Toronto is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents (2006 census), it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in south-central Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe which is home to 8.1 million residents. The metropolitan area had a population of 5,113,149 and the Greater Toronto Area had a population of 5,555,912 according to the 2006 Census.

As Canada's economic capital, Toronto is considered a global city and is one of the top financial cities in the world. Toronto's leading economic sectors include finance, business services, telecommunications, aerospace, transportation, media, arts, film, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education, tourism and sports industries. The Toronto Stock Exchange, the world's seventh largest, is headquartered in the city, along with a majority of Canada's corporations.

Toronto's population is cosmopolitan and international, reflecting 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, as about 49% of the population were born outside of Canada. Because of the city's low crime rates, clean environment, generally high standard of living, and friendlier attitudes to diversity, Toronto is consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities by the...

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