Economy of Toronto

Toronto’s economy has changed over the past several decades, with financial and business services becoming the largest sector.

Included in this sector are banks, stock markets, insurance, advertising, marketing, accounting firms, and law firms.

Toronto ranks third on the continent, behind New York City and Chicago, Illinois, in the number of major corporations that have their head offices there.

Toronto is the leading printing and publishing center of English-speaking Canada and also has more software production companies than other parts of Canada.

One of the community colleges, Sheridan College in Oakville, has a well-known training program for animators.

In distribution services, Toronto is the chief Canadian center for telecommunications, broadcasting, and air transport.

Government and other public services, notably health and education, are major employers.

Manufacturing, once a mainstay of the diverse economy, receded somewhat in the 1990s.

Automobile parts and assembly at the same time became a stronger component of the manufacturing sector, and the Toronto region’s importance in this field is second only to that of Detroit.

Cars and trucks are Canada’s most valuable export, and the auto manufacturer General Motors is the largest industrial employer.

Another large employer is Northern Telecom, a major world producer of telecommunications equipment.

De Havilland Aircraft produces commuter aircraft, and the area also has a number of aircraft parts producers. Construction, once a strong element in the Toronto economy, declined in the 1990s.

Manufacturing and other fields have been helped by relatively cheap electrical energy provided by Ontario Power Generation.

Power for Toronto was originally generated in steam plants and later at Niagara Falls.

Natural gas and oil pipelines connect the region to the sources of these resources in western Canada.

Within the city, the Toronto Transit Commission operates subways, buses, and streetcars.

The streetcars are preserved on certain downtown routes as a link to the city’s past and are a distinctive feature of Toronto.

Municipalities outside Toronto operate their own bus services that link to the Toronto system.

The Government of Ontario (GO) system also deploys commuter trains and buses within the metropolitan area outside Toronto.

By air, Toronto is served by Lester B. Pearson International Airport, located to the west in Mississauga. It is the largest airport in Canada.

Some short-takeoff-and-landing commercial commuter aircraft operate from the island airport downtown.

Although passenger rail traffic is far less than in the early years of the 20th century, VIA Rail transports passengers to Montréal and Ottawa several times a day.

Daily trains run to New York City and Chicago and, on the Transcontinental line, to Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways serve Toronto with freight facilities, including intermodal yards where truck trailers are loaded on rail cars for transport.

The railways also haul automobiles from several plants in the area (at Oshawa, Oakville, Brampton, and Alliston) to Canadian and American markets.

Toronto’s harbor receives modest traffic through the St. Lawrence Seaway.