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As Canada's largest urban region, Toronto is a bustling cosmopolitan centre that is also the world's most multicultural city. Several studies rank Toronto as one of the cities with the best quality of life. Located on Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, Toronto is optimally situated, in terms of scenery. It is the top international metropolis for work and family. Population and Location Toronto is the Capital of Ontario and Canada's largest city. 5.2 million Canadians live in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Toronto is a city where people of different ethnic and economic backgrounds live side-by-side in neighbourhoods and communities. By maintaining high quality housing, day care, schools, social services and policing, the downtown core remains vital, strong and safe. Racial Diversity
Climate Toronto’s four distinct seasons enhance its appeal, with average temperatures ranging from - 6.7 degrees Celsius in January to +20.6 degrees in July. Weather in Toronto: Please click here
Business/Economic Development
The Greater Toronto Area houses the largest concentration of economic activity in Canada. Interestingly, if Canadian firms were included in the Fortune 500 survey of industrials, Toronto, with 37 headquarters of companies with over $600 million in annual revenue, would have more Fortune 500 members than any other North American city. The economy of Toronto is the largest and most diverse of any urban region in Canada. As the financial and industrial centre of the country, it leads the nation in manufacturing, retail sales and other economic indicators. The City of Toronto represents one of the largest single purchasers of material, supplies, equipment and services in the province. It's annual expenditure is approximately $700,000,000. Research and development are also prominent activities in the city. Numerous universities and research and development centres serve as incubators for new products and processes. This keeps the region at the forefront of new technologies in telecommunications, medicine, biotechnology and information processing. Creativity-intensive industries including media, fashion, architecture, product design, culture, entertainment, film and tourism are central to the emerging economy and to the international presence of Toronto. Toronto has a diverse and dynamic economy that is dominated by the business/ financial services, manufacturing, retail & wholesale trade and transportation sectors. The service sector employs more than half of Toronto's work force. Employment growth has been generated by knowledge-intensive industries and a strong retail sector estimated at about $211 billion or 14% of total Canadian sales.
Government The restructuring of Toronto's municipal government has been one of the most ambitious undertakings in North America. Seven large municipalities have been combined, municipal and provincial responsibilities have been revamped, and property tax reformed.
Arts/Culture/Entertainment
Top Ten Reasons to Live in Toronto
Investment Incentives: The World's Best! The attractiveness of Canada's R&D tax system is very high, surpassing the R&D tax treatment of the United States, Japan and Western Europe. With the addition of significant Ontario R&D tax incentives, Toronto's combined corporate income tax system is now unequalled in its treatment of R&D. Canadian tax incentives consist of a 100% deduction of both current and capital expenditures for R&D (net of the Investment Tax Credit - ITC) and a 20% ITC on those expenditures. The deduction credit reduces income subject to tax in Canada. The tax credit reduces federal tax payable. Unused tax deductions can be carried forward, and used ITCs can be carried back 3 years and forward 10 years against tax payable in those years. Ontario's R&D tax incentives parallel the federal incentive system. Qualifying R&D activities and eligible costs are based on federal legislation. Ontario provides a special additional deduction in computing Ontario taxable income. This "superallowance" varies from 25% to 52.5% depending on the type of corporation. This deduction is allowed in addition to the 100% write-off of R&D expenditures which is claimed for both federal and Ontario purposes. In the Middle of the Great North Eastern Cities Toronto is ideally located for operations with a world-wide focus. The city is 1.5 hours by air to cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Hartford, Boston, and Chicago, with direct flights available to most major world cities. The city is located in the Eastern Time Zone which allows for convenient communications with key people in the eastern seaboard of North America, while providing excellent windows of communication to European centres. The multi-cultural nature of the city (over 100 ethnic groups) provides international companies a large pool of the language skills necessary to operate in international markets. Canadians depend on trade to a larger extent than most major world economies; exports of goods and services account for approximately 25% of the GDP. With more than 150 trading partners, the economy of Ontario is also largely based on international trade. Over 91% of Ontario exports went to the United States in 1994 while over 76% of Ontario's imports came from south of the border. In selecting an operating site, it is very advantageous if a corporate executive can travel to and from his operating centre in one working day, or, for that matter in one half day. Lost productivity due to "jet lag" would not be an issue for employees travelling between headquarters and an operation in Toronto. A Leading International Airport Becoming Even Better The fourth largest international airport in North America and the world's largest originator of traffic into the United States, Lester B. Pearson International Airport delivers safe, efficient and quality service to millions of passengers every year. Serving as Canada's gateway to the world, its three terminals are the departure points for more than 61 domestic, U.S. and international airlines travelling to 300 destinations in 54 countries. Pearson is Canada’s busiest airport, offering extensive service to major American destinations such as New York (160 flights per week), Chicago (130 flights per week), Washington (85 flights per week), and Los Angeles (21 flights per week). As such, it has become the pinnacle choice for cross-border travel. Pearson Airport is undergoing a 10-year $4.4 billion redevelopment program in order to meet the growing demands of air travellers. The primary objective is to create a facility that will better accommodate passengers, shippers and the airlines. The project has three major components, Terminal Development of terminals 1 and 2; Airside Development including the construction of two new runways; and Infield Cargo Development enabling the area to handle up to 900,000 tonnes of cargo. Toronto Moves with Public Transit Toronto is served by an extensive transportation infrastructure. The public transit system, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is clean, safe and efficient, and widely rated among the world's best. The TTC has a network of more than 4,000 miles of bus, streetcar, subway and light rapid transit routes, all in one integrated system. Ninety percent of Toronto's residents live within 300 meters of public transit routes, and the system handles about 450 million passengers a year - from all economic groups. The regional "GO" train network carries 66,000 commuters a day into the city. Top Notch Telecommunicating Toronto is one of the most advanced telecommunications centres in North America. In the field of electronic data interchange, a key technology in financial services, it is very likely the most advanced in the world. This is due to a business telecommunications system which is 100% fibre optic. Toronto is the first North American city to offer this facility. The Safest Large City in North America Toronto is a remarkably safe and clean city in a remarkably safe and clean country. Even though Toronto is Canada's largest city, it is sixth in the level of violent crime, with a lower crime rate than both of Canada's other large cities — Vancouver and Montreal. The Greater Toronto Area traditionally has had remarkably lower crime rates than all large U.S. cities; as an example, in 1996 Toronto's per capita homicide rate was less than 10% of that of any large U.S. city Educational Institutions A variety of prestigious private schools exist in Toronto, as well as diverse public schools offering special programs. The University of Toronto is the largest in the country and one of the most prestigious universities in Canada. Three Universities and six colleges accommodate close to 500,000 students in Toronto. Attractions
For excursions outside the city, the number one tourist destination, without any doubt, is Niagara Falls, located within 90 minutes from Toronto, along the U.S./Canada border. Income & Cost of Living In 1998, the average household (family) income in Toronto was C$61,028, the second highest among Canadian cities, slightly less that in Ottawa. The average selling price for a single family dwelling in Toronto was approximately C$215,000 in 1999. Apartment rents are as follows: (a) Bachelor apartments: C$500-$750, (b) One-bedroom apartments: C$600-$900, (c) Two-bedroom apartments: C$700-$1000, (d) Three-bedroom apartments: C$ 800-$1100.
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632
sq.km.
Toronto
is Canada's gateway to the international market place. Thanks to
NAFTA and other international agreements, Toronto is positioned
to become the hub for goods, services and people throughout the
western hemisphere. The city offers maximum accessibility to all
parts of its region via modern highways, air, rail and urban transit.
The city is the region's financial, commercial and administrative
core. By maintaining high quality housing, day care, schools, social
services and policing, the downtown core has remained vital, strong
and safe. Toronto is a city where people of different ethnic and
economic backgrounds live side-by-side in neighbourhoods and communities.
As long as Toronto's urban core remains vibrant, its streets safe
and its citizens secure, the entire area will enjoy a competitive
advantage internationally.
Tourist
sites include the CN Tower (the world’s largest free-standing
structure), Skydome (a sport and concert stadium with a retractable
roof), the Science Centre, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery
of Ontario, the Planetarium, and hundreds of shops along Yonge Street
(the longest street in the world). After London and New York, Toronto
is the third leading international centre for English language theatre.
For sports fans, Toronto is home to the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs,
the NBA's Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the CFL's
Toronto Argonauts.