History UsefulNotes / Toronto

On the plus side the GTA also features an extensive transit network, anchored by the red-and-white [[UsefulNotes/TorontoSubway subways]], streetcars and buses of the Toronto Transit Commission (known semi-affectionately as the TTC) and the green-and-white provincial GO[[note]]Standing, conveniently, for "'''G'''overnment of '''O'''ntario"[[/note]] commuter rail and intercity buses. As of 2022, GO Rail is being upgraded with electrification and level boarding to turn it into a kind of [[http://en.wikipedia/wiki/S-Bahn S-Bahn]] with frequent, through-running service, effectively turning it into a second subway system.[[note]]Also, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that the famous song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCIUf8eYPqA Takin' Care of Business]]" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive was inspired by Randy Bachman (while still a member of Music/TheGuessWho) overhearing a recording technician talk about how he took an 8:15 train to get to the studio downtown each morning. Hence the world-famous "8:15 into the city" is a GO train to Toronto Union Station.[[/note]] If you're downtown, there's even an underground pedestrian tunnel network called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto) PATH]]. All told, though, it's a good thing that many families go up north to "cottage country" for vacations [[note]]Although that means more traffic on the way up...[[/note]].

Recently, Toronto caught the world's attention via its [[DrugsAreBad crack-smoking]], [[MayorPain buffoonish mayor]]: the one and thankfully only Rob Ford. Ford was thrust into power by the supporters that make up "Ford Nation", i.e. the inner suburbs of Etobicoke and Scarborough[[note]]as well as large swathes of the outer 905 suburbs that technically aren't part of Toronto and couldn't vote for him[[/note]], who see the Ford family--a wannabe dynasty headed by Rob and his big brother Doug--as their populist champions.

* ''Series/LawAndOrderTorontoCriminalIntent''

One can easily detect outsiders by their painstaking "Tow-Rawn-Tow". Natives of the city and surrounding area typically drop the last T, and sometimes the first O, so it's "Toronno", "Tronna", or "Tronno"[[note]]This trips up quite a few actors portraying Canadians, e.g. in ''Film/TheProposal'', where Creator/SandraBullock's character is supposed to be a native Torontonian but immediately spoils it by pronouncing the city name. ''Film/{{Argo}}'' actually mentions it as a {{shibboleth}} and the CIA informs the American diplomats trying to portray Canadians convincingly that even in hostile, 1979 Revolutionary Iran "they will find somebody who knows that"[[/note]]. Those not from the city originally, of which there are ''a lot'' due to the city being home to numerous immigrants, tend to "drop the middle T or O" after spending some time in anyway. Call it slang or perhaps the brain omitting certain syllables it feels aren't necessary to get the word across, those of all backgrounds will have officially made their city their home the moment they naturally call it out in its shortened forms.

One can easily detect outsiders by their painstaking "Tow-Rawn-Tow". Natives of the city and surrounding area typically drop the last T, and sometimes the first O, so it's "Toronno", "Tronna", or "Tronno"[[note]]This trips up quite a few actors portraying Canadians, e.g. in ''Film/TheProposal'', where Creator/SandraBullock's character is supposed to be a native Torontonian but immediately spoils it by pronouncing the city name[[/note]]. Those not from the city originally, of which there are ''a lot'' due to the city being home to numerous immigrants, tend to "drop the middle T or O" after spending some time in anyway. Call it slang or perhaps the brain omitting certain syllables it feels aren't necessary to get the word across, those of all backgrounds will have officially made their city their home the moment they naturally call it out in its shortened forms.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[SceneryPorn Downtown Toronto]] (with CN Tower and [[strike:Sky Dome]] [=SkyDome=].. er, ''[[InsistentTerminology Rogers Centre]]'')]]

... Unless you're the one spectacular exception, the Toronto Maple Leafs. A hockey team so loyally beloved that even though they haven't won UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup, or even made the Final, since 1967, they still always earn the most ''by far'' of any team in the NHL, and are one of two teams every young Canadian prospect dreams of starting for (the other being the hated rival Montreal Canadiens). The Leafs franchise is worth nearly double the next most valuable... every game is a sellout and the waiting list for season tickets is tens of thousands long. Many GTA residents are honestly terrified of what might happen if they ever actually start ''winning'' anything again[[note]] Given that the Raptors' winning the 2019 NBA Championship resulted in chaotic overnight street parties and 2 million people crowding the downtown core for a parade on a ''Monday'', there is now some solid evidence the city might actually burn down if the Leafs ever win the Eastern Conference again, let alone the Stanley Cup.[[/note]]. That said, even the most most faithful fans have their limits; on more than one occasion, late-season games with a score heavily tilted in favour of the visiting team have led to fans chanting for the ''Blue Jays'' as a form of protest.

The joke is that Toronto has only two seasons: winter and construction. Actually, tourists would be well-advised to note that we also have a summer, that often slides into a long lingering autumn. The GTA is much further south than many American states, meaning the climate can best be compared to Chicago, not the North Pole.[[labelnote:*]]Toronto is at almost exactly the same latitude as Boise, Idaho. UsefulNotes/{{Portland}}, UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, and [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis–Saint Paul]] are all north of Toronto.[[/labelnote]] If you are coming up between May and August dressed for the igloos, you will '' not'' be a happy camper.

This... did not turn out quite the way they planned. After a series of brutally tacky scenes and quotes, meanwhile emphatically denying having ever used drugs (despite the Toronto Star newspaper discovering video proof of him sharing a crack pipe with local hoods) Ford [[ByNoIMeanYes admitted to doing so]] during one of his, actual quote, "[[AlcoholInducedIdiocy drunken stupors]]". [[ImplausibleDeniability He then continued to deny that he was an alcoholic, or a drug addict.]] Although he rapidly became an international embarrassment, [[OffOnATechnicality provincial laws prevented city council from removing him from office unless sent to jail for at least 90 days]] [[note]]Obviously, the drafters of that law anticipated that any elected official doing half of Ford's idiocies would have had the social grace to resign in shame, but Ford had practically built his power base on brazen, bullying shamelessness.[[/note]]

* The Canadian National (CN) Tower[[note]]Named after the railway company that paid for it[[/note]] - At 553 metres (or a little over 1800 feet), the tallest free-standing structure in the world for over thirty years. It lost that title to UsefulNotes/{{Dubai}}'s Burj Khalifa in 2007, and was for a time the tallest free-standing ''tower'' in the world, until the completion of the Canton Tower in 2010. Still considered the symbol of the city, and unquestionably one of the most distinctive pieces of architecture in the world.

* The Danforth - formally Danforth Avenue, beginning at the eastern end of the Viaduct, hub of the city's east side and home to many kilometres of vibrant, eclectic and sometimes downright eccentric shopping, dining and community services. Greektown is located on its far western end.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainFlamingo'': Halverston's name is a pun on Palmerston which is a neighbourhood in Toronto.

** Used as a broadcast tower for the Toronto affiliates of all major Canadian networks (including Creator/{{CBC}}, Creator/{{CTV}}, {{Creator/Global}}, and [[Creator/{{Citytv}} City]]) and the main station in the provincial public television service [=TVOntario=]. You have its regionally-unrivaled height to thank if your antenna in UsefulNotes/{{Rochester}}, [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState Buffalo]], or UsefulNotes/{{Boston}} picks up these channels.

* ''Series/LostGirl''. Not explicitly stated, but all the visual details point to it being set in Toronto.

However... Doug Ford was elected head of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in 2018 and became Premier of Ontario later that same year.[[note]]A position John Tory unsuccessfully tried to run for before becoming mayor.[[/note]] Once in power Doug promptly unveiled a plan to cut Toronto City Council in half (in the middle of local elections) in the name of "efficiency"... and succeeded. Getting his "revenge" on Toronto proved quite popular among those with no love for the city, and kept his approval rating high despite other questionable measures. [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic And then came Covid]], which briefly distracted him from his quest in order to introduce and manage safety measures for the entire province. With the pandemic more or less ebbing, however, his quest continued, taking the form of building a large spa resort on parkland at Ontario Place, followed by moving the Ontario Science Centre from its east end home to a much-reduced facility next door to said spa.

* Honest Ed's Discount Emporium - Closed as of January 2017, for decades one ofthe most famous stores in the city... kind of hard to miss by any measure, really. Founded by the late Ed Mirvish, it covered a city block and was marked by enormous, '' wildly'' garish flashing signs, flanked by many smaller ones sporting awful puns on how cheap Ed was. After Ed's death the family ended the store's 68-year run by selling to a condo developer, but the fond memories are still seared into the city's eyeballs.

* Honest Ed's Discount Emporium - Closed as of January 2017, for decades the most famous store in the city... kind of hard to miss by any measure, really. Founded by the late Ed Mirvish, it covered a city block and was marked by enormous, '' wildly'' garish flashing signs, flanked by many smaller ones sporting awful puns on how cheap Ed was. After Ed's death the family ended the store's 68-year run by selling to a condo developer, but the fond memories are still seared into the city's eyeballs.

** He was also a theatre impresario, and is credited with revitalizing Toronto's theatre scene, starting in the '60s when he bought and restored the Royal Alexandria Theatre and opened restaurants in the area to create a bona-fide Theatre District. He then built the Princess of Wales Theatre (named in tribute to Diana) in 1993. Ed and his son David operated Mirvish Productions, which put on shows like ''Theatre/MammaMia'' and ''Theatre/TheLionKing''.