Toronto

Located on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto, is Canada’s largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people.

Known as one of the world’s most multi-cultural cities, Toronto’s motto is “Diversity Our Strength”. Toronto prides itself on its wide range of cultures, languages, food and arts.

While Toronto may be big, it has also earned the nickname “City of Neighbourhoods”. Many of the various social and ethnic groups in Toronto have claimed specific neighbourhoods for themselves; each with a very distinct feel and atmosphere. In fact, Toronto boasts 140 diverse neighbourhoods, from West Humber – Clairville in the west to Rouge in the eastern part of the city

Whether you are looking to make Toronto your new home or looking to move to a new location within the city, there are a wide range of rental options that will meet your lifestyle needs.

Public Transit

Public transit is a great way to get around Toronto. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) operates the network of subways, streetcars and buses that run throughout the city of Toronto. When using the TTC, a single fare will take you anywhere in the city on a one way trip. You can freely transfer between subways, streetcars and buses, but make sure you obtain a transfer when and where you pay your fare. On buses and streetcars, exact change is required.

TTC’s bus fleet is wheelchair and scooter friendly, as are all bus routes. There are two types of accessible buses. The most common type has a low floor and a ramp. The second type is equipped with a lift. Buses also have audible and visual stop announcements. While all of the subway train fleet is accessible, only about half of all Subway/RT stations are wheelchair and scooter friendly.

Wheel-Trans provides door-to-door accessible transit service for persons with physical disabilities using accessible buses, contracted accessible and sedan taxis. Individuals must register and quality in order to use this service.

With almost 160 streetcar, bus and subway routes and lines that criss-cross the city, the best way to find out the best TTC rote to take to a destination is through TTC’s online “Trip Planner”.

Want to travel beyond the City of Toronto to the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area? Mississauga, Brampton, York Region, Durham Region, Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Hamilton each have their own transit systems. You can use “ Triplinx” to help plan your route. However remember, there are no free transfer privileges between the TTC and these other transit systems. To use both the TTC and another system, two fares must usually be paid.

Trains & Busses

GO Transit provides commuter rail and bus service that connects cities and towns across the Greater Toronto area. It reaches as far north as Barrie, west to Hamilton, and to just east of Oshawa. It also runs summer weekend service to Niagara Falls. Find your closest station and the route to your chosen destination by using the “ GoTransit Trip Planner”

Union Station, which is located at 65 Front Street, downtown between Bay and York Streets is the hub for Go Transit commuter train services in and out of Toronto. Most of Go Transit buses originate from Union Station Bus Terminal across Bay Street from the railway station. There is an overhead walkway from the GO Train concourse to the bus terminal.

In addition to commuter train, a host of passenger train options are available. Most intercity rail travel in Canada is provided by VIA Rail. VIARail service runs from Windsor and Sarnia in the southwest to Quebec City in the northeast. Regular trains run from Toronto directly to Montreal, Ottawa, London, Kingston, Windsor, and Sarnia as well as stations in between. Cross Canada, as well as service to several cities in the United States is also available.

Looking to travel outside of Toronto by coach bus services? The main bus terminal, located downtown at Bay Street immediately north of Dundas, is used for intercity coach travel and is served by Greyhound, Coach Canada, New York Trailways, and Ontario Northland.

Roads

There are a number of municipal expressways and provincial highways that serve Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. Major highways leading into Toronto are the QEW, the 404, the 401, the 400, and the 427.

Highway 401 bisects the city from west to east, bypassing the downtown core. The QEW runs along the shore of Lake Ontario and connects Toronto to communities throughout the Golden Horseshoe area all the way to the US Boarder at Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Highway 400 connects Toronto to communities north of Toronto. The main municipal expressways in Toronto include the Gardiner Expressway, the Don Valley Parkway, and to some extent, Allen Road.

Air

Travelling to and from Toronto by plane? Toronto is serviced by two airports: Toronto Pearson International Airport and Billy Bishop Toronto City Center Airport.

Pearson International Airport, which is located on the border between Mississauga and Toronto, is Canada’s largest and busiest airport. It provides access to most major national and international carriers and cities around the world. Billy Bishop City Centre Airport, commonly known as “The Island Airport”, is home to Porter Airlines which provides short haul flights to many cities in eastern Canada and the northeast United States. Air Canada provides service to Montreal from the “Island Airport”.

Health Care in Toronto

Toronto has the most sophisticated and comprehensive array of hospital services in Canada. Toronto has over 20 hospitals to meet both general and specialized health care needs. Toronto’s hospitals include:

Bridgepoint Health, 14 St. Matthews Road

Humber River Regional Hospital
• Church Street Site, 200 Church Street
• Finch Street Site, 2111 Finch Avenue West
• Keele Street Site, 2175 Keele Street

The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue

North York General Hospital
• General site, 4001 Leslie Street
• Branson Ambulatory and Urgent Care Centre, 555 Finch Avenue West
• Seniors’ Health Centre, 2 Buchan Court

Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue

Centenary Hospital, 2867 Ellesmere Road

The Scarborough Hospital
• General campus 3050 Lawrence Avenue East
• Birchmount campus, 3030 Birchmount Road

St. Joseph’s Health Centre, 30 The Queensway

St. John’s Rehabilitation Hospital, 285 Cummer Avenue

St. Michael’s Hospital, 30 Bond Street

Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue

Toronto East General Hospital, 825 Coxwell Avenue,

Trillium Health Centre – West Toronto, 150 Sherway Drive

University Health Network
• Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street
• Princess Margaret Hospital, 610 University Ave.
•Toronto Western Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street

West Park Hospital, 82 Buttonwood Avenue

Women’s College Health Science Centre, 76 Grenville Street

There are also many walk-in clinics, family doctors and other specialized medical services available throughout Toronto. thehealthline.ca lists places where people can go to receive health care, such as urgent care centres, skilled nursing facility, or mental health care facility. You can search for health care resources by community within Toronto.

In addition, the government of Ontario also provides a search site where individuals can look for health care resources. Just type in your location and the type of service you are looking for.

Don’t have a family doctor? You can register with the Health Care Connect program who works with local physicians and other providers to help link people in need of a primary care provider.

Education in Toronto

Toronto is a progressive, education-focused city with plenty of school options from public to catholic to private. Public education for students from kindergarten through high school is available through The Toronto District School Board, and the Toronto Catholic District School Board, as well as through the French language public school boards Conseil scolaire Viamonde and the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud There are also a host of private and/or independent elementary, high school and university-preparatory schools

No matter if you want to go to school full-time, part-time or just take a course or two, or if you want to upgrade your professional skills or start a new career, you’ve got lots of choices. Toronto’s has four universities and four colleges, as well as 140 private vocational colleges for diploma courses to meet diverse interests and learning needs.Toronto is home to:

Centennial College, which primarily serves the east end of Toronto and is Ontario’s first community college. It has five campuses in Toronto which are home to eight schools including the School of Transportation, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culture, School of Health Studies, Advanced Manufacturing and Automation Engineering Technology programs, Child Studies and Community Service programs.

George Brown College, which operates out of three main campuses located in the heart of Toronto. It offers a mix of degree, diploma, certificate and apprenticeship training programs including Arts and Design, Business,Hospitality and Culinary Arts, and Nursing and Health Sciences to name but a few.

Humber College, which offers a broad range of career-focused credentials include: bachelor degrees, diplomas, certificates, and postgraduate certificates, as well as apprenticeship training. In total Humber offers 160 full-time programs and 200 continuing educations programs to choose from.

OCAD University, which is the largest and most comprehensive art, design and media university in Canada. Beyond offering 17 undergraduate and six graduate programs, The Office of Continuing Studies offers a wide range of courses to help increase creative potential, build careers or explore new areas of art and design.

Ryerson University, a rapidly growing university located in downtown Toronto which is known as a leader in film, media and digital media studies. Ryerson offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada’s leading provider of university-based adult education.

Seneca College, which provides students with numerous industry partnerships and opportunities for hands-on learning. Its finance, international business and marketing, 3D animation and electronics engineering programs have received national and international acclaim.

University of Toronto, which is one of the world’s leading research institutions, and Canada’s largest university. Through its three campuses, to of which are in Toronto, the University of Toronto offers about 700 undergraduate programs in Humanities & Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Commerce & Management, Computer Science, Engineering, Kinesiology & Physical Education, Music and Architecture. The University of Toronto also offers 222 Master’s and Doctoral level graduate programs in a wide variety of fields, along with a host of professional graduate programs.

York University, which is the third largest university in the country and one of the top interdisciplinary research and teaching institutions in Canada. Operating out of two campuses in Toronto, York University is home to Canada’s largest liberal arts program, Osgoode Hall Law School one of Canada’s largest and most distinguished law schools, The Schulich School of Business, the only space engineering program in the country and the GTA’s only digital media program that integrates science, technology, communications and the visual performing and media arts. In fact York University offers 5,000 courses, 200+ undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

THINGS TO DO IN THE CITY

No matter what your age, style, preferences or budget, Toronto has a full slate of cultural attractions, green space galore, sporting events, shopping, food, festivals and more.

Toronto is home to more than 80 film festivals including the renowned Toronto International Film Festival , 200 professional performing arts organizations, internationally recognized symphony, ballet and opera companies, countless commercial and not-for-profit galleries and museums including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum, and the list goes on.

Enjoy walking, hiking, biking and connecting with nature? Toronto is filled with greenways, multi-use and natural environment tails, ravines and parks. And then of course there is the lake. You can stroll along the lakeshore at Harbourfront or take a quick ferry ride to the Toronto Islands where you can explore the parks and beaches.

Whether you are interested in watching or learning about sports, or becoming an active participant, Toronto has something for you. Toronto is home to the Hockey Hall of Fame and is represented by seven major league sports including hockey (Toronto Maple Leafs), basketball (the Toronto Raptors), baseball (the Toronto Blue Jays) and football (Toronto Argonauts). It also has a number of golf courses and wide array of recreation and sporting centres throughout the city for swimming, fitness, skating, skiing, arts and crafts or dance.

For the shopping and food enthusiast there’s much to see and do. Visit the stores that dot many local neighbourhoods, explore one of the many large malls or go window shopping through the upscale boutiques in Yorkville, along Queen Street West and more. Relax and have a bite to eat in one of the many cafes, bistros or eateries that can be found throughout neighbourhoods across Toronto. For fresh foods try the St. Lawrence or Kensington Markets or the Brick Works.

Winter or summer there is always engaging, fun-filled events to fill your days and nights. Check out the latest list of events and festival happening around Toronto.

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