…according to figures from the City of Toronto Economic Development Committee, as reported in Urban Toronto. Toronto is now the fourth-largest city in North America, behind Mexico City, Los Angeles, and New York City.
I believe that Chicago still has a much larger metropolitan-area population, and (among other things) a correspondingly-better-developed train system. But in many ways the cities are quite comparable.
Both very comparable great lake cities. No cite, but I’m very confident that Toronto is a much more racially diversified city. I’m actually sure I read somewhere that white anglo Canadians are the minority now. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I embrace the diversification in Toronto. It’s a great city … to visit.
Last one in Chicago, turn out the lights.
I think your confidence is greatly misplaced.
Toronto:
Chicago:
Well, technically I stand corrected, but I think if you look at the numbers you’ll see that Chicago is predominantly white and black Americans, whereas Toronto is more cosmopolitan.
Not trying to start a debate here!
Totally off topic, for which I apologize, but… what are some good things to do with kids in Toronto? Might be visiting next month, and need to sell the idea to a nine-year-old.
Ugh. April is an intermediate month. Canada’s Wonderland isn’t open yet and it sometimes can be quite cool.
On the other hand it sometimes can be quite pleasant. The Toronto Zoo is actually pretty good. I really liked the planetarium and the Ontario Science Centre is pretty good. You have to go up the CN tower; it is very impressive!
I’m not your best tour guide of Toronto though,
Contact Sunspace, RickJay, or Le Ministre de l’au-delà for more informed details and opinions.
It’s just the massing point for when Canadians will invade America.
A nine-year-old? Definitely the dinosaurs at the Royal Ontario Museum.
I’ll second the Science Centre. Heck, I could play all day in there as a child, and without realizing it, I learned a lot.
The Zoo is fun. April is iffy, weather-wise, but there are plenty of heated pavilions in which to see the warm-weather animals; and even some animals that you’d expect to hate cold weather, seem to enjoy it outdoors in the chill.
And subway rides! When I was a kid, we always had to ride in the first car of the subway, so we could look out the front window like the operator did. That’s a treat that doesn’t seem to exist on many other subways. I understand Toronto is getting newer subway cars where passengers cannot look out the front window, but there are still enough of the older cars in service that you have a good chance of giving your child a front-row seat, as it were. Also, your child might be interested in riding the streetcars–I still remember my first streetcar ride, and being fascinated by this vehicle that went down the road like a bus, but ran on tracks.
I do miss T.O. from time to time…
Kids like Medieval Times and it’s kind of fun for an adult, too.
You’ve already got the top choices suggested, I’ll just second all of them and add if you’re staying for a couple of days to see a show one night. Stomp starts April 16th, Disney on Ice is probably too young? and Scooby Do starts March 15th. Tickets
When my kids were that age we went to see the Lion King and they talked about it for years. Something about live theatre and kids that’s just awesome.
Toronto is basically white 52%, Asian 32%, black 8%, “other” 8%.
Chicago is white 45%, black 32%, Asian 6%, “other” 17%.
Essentially Toronto is about as white/Asian as Chicago is white/black. I’m not sure I follow how this makes Toronto more cosmopolitan, unless Asian people are just inherently more cosmopolitan than black people or something. Have you ever been to Chicago? It’s pretty diverse.
I have been to Chicago a couple of times. The two cities are quite similar.
I wasn’t trying to start any kind of debate.
You missed the part where a third of those white people are actually Hispanic.
The reason Toronto is usually classified as “cosmopolitan” is not concerned with its racial balance, but with the fact that a high proportion of its population was born outside of Canada.
I do not know the comparative figures for Chicago, but I would not be surprised if more of its population - White or Black - was composed of native-born Americans.
Hence “cosmopolitan” not in the sense of “racially/ethnically diverse” or “less White”, but of “people born outside the country” - which makes more sense, as the word literally means “composed of people from all over the world”.
No real comparison in the MSA’s though. Chicago is still a lot bigger. Also a lot of Hispanics, according to last week’s Economist consider themselves to be white.
Toronto is a great city but it can’t compare with Chicago IMHO.
Looking up “MSA” it seems a pretty open-ended definition … whole areas around parts of the great lakes are becomming in a sense huge mega-cities so I dunno how one chooses between 'em.
I’ve never actually been to Chicago, but I’d like to go.
I agree though that these statistical comparisons are pretty meaningless, except insofar as they show comparative growth rates … Toronto is growing more dense at the centre more rapidly, which a glimpse at the skyline will reveal (nothing but new construction literally everywhere).