Toronto was laid out as the town of York in August 1793, incorporated as the City of Toronto on March 6, 1834, and merged with its neighboring municipalities on January 1, 1998. In 2026 the city had an estimated 3,358,275 residents. This page answers 30 questions that readers commonly ask about Toronto’s history and the city, each in two or three sentences.
The questions are grouped under six headings. Every answer ends with a link to the article that gives the full account with its sources, and points that sources dispute are marked in the answer or in the article.
Origins and names
What does the name Toronto mean?
The best-supported origin is the Mohawk word tkaronto, which Natural Resources Canada translates as “where there are trees standing in the water.” The word first described fish weirs at The Narrows, between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, far north of the present city. The “meeting place” version and the other proposed meanings are weighed in a comparison of the proposed meanings of the name.
What was Toronto called before it was Toronto?
A French post named Fort Rouillé, also called Fort Toronto, stood on the lakeshore from 1750 and 1751 until its garrison destroyed it in July 1759, according to the Ontario Heritage Trust plaque (other sources differ by a year on the start). The settlement was laid out as the town of York in August 1793 and became the City of Toronto on March 6, 1834. The names appear in order in the timeline of Fort Rouillé, York, and Toronto.
Why is Toronto called the Six?
“The 6ix” is an informal name that spread worldwide in the 2010s through the rapper Drake, who popularized it but, according to the Dictionary of Canadian Hip Hop Slang, did not coin it. Two explanations are offered: the digit six in the area codes 416 and 647, and the six municipalities that made up Metropolitan Toronto from 1967 to 1998. The article on the origins of the nickname also covers the trademark dispute.
Why does Toronto’s airport use the code YYZ?
The letters do not abbreviate Pearson. The code traces to YZ, the telegraph station code of Malton, the community where the airport was built, with a Y added in front, and the island airport’s YTZ follows the same pattern from Toronto’s own code, TZ. The airport took the name of Lester B. Pearson on January 2, 1984, and the history of the Malton airport explains why the code never changed.
Who was Yonge Street named after?
Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe named it for Sir George Yonge, the British secretary of war and a family friend, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. The Queen’s Rangers and the surveyor Augustus Jones cleared the road from Holland Landing south toward York. Spadina, Bloor, Queen, and other names are explained in the guide to the origins of Toronto street names.
Early history and people
How long have Indigenous peoples lived in the Toronto area?
The Ontario Heritage Trust states that people have lived on the north shore of Lake Ontario for more than 13,000 years, and it names the Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabek, and Métis as the traditional peoples of the area. A plaque for the Toronto Carrying Place states that the Mississaugas had taken control of the area by 1700. Treaties, villages, and settlements are covered in the account of Indigenous history, treaties, and land.
What was the Toronto Purchase?
It was the Crown’s acquisition of the land under the present city from the Mississaugas of the Credit. The deed produced from the 1787 council was blank, so the boundaries were set in an indenture of August 1, 1805, registered as Treaty 13, for which the Crown paid ten shillings. In 2010 Canada settled the First Nation’s claim, together with a second claim, for CAD 145 million, a financial settlement that returned no land; the two sides’ accounts of the 1787 council are set out in the article on the Toronto Purchase and Treaty 13.
Who founded the town of York?
John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada, laid out the town of York in August 1793 on the site earlier called Toronto. He intended it as a temporary capital, and the name Toronto returned in 1834. His career is told in the biography of John Graves Simcoe.
What happened at the Battle of York in 1813?
American forces attacked York on April 27, 1813, won the battle, occupied the town, and burned public buildings. As the British withdrew, the powder magazine at the fort exploded, killing and wounding many American soldiers and killing Brigadier-General Zebulon Pike. Troop numbers and the cause of the blast vary by source, as the article on Fort York and the battle shows.
What was the Rebellion of 1837 in Toronto?
It was a short uprising led by William Lyon Mackenzie against the colonial government of Upper Canada. Rebels gathered at Montgomery’s Tavern on Yonge Street, and government forces defeated them there on December 7, 1837. Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews were hanged at the Toronto jail on April 12, 1838, and the day-by-day account of the rising follows the days in order.
Landmarks and events
Who built Casa Loma?
Sir Henry Pellatt built the castle to a design by the architect E. J. Lennox and moved into the unfinished house in late 1913. He lost it to the City of Toronto in the 1930s over unpaid taxes, and the Canadian Encyclopedia calls it the largest house ever built in Canada, with 98 rooms. The full story is in the article on Pellatt’s castle.
When was the CN Tower built, and why?
Canadian National Railway built it to carry radio and television signals above the tall buildings rising in 1960s Toronto. Work began on February 6, 1973, and the tower opened to the public on June 26, 1976, at 553.33 meters (1,815 feet). The history of the CN Tower explains when it lost the title of the world’s tallest free-standing structure.
What was the Great Fire of 1904?
The fire began at 8:04 p.m. on April 19, 1904, in a factory on Wellington Street West and burned until about 4:30 the next morning, destroying roughly 100 buildings in the wholesale district. Its cause was never determined, and City Council afterward passed a by-law requiring fire-resistant construction. Losses, casualties, and sources are covered in the account of the 1904 fire.
When was the University of Toronto founded?
King’s College received its royal charter on March 15, 1827, began teaching in 1843, and became the nondenominational University of Toronto on January 1, 1850. Toronto Metropolitan University is a separate institution, founded in 1948 as the Ryerson Institute of Technology. The history of the university from King’s College to federation traces the colleges and the federation.
Why is the Ontario government called Queen’s Park?
The park in downtown Toronto was named for Queen Victoria when Edward, Prince of Wales, dedicated it on September 11, 1860. The Ontario Legislative Building there officially opened on April 4, 1893, according to the Legislative Assembly, so the park’s name became shorthand for the provincial government. The article on Queen’s Park and the legislative building gives the building’s design and history.
City and population
Which province is Toronto in, and is it the capital of Canada?
Toronto is in the province of Ontario, on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario, and it is the capital of Ontario. The capital of Canada is Ottawa, which Queen Victoria chose in 1857, according to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Boundaries and the time zone are covered in the guide to where Toronto is.
How many people live in Toronto?
The City of Toronto had an estimated 3,358,275 residents in 2026. The 2021 census had counted 2,794,356, 2.3 percent more than the 2,731,571 counted in 2016. In the same census, 46.6 percent of residents were immigrants and 42.5 percent reported a mother tongue other than English or French. The breakdown is in the article on the census, population, and languages.
Is the city of Toronto the same as the Toronto metropolitan area?
No. The 2021 census counted 6,202,225 people in the Toronto census metropolitan area, a much larger territory than the city itself, which had an estimated 3,358,275 residents in 2026. For the city’s land area, Statistics Canada gives 631.1 km2 while the City of Toronto gives 641 km2, a small difference between the two sources. Each figure appears with its year and source in the key-figures page.
How high above sea level is Toronto?
The ground rises from roughly 75 meters (246 feet) above sea level at Lake Ontario to about 200 meters (656 feet) or more in the north of the city. The slope is cut by river valleys, the shoreline of an old glacial lake, and the Scarborough Bluffs, and no official source confirms the exact highest point. See the article on Toronto’s elevation and topography.
How much snow does Toronto get?
At Toronto Pearson, the 1981 to 2010 normal is 108.5 cm (42.7 in) of snow a year. The downtown station recorded 113.2 cm from January 2 to January 15, 1999, though news reports commonly give about 118 cm. Temperature and storm records are collected in the page of weather and climate records.
When did Toronto amalgamate with its neighbors?
Metropolitan Toronto and its six municipalities merged into the single City of Toronto on January 1, 1998. The name City of Toronto itself dates from the incorporation of March 6, 1834. The overall sequence is laid out in an overview of Toronto’s history from early villages to 1998.
Getting around and everyday facts
How many airports does Toronto have?
Two airports with scheduled passenger service serve Toronto: Pearson, which lies in Mississauga, and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the Toronto Islands. Only Billy Bishop is inside the city limits, and Buttonville Municipal Airport in Markham closed on November 30, 2023. The guide to Toronto’s airports explains the count.
When did the Toronto subway open?
The first subway line opened on March 30, 1954, and ran 7.4 kilometers (4.6 miles) from Union Station to Eglinton Station, the first subway in Canada. Horse-drawn streetcars had begun on September 11, 1861, and electric streetcars followed on August 15, 1892. The longer story is in the history of public transit from streetcars to the subway.
Is there a direct train or road from Toronto to New York or Washington?
No route links Toronto to Washington, Boston, or New York without crossing the Canada-United States border. Travelers choose among a train to New York City run jointly by Amtrak and VIA Rail, a drive through one of the Niagara crossings, or a flight from Pearson, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspects passengers before departure. Border steps for each mode are described in the guide to rail, road, and air routes to US cities.
What is Toronto’s postal code, and does Canada have zip codes?
Toronto has no single postal code. Codes beginning with M cover the city, since Canada Post assigns M to Metropolitan Toronto, and each code refers to a delivery area or building. “Zip code” is a United States term, and the Canadian equivalent is the postal code, as the article on how postal codes work explains.
What are Toronto’s area codes?
Toronto has four area codes, all covering the whole city: 416 from 1947, 647 from March 2001, 437 from March 25, 2013, and 942 from April 26, 2025. A number’s area code therefore reflects when it was issued, not which part of the city its owner lives in. The history of each code is told in the article on the 416, 647, 437, and 942 area codes.
Can alcohol be consumed on Toronto Island?
Not in the open. Chapter 608 of the Toronto Municipal Code prohibits an open container of liquor in a park unless the area is designated, a permit is held, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has approved it. The Toronto Islands are not among the parks where adults aged 19 and older may drink without a permit, and open alcohol is also on the City’s list of items banned from its ferries, as the article on Toronto Islands park and ferry rules details.
Research and records
Where can old Toronto newspapers be searched?
The Toronto Public Library offers digitized newspaper archives: the Toronto Star archive begins in 1894 and the Globe and Mail archive in 1844. Both are open to holders of a library card. Other research institutions and their records are listed in the guide to newspapers and archives for researching Toronto’s past.
Where can records of an ancestor in Toronto be found?
The site’s research checklist asks for the type of event, such as a birth, marriage, death, census entry, land holding, arrival, or military service, and an optional year. It then lists the repositories whose coverage includes that year, each with a link. The tool itself is the genealogy research checklist.
What is Toronto’s Heritage Register?
It is the City’s public list of properties believed to have cultural heritage value, kept under section 27 of the Ontario Heritage Act. Designated properties are protected by a by-law registered on title, while listed properties are only flagged, and owners must give City Council at least 60 days’ notice before demolishing one. The article on the register and heritage designation explains the difference and the search tools.
Sources
The answers summarize the site’s own articles, which draw on the following sources: Statistics Canada, the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, The Canadian Encyclopedia, the City of Toronto and the City of Toronto Archives, the Ontario Heritage Trust, Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Toronto Public Library, and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Full lists are on the sources and bibliography page.
Last verified: October 2026
Related reading
- Toronto facts: location, population, geography and weather
- getting around Toronto: airports, transit and routes
- living in Toronto: city services, universities and the economy
- research tools for Toronto history and genealogy
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Toronto History Questions and Answers. http://localhost:8210/toronto-history-faq
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