Toronto

==History==
{{Main|History of Toronto}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Toronto history}}

===Early history===
{{Main|History of Toronto}}
{{See also|Amalgamation of Toronto}}
The site of Toronto lay at the entrance to one of the oldest routes to the northwest, a route known and used by the Huron, Iroquois, and [[Ojibwe]]. Archaeological sites show evidence of human occupation dating back thousands of years. The site was of strategic importance from the beginning of Ontario's recorded history.{{sfn|Firth|1962|p=3}}

In the 1660s, the [[Iroquois settlement of the north shore of Lake Ontario|Iroquois established two villages]] within what is today Toronto, [[Bead Hill|Ganatsekwyagon]] (Bead Hill) on the banks of the [[Rouge River (Ontario)|Rouge River]] and [[Teiaiagon]] on the banks of the [[Humber River (Ontario)|Humber River]]. By 1701, the [[Mississaugas]] had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the [[Beaver Wars]], with most returning to their homeland in present-day New York state.{{sfn|Schmalz|1991|p=}}

French traders founded [[Fort Rouillé]] in 1750 (the current [[Exhibition Place|Exhibition grounds]] were later developed there), but abandoned it in 1759 during the [[Seven Years' War]].<ref name=rouille>{{cite web |url=http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/jarvisci/toronto/rouille.htm |title=Fort Rouillé |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913004442/http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/jarvisci/toronto/rouille.htm |archive-date=September 13, 2012 |publisher=Jarvis Collegiate Institute |year=2006 |access-date=December 8, 2006}}</ref> The British defeated the French and their indigenous allies in the war, and the area became part of the British colony of [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Quebec]] in 1763.

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], an influx of British settlers arrived there as [[United Empire Loyalist]]s fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario. The Crown granted them land to compensate for their losses in the Thirteen Colonies. The new province of Upper Canada was being created and needed a capital. In 1787, the British [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Lord Dorchester]] arranged for the Toronto Purchase with the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, thereby securing more than a quarter of a million acres (1000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land in the Toronto area.<ref name=British>[http://www.toronto.ca/culture/history/history-natives-newcomers.htm Natives and newcomers, 1600–1793] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306111515/http://www.toronto.ca/culture/history/history-natives-newcomers.htm |date=March 6, 2007 }}, City of Toronto (2006). Retrieved December 8, 2006.</ref> Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto.{{sfn|Hounsom|1970|p=27}} The first 25 years after the Toronto purchase were quiet, although "there were occasional independent fur traders" present in the area, with the usual complaints of debauchery and drunkenness.{{sfn|Firth|1962 |p=3}}

In 1793, Governor [[John Graves Simcoe]] established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, naming it after [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany]]. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from [[Niagara-on-the-Lake|Newark]] (Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ontario.ca/en/your_government/004690 |title=History of Ontario's Legislative Buildings |website=ontario.ca |publisher=Government of Ontario |access-date=July 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022083250/http://www.ontario.ca/en/your_government/004690 |archive-date=October 22, 2009}}</ref> believing the new site would be less vulnerable to attack by the United States.<ref name="[[Fort York]]">{{cite web |url=http://www.fortyork.ca |title=Welcome to the birthplace of Toronto |website=fortyork.ca |publisher=Friends of Fort York (2006) |access-date=December 8, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221234140/http://www.fortyork.ca/ |archive-date=February 21, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Fort York|York garrison]] was built at the entrance of the town's natural harbour, sheltered by a long sand-bar peninsula. The town's settlement formed at the harbour's eastern end behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of [[Parliament Street (Toronto)|Parliament Street]] and [[Front Street (Toronto)|Front Street]] (in the "[[Old Town, Toronto|Old Town]]" area).

===19th century===
[[File:Battle of York airborne.jpg|thumb|An American squadron exchanging fire with [[Fort York]] during the [[Battle of York]], 1813. The American landing is depicted to the west (left foreground).]]
In 1813, as part of the [[War of 1812]], the [[Battle of York]] ended in the town's capture and plunder by United States forces.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/york.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820093114/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/york.htm|archive-date=August 20, 2007 |title=Battle of York|access-date=July 10, 2007}}</ref> [[John Strachan]] negotiated the town's surrender. American soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation. Because of the sacking of York, British troops retaliated later in the war with the [[Burning of Washington|burning of Washington, D.C.]]

York was incorporated as the City of Toronto on March 6, 1834, adopting the Indigenous name.{{citation needed |date=September 2023}} Reformist politician [[William Lyon Mackenzie]] became the first [[mayor of Toronto]]. Mackenzie would later lead the unsuccessful [[Upper Canada Rebellion]] of 1837 against the British colonial government.

Toronto's population of 9,000 included some [[African Americans|African-American]] slaves,{{citation needed |date=September 2023}} some of whom had been brought by the Loyalists, and [[Black Loyalist]]s, whom the Crown had freed (most of the latter were resettled in Nova Scotia). By 1834, refugee slaves from America's South were also immigrating to Toronto to gain freedom.<ref name=black>{{cite web |url=http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=53c9757ae6b31410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=6c21226b48c21410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD 
 |title=Black history at the City of Toronto Archives |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202183847/http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=53c9757ae6b31410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=6c21226b48c21410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |publisher=City of Toronto |year=2009 |accessdate=March 13, 2009}}</ref> [[Slavery in Canada|Slavery]] was banned outright in Upper Canada (and throughout the British Empire) in 1834.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4/3-4/73 |title=Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (repealed November 19, 1998) |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=UK Government |access-date=September 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914081704/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4/3-4/73 |archive-date=September 14, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Torontonians integrated people of colour into their society. In the 1840s, an eating house at Frederick and King Streets, a place of mercantile prosperity in the early city, was operated by a black man named Bloxom.{{sfn|Robertson|1894|p=25}}

[[File:TorontoCanadaWest.jpg|thumb|left|Toronto in 1854. The city was a major destination for immigrants to Canada in the second half of the 19th century.]]

As a major destination for immigrants to Canada, the city grew rapidly through the remainder of the 19th century. The first significant wave of immigrants were Irish, fleeing the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Irish Famine]]; most of them were [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]. By 1851, the Irish-born population had become the largest single ethnic group in the city. The Scottish and English population welcomed smaller numbers of [[Protestantism|Protestant]] Irish immigrants, some from what is now Northern Ireland, which gave the [[Orange Order]] significant and long-lasting influence over Toronto society. Almost every mayor of Toronto was a member of the Orange Order between 1850 and 1950, and the city was sometimes referred to as the "[[Belfast]] of Canada" because of Orange influence in municipal politics and administration.<ref>{{cite web |title=Orange Order in Canada {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/orange-order |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |access-date=March 16, 2023 |archive-date=March 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316182908/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/orange-order |url-status=live }}</ref>

For brief periods, Toronto was twice the capital of the united [[Province of Canada]]: first from 1849 to 1851, following unrest in Montreal, and later from 1855 to 1859. After this date, Quebec was designated as the capital until 1865 (two years before Canadian Confederation). Since then, the capital of Canada has remained [[Ottawa]], Ontario.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statoids.com/uca.html |title=Canada Provinces |website=Statoids.com |access-date=April 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223215649/http://www.statoids.com/uca.html |archive-date=February 23, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:ParliamentBuildingsFrontStreet.jpg |thumb|The second Parliament of Upper Canada building on Front Street, 1856]]

Toronto became the capital of the province of Ontario after its official creation in 1867. The seat of government of the Ontario briefly returned to the same building that hosted the Third Parliament Building of Upper Canada, before moving to the [[Ontario Legislative Building]] at [[Queen's Park (Toronto)|Queen's Park]] in 1893. Because of its provincial capital status, the city was also the location of [[Government House (Ontario)|Government House]], the residence of the [[viceroy|viceregal]] representative of [[Monarchy of Canada|the Crown]] [[Monarchy in Ontario|in right of Ontario]].

Long before the [[Royal Military College of Canada]] was established in 1876, supporters of the concept proposed military colleges in Canada. Staffed by British Regulars, adult male students underwent a three-month-long military course at the School of Military Instruction in Toronto. Established by Militia General Order in 1864, the school enabled officers of militia or candidates for commission or promotion in the Militia to learn military duties, drill and discipline, to command a company at Battalion Drill, to drill a company at Company Drill, the internal economy of a company, and the duties of a company's officer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~theislands/photos6/ansonkeillmilcert.jpg|title=Province of Canada : Second Class Certificate|website=Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com|format=JPG|access-date=June 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407162844/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~theislands/photos6/ansonkeillmilcert.jpg|archive-date=April 7, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The school was retained at Confederation, in 1867. In 1868, Schools of [[cavalry]] and [[artillery]] instruction were formed in Toronto.<ref>{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Preston |title=Canada's RMC: A History of the Royal Military College of Canada |publisher=RMC Club by U of Toronto Press}}</ref>
[[File:Yorkville Town Hall, Yonge St., west side, opposite Collier St. (16526085614).jpg |thumb  |A group in front of a horse-drawn streetcar in front of [[Yorkville Town Hall]] 1870. A [[Gas lighting|gas streetlamp]] is visible in the right foreground.]]
In the 19th century, the city built an extensive sewage system to improve sanitation, and streets were illuminated with [[gas lighting]] as a regular service.{{citation needed |date=September 2023}} Long-distance railway lines were constructed, including a route completed in 1854 linking Toronto with the Upper Great Lakes. The [[Grand Trunk Railway]] and the [[Northern Railway of Canada]] joined in the building of the first [[Toronto Union Station (1858)|Union Station]] in downtown. The advent of the railway dramatically increased the numbers of immigrants arriving, commerce and industry, as had the Lake Ontario steamers and schooners entering port before. These enabled Toronto to become a major gateway linking the world to the interior of the North American continent. Expanding port and rail facilities brought in northern timber for export and imported Pennsylvania coal. Industry dominated the waterfront for the next 100 years.

During the late 19th century, Toronto became the largest alcohol distillation (in particular, [[Distilled beverage|spirits]]) centre in North America. By the 1860s, the [[Gooderham and Worts]] Distillery operations became the world's largest [[whisky]] factory.{{citation needed |date=September 2023}} A preserved section of this once dominant local industry remains in the [[Distillery District]]. The harbour allowed access to grain and sugar imports used in processing.
 
[[File:GooderhamAndWorts1800s.jpg|thumb|The [[Gooderham and Worts]] buildings, 1896]]

Horse-drawn [[Tram|streetcars]] gave way to electric streetcars in 1891 when the city granted the operation of the transit franchise to the [[Toronto Railway Company]]. The public transit system passed into public ownership in 1921 as the [[Toronto Transportation Commission]], later renamed the [[Toronto Transit Commission]]. The system now has [[List of North American rapid transit systems by ridership|the third-highest ridership of any city public transportation system in North America]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013153812/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1122072619227_40/?hub=CTVNewsAt11 |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1122072619227_40/?hub=CTVNewsAt11 |work=CTV News |title=Toronto transit chief says searches unlikely |date=July 24, 2005 |archive-date=October 13, 2007}}</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:Toronto Fire Ruins, Front Street April 19th, 1904 (HS85-10-14899).jpg|thumb|Ruins on Front Street after the [[Great Fire of Toronto (1904)|Great Toronto Fire of 1904]]]]
The [[Great Fire of Toronto (1904)|Great Toronto Fire of 1904]] destroyed a large section of [[downtown Toronto]]. The fire destroyed more than 100 buildings.<ref name="Morris1992">{{cite book|author=Oeter Morris|title=Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema, 1895–1939|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c08BBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|date=August 6, 1992|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-6072-7|pages=38–}}</ref> The fire claimed one victim, John Croft, who was an explosive expert clearing the ruins from the fire.<ref name="Filey1999">{{cite book|author=Mike Filey|title=Mount Pleasant Cemetery: An Illustrated Guide: Second Edition, Revised and Expanded|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ziOUu1Md-6gC&pg=PA74|date=June 1, 1999|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-1310-9|pages=74–}}</ref> It caused {{CAD|10,387,000}} in damage (roughly {{CAD|277,600,000}} in 2020 terms).<ref name="Evening Citizen 1948">{{cite news
 | author = <!-- Staff writer, no byline -->
 | title = Oil Fire Menaces Toronto
 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CP4uAAAAIBAJ&pg=3774%2C2168808
 | newspaper = [[Ottawa Citizen|The Evening Citizen]]
 | location = [[Ottawa]]
 | date = February 12, 1948
| page = 1
 | access-date = December 5, 2014
| archive-date = October 16, 2020
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201016121321/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CP4uAAAAIBAJ&pg=3774%2C2168808
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>

The city received new European immigrant groups from the late 19th century into the early 20th century, particularly Germans, French, Italians, and Jews. They were soon followed by Russians, Poles, and other Eastern European nations, in addition to the Chinese entering from the West. Like the Irish before them, many of these migrants lived in overcrowded shanty-type slums, such as "[[The Ward, Toronto|the Ward]]", which was centred on [[Bay Street]], now the heart of the country's [[Financial District, Toronto|Financial District]].

As new migrants began to prosper, they moved to better housing in other areas, in what is now understood to be succession waves of settlement. Despite its fast-paced growth, by the 1920s, Toronto's population and economic importance in Canada remained second to the much longer established [[Montreal]], Quebec. However, by 1934, the Toronto Stock Exchange had become the largest in the country.
[[File:Hurricane Hazel -- house2.jpg|thumb|left|Flooded houses near the [[Humber River (Ontario)|Humber River]] after [[Hurricane Hazel]] passed through Toronto, 1954]]
In 1954, the City of Toronto and 12 surrounding municipalities were federated into a [[regional municipality|regional government]] known as [[Metropolitan Toronto]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/repealedstatutes/english/elaws_rep_statutes_90m62_e.htm |title=Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Act |website=e-laws.gov.on.ca |publisher=[[Government of Ontario]] |year=2000 |access-date=December 29, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105121125/http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/repealedstatutes/english/elaws_rep_statutes_90m62_e.htm |archive-date=January 5, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The postwar boom had resulted in rapid suburban development. It was believed a coordinated land-use strategy and shared services would provide greater efficiency for the region. The metropolitan government began to manage services that crossed municipal boundaries, including highways, police services, water and [[Public transport|public transit]]. In that year, a half-century after the Great Fire of 1904, disaster struck the city again when [[Hurricane Hazel]] brought intense winds and flash flooding. In the Toronto area, 81 people were killed, nearly 1,900 families were left homeless, and the hurricane caused more than {{CAD|25&nbsp;million}} in damage.<ref name=hurricane>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sos/002028-3200-e.html |title=SOS! Canadian Disasters |publisher=Library and Archives Canada |year=2006 |access-date=December 19, 2008 |website=collectionscanada.gc.ca |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614215507/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sos/002028-3200-e.html |archive-date=June 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1967, the seven smallest municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto were merged with larger neighbours, resulting in a six-municipality configuration that included the [[Old Toronto|former city of Toronto]] and the surrounding municipalities of [[East York]], [[Etobicoke]], [[North York]], [[Scarborough, Ontario|Scarborough]], and [[York, Toronto|York]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mathwizurd.com/history/2015/5/8/why-is-toronto-called-the-6 |title=Why is Toronto Called the Six |first=David |last=Witten |year=2016 |access-date=June 2, 2017 |website=mathwizurd.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506170417/http://www.mathwizurd.com/history/2015/5/8/why-is-toronto-called-the-6 |archive-date=May 6, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the decades after World War II, refugees from war-torn Europe and Chinese job-seekers arrived, as well as construction labourers, particularly from Italy and Portugal. Toronto's population grew to more than one million in 1951 when large-scale suburbanization began and doubled to two million by 1971. Following the elimination of racially based immigration policies by the late 1960s, Toronto became a destination for immigrants from all over the world. By the 1980s, Toronto had surpassed Montreal as Canada's most populous city and chief economic hub. During this time, in part owing to the political uncertainty raised by the resurgence of the [[Quebec sovereignty movement]], many national and multinational corporations moved their head offices from Montreal to Toronto and [[Western Canada|Western Canadian]] cities.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3683/is_200201/ai_n9069631/pg_1 |title=Westward ho? The shifting geography of corporate power in Canada |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330145114/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3683/is_200201/ai_n9069631/pg_1 |archive-date=March 30, 2008 |journal=Journal of Canadian Studies |year=2002 |access-date=January 14, 2007}}</ref>
[[File:-First Canadian Place under construction-3.jpg|thumb|Construction of [[First Canadian Place]], the operational headquarters of the [[Bank of Montreal]], in 1975]]
On January 1, 1998, Toronto was greatly enlarged, not through traditional [[annexation]]s, but as an [[Merger (politics)|amalgamation]] of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and its six lower-tier constituent municipalities: East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York, and the original city itself. They were dissolved by an act of the [[Government of Ontario]] and formed into a single-tier City of Toronto (colloquially dubbed the "[[merger (politics)#Canada|megacity]]"), replacing all six governments.

The merger was proposed as a cost-saving measure by the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|Progressive Conservative]] provincial government under premier [[Mike Harris]]. The announcement touched off vociferous public objections. In March 1997, a [[referendum]] in all six municipalities produced a vote of more than 3:1 against amalgamation.<ref>Chidley, Joe; Hawelshka, Danilo. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/torontos-struggle-against-amalgamation/ Toronto's struggle against amalgamation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216004153/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/torontos-struggle-against-amalgamation |date=December 16, 2019 }}. [[Maclean's]], March 17, 1997.</ref> However, municipal governments in Canada are creatures of the provincial governments, and referendums have little to no legal effect. The Harris government could thus legally ignore the referendum results and did so in April when it tabled the ''[[City of Toronto Act]]''. Both [[parliamentary opposition|opposition parties]] [[filibuster#Provincial|held a filibuster]] in the provincial legislature, proposing more than 12,000 amendments that allowed residents on streets of the proposed megacity to take part in public hearings on the merger and adding historical designations to the streets.<ref>{{cite magazine|url = http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Infoparl/english/issue.asp?param=64&art=75|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130101022300/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Infoparl/english/issue.asp?param=64&art=75|url-status = dead|archive-date = January 1, 2013|title = Legislative Reports|magazine = Canadian Parliamentary Review}}</ref> This only delayed the bill's inevitable passage, given the Progressive Conservatives' majority.

North York mayor [[Mel Lastman]] became the first "megacity" mayor, and the 62nd mayor of Toronto, with his [[1997 Toronto municipal election|electoral victory]].<ref name="1997 results">{{cite web |url=http://www.toronto.ca/elections/results/results_1997.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021141358/http://www.toronto.ca/elections/results/results_1997.htm |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |title=1997 Toronto general election results |year=1997 |publisher=City of Toronto |access-date=July 12, 2013}}</ref> Lastman gained national attention after multiple snowstorms, including the January [[North American blizzard of 1999|Blizzard of 1999]], dumped {{convert|118|cm}} of snow and effectively immobilized the city.<ref name="Mel calls in the troops">{{cite news|last=Mansbridge|first=Peter|title=Toronto calls in troops to fight massive snowstorm|url=http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital+Archives/Environment/Extreme+Weather/ID/1721169786|access-date=March 8, 2014|newspaper=CBC News|date=January 13, 1999|author2=Adrienne Arsenault|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6Nufp50P5?url=http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital%20Archives/Environment/Extreme%20Weather/ID/1721169786/|archive-date=March 8, 2014|location=Toronto|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/feature/when-youre-a-soldier-you-do-what-youre-told-an-oral-history-of-the-time-toronto-called-in-the-army-to-deal-with-the-snow|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20190317160311/https://nationalpost.com/feature/when%2Dyoure%2Da%2Dsoldier%2Dyou%2Ddo%2Dwhat%2Dyoure%2Dtold%2Dan%2Doral%2Dhistory%2Dof%2Dthe%2Dtime%2Dtoronto%2Dcalled%2Din%2Dthe%2Darmy%2Dto%2Ddeal%2Dwith%2Dthe%2Dsnow|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 17, 2019|title=An oral history of the time Toronto called in the army to deal with the snow|publisher=nationalpost.com|date=January 10, 2019|access-date=January 18, 2020}}</ref> He called in the [[Canadian Army]] to aid snow removal by use of their equipment to augment police and emergency services. The move was ridiculed by some in other parts of the country, fuelled in part by what was perceived as a frivolous use of resources.<ref>Barnes, Alan (January 16, 1999). 'World class wimps' receive little sympathy, ''The Toronto Star'', p. A22.</ref><ref name="Megacity Mel Snowstorm critique">
{{cite news|title=Mel Lastman: Selling himself to a city|url=http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/features/mel/megacity_mel.html|access-date=March 8, 2014|newspaper=CBC News|year=2008|author=CBC News Staff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612130710/http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/features/mel/megacity_mel.html|archive-date=June 12, 2008|location=Toronto|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Jasonp blackout2003 toronto UnionStnInt.jpg|thumb|Crowds navigating [[Union Station (Toronto)|Union Station]] during the [[Northeast blackout of 2003]]]]
The city attracted international attention in 2003 when it became the centre of a major [[SARS]] (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak. Public health attempts to prevent the disease from spreading elsewhere temporarily dampened the local economy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/one-family-went-on-holiday-and-made-toronto-a-global-pariah-116428.html |title=One family went on holiday – and made Toronto a global pariah |last=Laurance |first=Jeremy |date=April 23, 2003 |website=The Independent |access-date=May 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522183931/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/one-family-went-on-holiday-and-made-toronto-a-global-pariah-116428.html |archive-date=May 22, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> From August 14 to 17, 2003, the city was hit by a [[Northeast blackout of 2003|massive blackout]] which affected millions of Torontonians (it also affected most of Southern Ontario and parts of the United States), stranding some hundreds of people in tall buildings, knocking out traffic lights and suspending subway and streetcar service across the city during those aforementioned days.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/779383/blackout-2003-ontario-in-the-dark/|title=Blackout 2003: Ontario in the dark|website=Global News|access-date=December 9, 2020|archive-date=April 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430161446/https://globalnews.ca/news/779383/blackout-2003-ontario-in-the-dark/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 6, 2009, the city celebrated the 175th anniversary of its inception as the City of Toronto in 1834. Toronto hosted the [[2010 G20 Toronto summit|4th G20 summit]] during June 26–27, 2010. This included the largest security operation in Canadian history. Following large-scale [[2010 G20 Toronto summit protests|protests]] and rioting, law enforcement arrested more than 1,000 people, the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/06/toronto-g20-summit-police-lawsuit-civil-rights-abuses | title=More than 1,000 people detained during G20 summit in Toronto can sue police | work=The Guardian | date=April 7, 2016 | publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited | access-date=July 15, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717231714/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/06/toronto-g20-summit-police-lawsuit-civil-rights-abuses | archive-date=July 17, 2016 | url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Tree falls on vehicle - Toronto Ice Storm 2013.jpg|thumb|left|Damage from a fallen tree after the [[December 2013 North American storm complex|December 2013 storm complex]] passed through Toronto]]
On July 8, 2013, severe flash flooding hit Toronto after an afternoon of slow-moving, intense thunderstorms. Toronto Hydro estimated 450,000 people were without power after the storm and Toronto Pearson International Airport reported {{convert|126|mm|0|abbr=on}} of rain had fallen over five hours, more than during Hurricane Hazel.<ref name=Thunderstorm_2013>{{cite news|title=Environment Canada answers the question: Where was Toronto's severe thunderstorm warning?|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/704499/environment-canada-answers-the-question-where-was-torontos-severe-thunderstorm-warning/|access-date=July 18, 2013|newspaper=Global Toronto|date=July 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130714072223/http://globalnews.ca/news/704499/environment-canada-answers-the-question-where-was-torontos-severe-thunderstorm-warning/|archive-date=July 14, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Within six months, from December 20 to 22, 2013, Toronto was brought to a near halt by the worst [[December 2013 North American storm complex|ice storm]] in the city's history, rivalling the severity of the [[January 1998 North American ice storm|1998 Ice Storm]] (which mainly affected southeastern Ontario, and Quebec). At the height of the storm, over 300,000 [[Toronto Hydro]] customers had no electricity or heating.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/12/29/ice_storm_7400_in_toronto_still_without_power.html |title=Ice storm: Toronto Hydro CEO promises power within hours to remaining customers {{pipe}} Toronto Star |work=Thestar.com |date=December 29, 2013 |access-date=February 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200251/http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/12/29/ice_storm_7400_in_toronto_still_without_power.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Toronto hosted [[WorldPride]] in June 2014,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/news/pridetoronto/2014/06/29/world_pride_12000_marchers_turn_downtown_streets_into_sea_of_colour.html | title=Showing off a world of Pride | work=Toronto Star | date=June 29, 2014 | publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. | access-date=July 15, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816162934/https://www.thestar.com/news/pridetoronto/2014/06/29/world_pride_12000_marchers_turn_downtown_streets_into_sea_of_colour.html | archive-date=August 16, 2016 | url-status=live | last1=Mathieu | first1=Emily }}</ref> and the [[Pan American Games|Pan]] and [[Parapan American Games]] in [[2015 Pan American Games|2015]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.toronto2015.org/ | title=Official Site | website=toronto2015.org | publisher=TORONTO 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games | access-date=July 15, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701222217/http://www.toronto2015.org/ | archive-date=July 1, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The city continues to grow and attract immigrants. A 2019 study by [[Toronto Metropolitan University]] (then known as Ryerson University) showed that Toronto was the fastest-growing city in North America. The city added 77,435 people between July 2017 and July 2018. The Toronto metropolitan area was the second-fastest-growing metropolitan area in North America, adding 125,298 persons, compared with 131,767 in the [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex|Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metroplex]] in Texas. The large growth in the Toronto metropolitan area is attributed to international migration to Toronto.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ryerson.ca/cur/Blog/blogentry35/ |title=WOW! Toronto Was the Second Fastest Growing Metropolitan Area and the Top Growing City in All of the United States and Canada |author=Frank Clayton and Hong Yun (Eva) Shi |date=May 31, 2019 |publisher=Centre for Urban Research and Land Development – Ryerson University |access-date=December 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112002805/https://www.ryerson.ca/cur/Blog/blogentry35/ |archive-date=November 12, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[COVID-19 pandemic in Canada]] first occurred in Toronto and was [[COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto|among the hotspots in the country]].<ref name="RC">{{Cite news|url=https://news.ontario.ca/mohltc/en/2020/01/ontario-confirms-first-case-of-wuhan-novel-coronavirus.html|title=Ontario Confirms First Case of Wuhan Novel Coronavirus|date=January 25, 2020|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129194142/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1496143/coronavirus-confirmation-2e-cas-toronto|archive-date=January 29, 2020|publisher=Government of Ontario|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/tracking-every-case-of-covid-19-in-canada-1.4852102|title=Tracking every case of COVID-19 in Canada|date=March 13, 2020|website=Coronavirus|language=en|access-date=March 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200315124205/https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/tracking-every-case-of-covid-19-in-canada-1.4852102|archive-date=March 15, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

Toronto was named as one of 16 cities in North America (and one of two Canadian cities) to host matches for the [[2026 FIFA World Cup]].<ref name="Toronto selected as host site for 2026 FIFA World Cup | CTV News">{{cite news |last=Fox |first=Chris |date=June 16, 2022 |title=Toronto selected as host site for 2026 FIFA World Cup |work=[[CTV News]] |location=Toronto, Ontario, Canada |url=https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-selected-as-host-site-for-2026-fifa-world-cup-1.5949487 |access-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-date=August 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808021457/https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-selected-as-host-site-for-2026-fifa-world-cup-1.5949487 |url-status=live }}</ref>