Commission . The system now has the third-highest ridership of any city public transportation system in North America . The Great Toronto Fire of 1904 destroyed a large section of downtown Toronto . The fire destroyed more than 100 buildings. The fire claimed one victim, John Croft, who
9954-632: The city was also the location of Government House , the residence of the viceregal representative of the Crown in right of Ontario . Long before the Royal Military College of Canada was established in 1876, supporters of the concept proposed military colleges in Canada. Staffed by British Regulars, adult male students underwent a three-month-long military course at the School of Military Instruction in Toronto. Established by Militia General Order in 1864,
10080-802: The city was an exhibition between the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons and Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League at the Gardens in 1946. The first game of the professional Basketball Association of America , forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), was contested at Maple Leaf Gardens (MLG) between the Toronto Huskies and the New York Knickerbockers on November 1, 1946. However,
10206-470: The city was hit by a massive blackout which affected millions of Torontonians (it also affected most of Southern Ontario and parts of the United States), stranding some hundreds of people in tall buildings, knocking out traffic lights and suspending subway and streetcar service across the city during those aforementioned days. On March 6, 2009, the city celebrated the 175th anniversary of its inception as
10332-449: The city, there exist hundreds of small neighbourhoods and some larger neighbourhoods covering a few square kilometres. The many residential communities of Toronto express a character distinct from the skyscrapers in the commercial core. Victorian and Edwardian-era residential buildings can be found in enclaves such as Rosedale , Cabbagetown , The Annex , and Yorkville . The Wychwood Park neighbourhood, historically significant for
10458-434: The community and are operated by the municipal government of Toronto or a private sporting club. Regular access to these venues is provided for the public, although several multi-purpose sports venues are owned by private sporting clubs, and may require membership for access to its facilities. In addition to the public, several semi-professional sports and amateur teams also make use of these community venues. The following
10584-471: The company's interest was due in part to help position itself to go after an MLB franchise for Toronto. The team was subsequently relocated out of Toronto to Louisville, Kentucky . In 1967, a Toronto group was one of six to submit a bid for a NL expansion team. In 1971, Howard Webster, chairman of The Globe and Mail , made an offer to purchase the San Diego Padres and relocate them to Toronto but it
10710-571: The elimination of racially based immigration policies by the late 1960s, Toronto became a destination for immigrants from all over the world. By the 1980s, Toronto had surpassed Montreal as Canada's most populous city and chief economic hub. During this time, in part owing to the political uncertainty raised by the resurgence of the Quebec sovereignty movement , many national and multinational corporations moved their head offices from Montreal to Toronto and Western Canadian cities. On January 1, 1998, Toronto
10836-630: The first mayor of Toronto . Mackenzie would later lead the unsuccessful Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 against the British colonial government. Toronto's population of 9,000 included some African-American slaves, some of whom had been brought by the Loyalists, and Black Loyalists , whom the Crown had freed (most of the latter were resettled in Nova Scotia). By 1834, refugee slaves from America's South were also immigrating to Toronto to gain freedom. Slavery
10962-431: The first time that an NBA All-Star Weekend was ever hosted outside the United States. On July 27, 2018, Scotiabank Arena hosted week 6 of the 2018 Big3 season . The Big3 is a professional 3x3 basketball league founded by Ice Cube comprising eight teams, each featuring rosters of retired NBA players, with all league games played in one session as a quadruple-header. Toronto is the lone non-American venue city to host
11088-558: The former coach of Canada's national basketball team, working with the head of Maple Leaf Gardens Limited (MLGL) Harold Ballard, pursued a number of existing ABA and NBA teams to relocate to the city in the 1970s. Richman had a tentative agreement to purchase both the Miami Floridians and Pittsburgh Condors of the ABA with the plan to merge them into a single Toronto-based team, but the deal fell through. Later Richman held negotiations with
11214-499: The franchise would be returned to Cleveland or moved to Cincinnati , it was transferred to Brooklyn to become the Brooklyn Tip-Tops prior to playing a game in Toronto. Hepburn cited his inability to find a park to play at in short notice as the reason the team didn't launch. However, he secured an agreement with the league which granted him the rights to a team for the following season. Though Toronto would be proposed as
11340-680: The hurricane caused more than CA$ 25 million in damage. In 1967, the seven smallest municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto were merged with larger neighbours, resulting in a six-municipality configuration that included the former city of Toronto and the surrounding municipalities of East York , Etobicoke , North York , Scarborough , and York . In the decades after World War II, refugees from war-torn Europe and Chinese job-seekers arrived, as well as construction labourers, particularly from Italy and Portugal. Toronto's population grew to more than one million in 1951 when large-scale suburbanization began and doubled to two million by 1971. Following
11466-400: The lake, allowing for a somewhat sheltered Toronto Harbour south of the downtown core. An Outer Harbour was constructed southeast of downtown during the 1950s and 1960s, and it is now used for recreation. The city's limits are formed by Lake Ontario to the south, the western boundary of Marie Curtis Park , Etobicoke Creek , Eglinton Avenue and Highway 427 to the west, Steeles Avenue to
11592-542: The league was "thrilled with the reception" and that Toronto "scored really well" and "is very high on the list" of about 10 cities for potential expansion. On May 23, 2024, the Toronto WNBA team was created and will begin play in 2026 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum . The Caribbean Premier League professional Twenty20 cricket league has discussed its desire to place a franchise in Toronto. The Global T20 Canada
11718-460: The longest straightaway on the circuit, running through Exhibition Place and on Lake Shore Boulevard . Drivers re-enter the Exhibition grounds at Ontario Drive, heading north towards Prince's Boulevard where they turn left (west). The circuit continues on to Manitoba Drive and heads north-east then east until reaching Nova Scotia Avenue. At Nova Scotia Avenue, drivers turn right (south) then navigate
11844-409: The majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, over 160 languages are spoken in the city. The mayor of Toronto is elected by direct popular vote to serve as the chief executive of the city. The Toronto City Council is a unicameral legislative body, comprising 25 councillors since the 2018 municipal election , representing geographical wards throughout the city. Toronto
11970-759: The minor league Continental Basketball Association played in the city from 1983 to 1985 before being relocated to Pensacola, Florida in the middle of their third season to become the Pensacola Tornados . Toronto has also hosted parts of the 1994 FIBA World Championship tournament alongside Hamilton, Ontario from August 4 to 14, 1994. The tournament was held at SkyDome and Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto as well as at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton . The hosting duties were originally awarded to Belgrade , Yugoslavia , but after United Nations limited participation in sporting events in Yugoslavia , Toronto stepped in as
12096-552: The much longer established Montreal , Quebec. However, by 1934, the Toronto Stock Exchange had become the largest in the country. In 1954, the City of Toronto and 12 surrounding municipalities were federated into a regional government known as Metropolitan Toronto . The postwar boom had resulted in rapid suburban development. It was believed a coordinated land-use strategy and shared services would provide greater efficiency for
12222-639: The new home to the Kansas City Packers Federal League franchise for the 1915 season, no team ever came to fruition in the city. Toronto interests put forward a bid to buy the Washington Nationals to move them to Toronto in 1918 when there was discussion of the team relocating. The following year it was reported that there were plans for the Boston Red Sox , Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees , which were dissatisfied with
12348-670: The north and the Rouge River and the Scarborough–Pickering Townline to the east. The city is mostly flat or gentle hills, and the land gently slopes upward away from the lake. The flat land is interrupted by the Toronto ravine system , which is cut by numerous creeks and rivers of the Toronto waterway system , most notably the Humber River in the west end, the Don River east of downtown (these two rivers flanking and defining
12474-458: The railway dramatically increased the numbers of immigrants arriving, commerce and industry, as had the Lake Ontario steamers and schooners entering port before. These enabled Toronto to become a major gateway linking the world to the interior of the North American continent. Expanding port and rail facilities brought in northern timber for export and imported Pennsylvania coal. Industry dominated
12600-506: The referendum results and did so in April when it tabled the City of Toronto Act . Both opposition parties held a filibuster in the provincial legislature, proposing more than 12,000 amendments that allowed residents on streets of the proposed megacity to take part in public hearings on the merger and adding historical designations to the streets. This only delayed the bill's inevitable passage, given
12726-462: The region. The metropolitan government began to manage services that crossed municipal boundaries, including highways, police services, water and public transit . In that year, a half-century after the Great Fire of 1904, disaster struck the city again when Hurricane Hazel brought intense winds and flash flooding. In the Toronto area, 81 people were killed, nearly 1,900 families were left homeless, and
12852-485: The school enabled officers of militia or candidates for commission or promotion in the Militia to learn military duties, drill and discipline, to command a company at Battalion Drill, to drill a company at Company Drill, the internal economy of a company, and the duties of a company's officer. The school was retained at Confederation, in 1867. In 1868, Schools of cavalry and artillery instruction were formed in Toronto. In
12978-548: The south during the first half of the 2020s, thereby creating a new island, Ookwemin Minising . Toronto encompasses an area formerly administered by several separate municipalities that were amalgamated over the years. Each developed a distinct history and identity over the years, and their names remain in common use among Torontonians. Former municipalities include East York, Etobicoke, Forest Hill , Mimico , North York, Parkdale , Scarborough, Swansea , Weston and York. Throughout
13104-409: The storm and Toronto Pearson International Airport reported 126 mm (5 in) of rain had fallen over five hours, more than during Hurricane Hazel. Within six months, from December 20 to 22, 2013, Toronto was brought to a near halt by the worst ice storm in the city's history, rivalling the severity of the 1998 Ice Storm (which mainly affected southeastern Ontario, and Quebec). At the height of
13230-521: The storm, over 300,000 Toronto Hydro customers had no electricity or heating. Toronto hosted WorldPride in June 2014, and the Pan and Parapan American Games in 2015 . The city continues to grow and attract immigrants. A 2019 study by Toronto Metropolitan University (then known as Ryerson University) showed that Toronto was the fastest-growing city in North America. The city added 77,435 people between July 2017 and July 2018. The Toronto metropolitan area
13356-461: The town's surrender. American soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation. Because of the sacking of York, British troops retaliated later in the war with the burning of Washington, D.C. York was incorporated as the City of Toronto on March 6, 1834, adopting the Indigenous name. Reformist politician William Lyon Mackenzie became
13482-594: The varsity programs of Guelph-Humber's parent institutions, including the Guelph Gryphons , or the Humber Hawks. Two independent public universities based in Toronto do not operate a competitive athletics program, OCAD University , and the Université de l'Ontario français . Tyndale University , a private university and seminary in Toronto, maintains several student athletic clubs, although these teams do not compete at
13608-589: The war, and the area became part of the British colony of Quebec in 1763. During the American Revolutionary War , an influx of British settlers arrived there as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario. The Crown granted them land to compensate for their losses in the Thirteen Colonies. The new province of Upper Canada was being created and needed
13734-631: The waterfront for the next 100 years. During the late 19th century, Toronto became the largest alcohol distillation (in particular, spirits ) centre in North America. By the 1860s, the Gooderham and Worts Distillery operations became the world's largest whisky factory. A preserved section of this once dominant local industry remains in the Distillery District . The harbour allowed access to grain and sugar imports used in processing. Horse-drawn streetcars gave way to electric streetcars in 1891 when
13860-513: Was a member of the Orange Order between 1850 and 1950, and the city was sometimes referred to as the " Belfast of Canada" because of Orange influence in municipal politics and administration. For brief periods, Toronto was twice the capital of the united Province of Canada : first from 1849 to 1851, following unrest in Montreal, and later from 1855 to 1859. After this date, Quebec was designated as
13986-665: Was also the first ever NBA championship won by a team based outside of the United States. On August 15, 2021 the Scarborough Shooting Stars were announced as one of two new expansion teams for the CEBL , & the first franchise to be based in the Greater Toronto Area . They played their first ever CEBL game on May 26, 2022 in Guelph, Ontario vs. the Guelph Nighthawks , and played their first ever home game on June 4, 2022 vs.
14112-464: Was an explosive expert clearing the ruins from the fire. It caused CA$ 10,387,000 in damage (roughly CA$ 277,600,000 in 2020 terms). The city received new European immigrant groups from the late 19th century into the early 20th century, particularly Germans, French, Italians, and Jews. They were soon followed by Russians, Poles, and other Eastern European nations, in addition to the Chinese entering from
14238-400: Was assigned to play with the Maple Leafs, but left the team after a few weeks upon being called to duty by the U.S. Navy. Hall of famer Sparky Anderson was also a member of the Leafs as both a player (1960–1963) and a manager (1964). Toronto interests long pursued a major league team for the city. Toronto was proposed as the home for a National League (NL) team by Albert Spalding when he
14364-489: Was awarded an expansion NBA franchise in 1974 for the 1975–76 season MLGL was one of three groups to bid for the rights to the team, but the club never materialized since no group was able to secure funding for the expansion fee of at least $ 6.15 million. MLGL attempted to purchase and relocate the Houston Rockets in 1975, which were seeking $ 8 million for the team, but the teams lease ultimately prevented
14490-532: Was banned outright in Upper Canada (and throughout the British Empire) in 1834. Torontonians integrated people of colour into their society. In the 1840s, an eating house at Frederick and King Streets, a place of mercantile prosperity in the early city, was operated by a black man named Bloxom. As a major destination for immigrants to Canada, the city grew rapidly through the remainder of the 19th century. The first significant wave of immigrants were Irish, fleeing
14616-528: Was built at the entrance of the town's natural harbour, sheltered by a long sand-bar peninsula. The town's settlement formed at the harbour's eastern end behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street and Front Street (in the " Old Town " area). In 1813, as part of the War of 1812 , the Battle of York ended in the town's capture and plunder by United States forces. John Strachan negotiated
14742-476: Was established the league in 1876. Exhibition games were played by both the NL and American League (AL) of Major League Baseball (MLB) in Toronto in the 1910s. Member of Parliament Bernard Rickart Hepburn was granted a Toronto franchise by the Federal League , a rival major league to the NL and AL, for its inaugural season in 1914, after the franchise was revoked from Cleveland . After speculation
14868-561: Was greatly enlarged, not through traditional annexations , but as an amalgamation of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and its six lower-tier constituent municipalities: East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York, and the original city itself. They were dissolved by an act of the Government of Ontario and formed into a single-tier City of Toronto (colloquially dubbed the " megacity "), replacing all six governments. The merger
14994-456: Was in negotiations to sell his team to a Toronto group. The following January, San Francisco Giants owner Horace Stoneham agreed to sell the team for $ 13.25 million to a group headed by Labatt intending to relocate it to Toronto. The team would have begun play in the 1976 season at Exhibition Stadium, and be called the Toronto Giants. However the plan to move the Giants was quashed by
15120-633: Was not one of the four which were successful. Larry Tanenbaum attempted to purchase and relocate the Denver Nuggets to Toronto in 1991, but the team could not get out of its lease at the McNichols Arena . Tanenbaum later pursued the New Jersey Nets and San Antonio Spurs unsuccessfully. Ultimately, the NBA awarded an expansion franchise to John Bitove , over Tanenbaum's group which had partnered with
15246-541: Was proposed as a cost-saving measure by the Progressive Conservative provincial government under premier Mike Harris . The announcement touched off vociferous public objections. In March 1997, a referendum in all six municipalities produced a vote of more than 3:1 against amalgamation. However, municipal governments in Canada are creatures of the provincial governments, and referendums have little to no legal effect. The Harris government could thus legally ignore
15372-405: Was refused. In early 1974, MLGL announced plans to build a new baseball stadium in Toronto, but the city ultimately decided to renovate Exhibition Stadium to make it suitable for baseball. Later that year a group called Canadian Baseball Co. led by Sydney Cooper submitted an application to both the AL and NL for a franchise. Cooper had previously been part of Webster's group. At the time it
15498-484: Was reported that there were at least four groups bidding for a Toronto team, including ones led by Labatt Brewing Company , MLGL and Robert Hunter, the former President of the International League Maple Leafs, in addition to Canadian Baseball Co. Lorne Duguid, vice-president of Hiram Walker Distillers and MLGL executive, led MLGL's bid. In 1975, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles stated that he
15624-408: Was ridiculed by some in other parts of the country, fuelled in part by what was perceived as a frivolous use of resources. The city attracted international attention in 2003 when it became the centre of a major SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak. Public health attempts to prevent the disease from spreading elsewhere temporarily dampened the local economy. From August 14 to 17, 2003,
15750-609: Was the second-fastest-growing metropolitan area in North America, adding 125,298 persons, compared with 131,767 in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metroplex in Texas. The large growth in the Toronto metropolitan area is attributed to international migration to Toronto. The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada first occurred in Toronto and was among the hotspots in the country . Toronto was named as one of 16 cities in North America (and one of two Canadian cities) to host matches for
15876-694: Was the site of the Battle of York and suffered heavy damage by American troops . York was renamed and incorporated in 1834 as the city of Toronto . It was designated as the capital of the province of Ontario in 1867 during Canadian Confederation . The city proper has since expanded past its original limits through both annexation and amalgamation to its current area of 630.2 km (243.3 sq mi). The diverse population of Toronto reflects its current and historical role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada . About half of its residents were born outside of Canada and over 200 ethnic origins are represented among its inhabitants. While
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