Golden Horseshoe in the context of "Black Creek (Toronto)"

Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the fourth-most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. As of 2024, the Golden Horseshoe had an estimated population of 11,139,265 people while the census metropolitan area had an estimated population of 7,106,379. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Indigenous peoples have inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest, for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase, when the Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown, the British established the town of York in 1793 and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was captured by the United States after they won the Battle of York in 1813, after which it was largely burned down and plundered by the American troops. York was renamed and incorporated in 1834 as the City of Toronto. It was designated as the capital of the province of Ontario in 1867 during Canadian Confederation. The city proper has since expanded past its original limits through both annexation and amalgamation to its current area of 630.2 km (243.3 sq mi).

The media in Toronto encompasses a wide range of television and radio stations, as well as digital and print media outlets. These media platforms either service the entire city or are cater to a specific neighbourhood or community within Toronto. Additionally, several media outlets from Toronto extend their services to cover the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe region. While most media outlets in Toronto cater to local or regional audiences, there are also several national media outlets based in the city that distribute their services across Canada and caters to a national audience.

Toronto is the largest mass media market in Canada, and the fourth-largest market in North America, behind New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. As a result, several Canadian media companies and conglomerates are based in Toronto.

Southern Ontario is a primary region of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% of Canada's population of 37 million. The region lies south of the province's other primary region, Northern Ontario, although the exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disputed. However, its core region is situated south of Algonquin Park, the latter being in an area of transition between coniferous forest north of the French and Mattawa Rivers and southern deciduous forest. It covers between 14 and 15% of the province, depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts which also lie in the transitional area between northern and southern forest regions. Southern Ontario differs greatly from Northern Ontario, having a much higher population density, a different climate, and a different culture than its northern counterpart. It is broken into smaller subregions, including Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, the Golden Horseshoe, and Southwestern Ontario.

The core area of Southern Ontario is part of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, which extends northeast into southern Quebec. The transitional northern area of this primary region extends north to the Mattawa River and occupies part of the Grenville Geological Province of the Canadian Shield, which also extends northeast into southern Quebec; most of Northern Ontario lies within the Superior Geological Province.

Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately 60 km (37 mi) east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It is the largest municipality in the Regional Municipality of Durham. The name Oshawa originates from the Ojibwa term aazhawe, meaning "the crossing place" or just "a cross".

Founded in 1876 as the McLaughlin Carriage Company by Robert McLaughlin, and then McLaughlin Motors Ltd by his son, Sam, General Motors of Canada's headquarters are located in the city. The automotive industry was the inspiration for Oshawa's previous mottos: "The City that Motovates Canada", and "The City in Motion". The lavish home of the automotive company's founder, Parkwood Estate, is a National Historic Site of Canada is located in the city.

Burlington is a city in Halton Region at the west end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada.

Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the Hamilton census metropolitan area, and the Golden Horseshoe urban region.

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353 as of the 2021 Canadian census, and its census metropolitan area, which encompasses Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is situated approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) southwest of Toronto in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).

Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, the town of Hamilton became the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe. On January 1, 2001, the current boundaries of Hamilton were created through the amalgamation of the original city with other municipalities of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth. Residents of the city are known as Hamiltonians.

The Ontario Peninsula is the southernmost part of the province of Ontario and of Canada as a whole. It is bounded by Lake Huron on the west, Lake Ontario on the east, and Lake Erie on the south. At its tip, it is separated from Michigan by the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, as well as Lake St. Clair. The peninsula also includes the Bruce and Niagara peninsulas, one projecting into Lake Huron and the other projecting towards New York, from which it is separated by the Niagara River.

The corner of the peninsula that lies on Lake Ontario is known as the Golden Horseshoe and forms Canada's largest population centre. Other large cities include London and Windsor.

The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional Municipality of York, in 1970. It replaced the former York County in 1971, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the inner ring of the Golden Horseshoe. The regional government is headquartered in Newmarket.

As of the 2021 census, York Region's population was 1,173,334, with a growth rate of 5.7% from 2016. The Government of Ontario expects its population to surpass 1.5 million residents by 2031. The three largest cities in York Region are Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill.