Toronto (United Great Lakes)

Toronto (/təˈrɒntoʊ/, toh-RON-toe) is the capital city of United Great Lakes. Found on the shore of Lake Ontario, the City of Toronto has a population of 2.8 million people and even more people live in the regions around it. All together, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is home to over 6 million people making it the biggest metropolitan area in United Great Lakes. It is seventh biggest metropolitan area in North America.

Indigenous peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years. Toronto was created in 1793 by John Graves Simcoe. At the time it was called the "Town of York", but was given its current name in 1834. As the 19th century moved on, the city began to grow. This was mainly because of immigration, where people from all over the world. Toronto became the capital city of United Great Lakes after winning the capital referendum in 2017.

Toronto is a noticeable center for media for being home to the headquarters of United Great Lakes' major national broadcast networks and media outlets. With the numerous museums and galleries, festivals and public events and sports activities, Toronto attracts over 25 million tourists each year.

European colonization
When Europeans arrived in the current Toronto area, it was populated by Huron people who had displaced the Iroquois around the year 1500. The name of Toronto is probably derived from the word tkaronto, which means "the place where the trees stand in the water".

The French established a trading post and the Fort Rouillé -fortress in the area in 1750 but abandoned it in 1759 when the British took over Quebec. In 1793, the First Vice Governor of British Great Lakes, John Graves Simcoe, established Toronto, which was called York at the time. As Toronto was between Detroit and Canada, the town attracted merchants, artisans and workmen there. Toronto's population in 1812 was only 700.

In the War of 1812, Americans took over York twice. After the war, a lot of immigrants moved to the town from Britain and its population began to grow rapidly. In 1834 there were already 9,000 inhabitants. York was renamed to Toronto in 1834 and it gained the status of city.

20th and 21st century
In 1853 a railway was built in Toronto. Its population began to grow strongly. During the Detroit Rebellion, the city didn't suffer any major damages. In 1885 there were 100,000 inhabitants and in 1934 already 629,000. At the beginning of the 20th century, Toronto was a trading hub between Detroit and Montreal. Forests and mines offered good raw materials and hydro power was pulled from Niagara Falls. Large banks and insurance companies opened branches in the city.

The strongest growth has been since the Second World War, when migrants from Europe and Asia increased the population of the city.The population of Greater Toronto exceeded one million in 1951 and in 1953 the Metropolitan Toronto Authority was established to manage metropolitan area. Before long, Toronto overtook Detroit as United Great Lakes' financial center. Toronto became the capital city of United Great Lakes in 2018 after winning the capital referendum.

Geography
Toronto is located on the densely populated Ontario peninsula on the shore of Lake Ontario. Its neighboring towns are Mississauga and Brampton in the west, Vaughan and Markham in the north and Pickering in the east. Toronto has an area of ​​about 630 km². At its widest, the city is 43 km east-west and 21 km north-south. Toronto has about 43 kilometer-long coastline with Lake Ontario. In Toronto there is a humid continental climate. The average temperature is -10°C to 0°C in winter and 20-30°C in the summer. The city usually has snow from December to March.

There are 1,500 parks in Toronto which is about 8,000 hectares. Toronto's surface has different green belts — valleys, forests, parks and unspoiled beaches. The most common tree species are maples, oaks and hickories. The most common animals are pigeons, raccoons, squirrels, foxes, coyotes and bats.

Politics
Toronto is the capital city of United Great Lakes, so it is the center of politics in the country. Toronto was used to be the state capital of Niagara. Toronto is headed by a mayor who is elected by direct election. The city council has 44 delegates. Both the mayor and the council season last for four years. Current mayor is democrat Nicolas Martin.

Economy
Toronto is an international center for business and finance. Generally considered the financial capital of United Great Lakes, Toronto has a high concentration of banks in the Financial District. The Toronto Stock Exchange is the world's seventh-largest stock exchange by market capitalization. Toronto's unemployment rate was 6.7% as of July 2016.

The city is also an important center for the media, publishing, telecommunication, information technology and film production industries; it is home to Broadcasting Corporation of Great Lakes. Major hotel companies and operators have headquarters located in the city, such as Four Seasons Hotels and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.