BLUE JAYS CITY

Toronto is Canada's largest city and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is often described as the world's most multicultural city, with more than half its population having immigrated from other countries. Its population is 2,481,494 (Torontonians) (2003 Statistics Canada estimate); that of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is 5,600,000 (2003). Approximately one-third of the Canadian population lives within a five-hour drive of Toronto, and about one-sixth of all Canadian jobs lie within the city limits. The City of Toronto has a physical area of approximately 630 km² (243 square miles) and is bounded by Lake Ontario to the south, Etobicoke Creek and Highway 427 to the west, Steeles Avenue to the north, and the Rouge River to the east. The Greater Toronto Area extends beyond the city boundaries and includes the regional Municipalities of Halton, Peel, York and Durham. Up until the 1970s, Toronto was the second largest city in Canada, after Montreal. The economic growth of Toronto was greatly stimulated by the completion in 1959 of the St. Lawrence Seaway which allowed ships access to the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean. Further growth in the Toronto area is often attributed to the rise of the separatist movement in Quebec and the election of the Parti Québécois in 1976. The PQ enacted several French-language laws that were unfavorable towards businesses and English-speaking Montrealers, a number of which relocated to the more Anglo-friendly Toronto. The current mayor of Toronto is David Miller. Toronto is home to several professional sports franchises and annual sporting events. The professional teams that call/called Toronto home are, Toronto Blue Jays (Major League Baseball), Toronto Maple Leafs (National Hockey League), St. Michael's Majors (Ontario Hockey League), Toronto Raptors (National Basketball Association), Toronto Rock (National Lacrosse League), Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League). The premier events that take place in Toronto are, North America Cup, a premier harness race, Queen's Plate, Canada's premier thoroughbred race and the oldest continuously run stakes race in North America and Vanier Cup, national university football championship. Toronto has several landmarks, the CN Tower which is a steel/concrete transmission tower that (at 553 meters, or 1815 feet) is the tallest free-standing land structure in the world and the most famous landmark of the city. The Skydome which is the worlds first sporting arena to feature a retractable roof. Toronto city Hall, Old City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square. The Toronto islands that is a 2.3 km² (568 acre) park accessible from the city waterfront via ferry and the largest car-free urban community in North America. The Exhibitions Place is the site of the annual Canadian National Exhibition and the permanent home of the WindShare wind turbine. Queen's Park is the site of the provincial legislature. The Roman Catholic St. Michael's Cathedral and Anglican St. James' Cathedral, both on Church Street. In 2003 Toronto was hit by the SARS epidemic. Although the disease was primarily confined to hospitals and health-care workers, tourism in Toronto significantly suffered because of media reports. To help recover the losses the city suffered in industries and tourism, the city held a "SARS Benefit Concert," colloquially called 'SARSStock,' featuring many famous bands such as AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, and headlined by The Rolling Stones. The concert attracted some 450,000 people, making it one of the largest concerts in history, second only to Woodstock in 1969 (which had 500,000 people). The city was also affected by the 2003 U.S.-Canada Blackout. The results were chaotic, with the city grinding to a halt, the streets being deserted and power not being restored for more than 12 hours in many cases, and in some areas for three days.