Toronto is the largest
city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. A
relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the
late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the
British monarchy from the Mississaugas of the New Credit. The
settlement was later established as the Town of York and
proclaimed as the new capital of Upper Canada by its
lieutenant-governor, John Graves Simcoe. In 1834, York was
incorporated as a city and renamed to its present name. The city
was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812 and
damaged in two great fires in 1849 and in 1904.
Its cosmopolitan and
international population reflects its role as an important
destination for immigrants to Canada. Toronto is one of the
world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born
residents, with about 49% of the population born outside Canada.
Toronto is also consistently rated as one of the world's most
livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Mercer
Quality of Living Survey.
As Canada's commercial
capital and one of the world's top financial centres. It is home
to the Toronto Stock Exchange, the world's seventh largest in
terms of market value. Toronto contains more corporate
headquarters than any other Canadian city. According to Forbes,
Toronto is the tenth-most economically powerful city in the world
and one of the fastest growing among the G7 nations. Toronto was
ranked twelfth in the world and fourth in the Americas in 2010
for economic innovation by 2thinknow.
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