Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of 2,, in , [ 10 ] it is the fourth-most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe , an urban agglomeration of 9,, people as of surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario , [ 11 ] while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a population of 6,, Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest , for more than 10, years.
It was designated as the capital of the province of Ontario in during Canadian Confederation. The diverse population of Toronto reflects its current and historical role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. The Toronto City Council is a unicameral legislative body, comprising 25 councillors since the municipal election , representing geographical wards throughout the city. Toronto is a prominent centre for music, [ 26 ] theatre, [ 27 ] motion picture production, [ 28 ] and television production, [ 29 ] and is home to the headquarters of Canada's major national broadcast networks and media outlets.
The city is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange , the headquarters of Canada's five largest banks , [ 37 ] and the headquarters of many large Canadian and multinational corporations. This narrows was called tkaronto by the Mohawk , meaning 'where there are trees standing in the water', [ 44 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ] and was recorded as early as by Samuel de Champlain.
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. In the s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon Bead Hill on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagon on the banks of the Humber River.
By , 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. The Crown granted them land to compensate for their losses in the Thirteen Colonies.
