Toronto is Canada's largest city and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is often described as the world's most multicultural city, with more than half its population having immigrated from other countries. Its population is 2,481,494 (2003 Statistics Canada estimate); that of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is 5,600,000 (2003). Approximately one-third of the Canadian population lives within a five-hour drive of Toronto, and about one-sixth of all Canadian jobs lie within the city limits. The GTA extends beyond the city boundaries and includes the regional municipalities of Halton, Peel, York and Durham.

Up until the 1970s, Toronto was the second largest city in Canada, after Montreal. The economic growth of Toronto was greatly stimulated by the completion in 1959 of the St. Lawrence Seaway which allowed ships access to the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean. Further growth in the Toronto area is often attributed to the rise of the separatist movement in Quebec and the election of the Parti Québécois in 1976. The PQ enacted several French-language laws that were unfavourable towards businesses and English-speaking Montrealers, a number of which relocated to the more anglo-friendly Toronto.