Toronto has the largest population in
Canada and ranks as the 9th largest
urban area in
North America. Toronto's tremendous
ethnic diversity has made it one of the world's most
cosmopolitan cities. There are more than 70 ethnic groups residing in Toronto and over 100 languages are spoken.
In the summer, daytime temperature averages are approximately 25 degrees
Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) with an occasional
heat wave that reaches a high of 35+ degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Toronto's winters begin mid-December and last till late March. A snowfall of more than 10cm (4 inches) is unusual and the average temperatures hover slightly below the freezing mark of 0 centigrade or 32 Fahrenheit.
Toronto was founded in 1793 when a small palisaded garrison was constructed at
Fort York to protect the entrance to Toronto Bay. Toronto is the heart of
Canada's business financial centre. The
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest in Canada and the seventh largest in the world. Most of Canada's major bank, law firms, service industries, property insurance companies, investment dealers, real estate companies, leading foreign owned companies, and top industrial companies are headquartered in Toronto.
Toronto is the home of the
Ontario Provincial Legislature at
Queens Park.
The Ontario Government is a major employer within
Metropolitan Toronto as is the
Federal Government and the
Municipal Government with the Metropolitan area.
Toronto is a major
tourist attraction due to its location on
Lake Ontario, its many parks and gardens, its wide variety of architecture and the general cleanliness and hospitality of the city. It is also a
tourist destination due to its close proximity to South-Western Ontario (
Niagara Falls and a number of other attractions) to the West,
the Muskokas to the immediate North, and Eastern Ontario with the
Thousand Islands and
Ottawa Valley to the East.