Toronto

The largest city in Canada, Toronto is home to over 2.5 million people. It lies on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario in the densely populated "golden horseshoe" region of Ontario. Toronto is surrounded by many smaller cities and suburban communities which comprise the Greater Toronto Area, a region that supports over 5.5 million residents.

Home to the Toronto Stock Exchange, which is the seventh largest in the world and most of Canada's major corporate headquarters, Toronto is one of the world's top financial cities.

Despite being a financial centre, Toronto has withstood the current recession (2009) quite well. While jobs have been lost in manufacturing centres around the city, overall Toronto (and Canada, in general) is faring much better than many other urban areas in the world.

Also an important cultural center, Toronto has a diverse ethnic population. A popular city for immigrants, both historically and in modern times, almost 50% of residents are non-native Canadians.

Toronto is consistently ranked as one of the best cities in the world to live due to overall cleanliness, welcoming attitude toward diversity, low crime rates and relatively high standards of living.

Toronto is well known for its many cultural festivals, of note are Caribana, a Caribbean Carnival celebrating its 42nd anniversary this year and Toronto Pride, one of the world's largest LGBT Pride festivals.

During the summer there are festivals each weekend from Taste of Little Italy, the Toronto Jazz Fest, Vegetarian Food Fair, Taste of the Danforth, Masala, Masti Mehandi a celebration of Indian culture and Indian food.