Economy of Toronto

Manufacturing

Canada, and the world, experienced significant periods of economic depression during the 20 years from the mid-1870s to the mid-1890s. Many countries employed protectionist policies in an attempt to safeguard manufacturing jobs, and Canada was no exception. The National Policy of 1879 imposed high tariffs on imported consumer products. The advantage to Toronto (and other manufacturing centers) was that Canadians were forced to buy domestic-made goods. This prevented U.S. products from crossing the border but not U.S. firms. The policy allowed U.S. (and British) companies to set up branch plants in Canada. Toronto, with its well-established ties and close proximity to the manufacturing belt of the United States, benefited greatly from this policy as many U.S. companies established plants in the city.

The National Policy also promoted railway construction to tie western Canada to Toronto and Montreal. New rail lines (the Canadian Pacific Railway, or CPR, completed to Vancouver by 1886) and new people (mainly farmers) translated into demands for a range of goods from steel to housing and farming supplies. Toronto’s manufacturing sector produced many of these goods and also processed many agricultural products, its pork-packing plants earning Toronto the name “Hog Town.” Toronto became a national retail sales market owing to the location there of the T. Eaton Co. Ltd. (known as Eatons; 1869) and the Robert Simpson Company Ltd. (known as Simpson’s, built in 1872), as both department stores developed catalog sales whose network expanded in relationship to railway development.

The Temiskaming and Northern Railway (renamed Ontario Northland Railway), financed by Toronto entrepreneurs and the provincial government in the early 1900s, allowed Toronto to tap into the minerals and forests of northern Ontario and, with branch lines, northern Quebec. Again, Toronto became the main supply-and-service center for the northern communities.

World War I resulted in the manufacturing of munitions and other war supplies and increased employment, often with women workers. A natural harbour, links to Montreal and even stronger ties to the U.S., and with a hinterland rich in resources gave Toronto some distinct economic advantages.

By the 1970s, globalization had begun to take its toll on manufacturing industries, especially labor-intensive industries such as clothing, shoe, and textile manufacturing. These industries moved to labor-cheap regions of the world. Adding to the demise of many manufacturing firms was the initial Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 1989, followed by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. These agreements facilitated trade and investment, but U.S. branch plants no longer needed to locate in Canada, and many Toronto plants closed while other manufacturing firms in Toronto became more specialized (e.g., electronics).

As the capital of Canada’s most populous province, the city has a widely diversified economy. Ontario produces more than half of Canada’s manufactured goods and most of its manufactured exports. It has immense resources of raw materials—minerals, timber, water, and agricultural products.

Finance and other services

Toronto gained importance as a financial center with the headquarters of several banks and a dominant stock exchange capitalizing on the many metal mines being opened in Canada generally and in the Canadian Shield to the north particularly. By the 1980s manufacturing jobs in Toronto had become more specialized (e.g. electronics), and the main shift was to service employment as Toronto became a major financial, administration, real estate, insurance, educational, wholesaling, retailing, and tourist destination center. The city gained national financial supremacy housing five of the six national banks. The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) became part of a publicly traded company, the Toronto-based TSX Group, Inc., in 2002. The exchange adopted TSX as its abbreviation in 2004. The TSX Group also acquired the Canadian Venture Exchange (comprising the former Vancouver and Alberta stock exchanges) and the Montreal Exchange (Bourse de Montreal). TSX itself is one of the largest stock exchanges in North America in value of trading.

Transportation

The influx of people resulted in higher-density core development as well as suburbanization, and both increased the need for public transportation, which has a long history in this city. A horse-drawn omnibus service was in place as early as 1849 but was replaced by the horse-drawn streetcar by 1861. The rail lines expanded, and, streetcars became electrified by the 1890s. The system of streetcar lines was rather uncoordinated because of the mix of private and publicly owned lines until the consolidation of all lines by the city in 1921. In 1938 the iconic “Red Rocket” (Presidents’ Conference Committee [PCC]) streetcars were introduced, some of which remained in use until 1995. In 1979 the next generation of “Red Rocket” streetcars (this time Canadian Light Rail Vehicles [CLRV] ) began service. In 1988 they began to be replaced by Articulated Light Rail Vehicles (ALRV), which in the early 21st century traversed 11 routes and 50 miles (85 km) of track.

Over time, buses were added to the transit system along with electric trolleys. A major change, though, was the building of a subway system in the early 1950s. With the creation of the Metropolitan level of government in 1953 came the creation of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to provide public transportation for the whole region. New subway lines and extensions were added to the system, although many were delayed because of a lack of funding. Other changes to the transit system included phasing out the trolleys. To facilitate commuter traffic for the linear spread of population along Lake Ontario, the “GO” (Government of Ontario) train service was developed in 1967 using existing freight rails.

The development of the combustion engine and increased use of cars and trucks after World War II radically altered the relationship between rural and urban and blurred the distinction. New auto-oriented suburbs, shopping centers, and industrial parks resulted in the city spreading out ever farther from the core. Expressways were constructed to bypass the congested downtown of Toronto; three expressways—the Gardiner Expressway (starting in the mid-1950s) along the waterfront, the Don Valley Parkway (early 1960s) to the east of the city, and the 401 Expressway (early 1970s) to the north—provided a ring road. These were not the only expressways on the drawing board. The most controversial proposal was the Spadina Expressway that would have linked downtown Toronto to northwest suburbs, but in doing so it would have displaced many homes, broken up neighborhoods, and disrupted existing east-west transportation routes. The provincial government, in response to massive protests, canceled the Spadina and other planned freeways through Toronto. Toronto does face challenges of congestion on many of its roads, but this inconvenience has benefited public transit options, making the city more pedestrian and more livable.

Toronto is home to two airports. Both were established in 1938, and each has undergone a number of upgrades to runways and terminals as well as name changes. In close proximity to the heart of the city is Toronto Island’s airport—initially the Port George VI Airport, which had its name changed to Toronto City Centre Airport in 1994 and since 2009 has been known as the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Toronto’s international airport is located some 20 miles (30 km) to the west of the city, in the community of Malton, and therefore was called the Malton Airport until being designated Toronto International Airport in 1960 and later, in 1984, Toronto Pearson International Airport, named after Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.