Toronto
Toronto Capital of Ontario province and Canada's largest city, on the n shore of Lake Ontario. An inland port at the mouth of the River Don, it is Canada's main banking, financial and manufacturing centre. The site was first visited (1615) by the French explorer Étienne Brulé. In 1787, the British purchased the site from Native Americans, and the settlement of York was founded in 1793. US troops twice captured the city during the War of 1812. In 1834, it was renamed Toronto (Huron, ‘meeting place’), and it became the capital of Ontario province in 1867. Its development as a major distribution centre was spurred by the opening (1959) of the St Lawrence Seaway. Toronto produces more than half of all Canada's manufacturing products. Industries: electrical equipment, brewing, printing and publishing, iron and steel, meat packing, aircraft and motor vehicle manufacture. Pop. (2001) 2,481,494 (metropolitan 4,682,897).
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