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Toronto is Canada's largest city and the provincial capital of Ontario. Toronto's population is 2,518,772, and the population of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is 5,603,686 (Statistics Canada, 2004). Residents of Toronto are called Torontonians (in French: Torontois). The city is part of the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, a densely populated region of around 8 million people. Approximately one-quarter of the Canadian population lives within the Golden Horseshoe, and about one-sixth of all Canadian jobs lie within the city limits.
Toronto is a global city, exerting significant regional, national, and international influence, and is one of the world's most multicultural cities. Toronto is Canada's financial centre and 'economic engine,' as well as one of the country's most important cultural, art, and health sciences centres. In January 2005, it was designated by the federal government as one of Canada's cultural capitals. It is one of the safest cities to live in North America: its violent crime rate is lower than that of any major US metropolitan area and is one of the lowest in Canada.
The current City of Toronto was – in 1998 – amalgamated from its six prior municipalities and regional government. The current mayor of Toronto is David Miller. His predecessor, and first mayor of the amalgamated city, was Mel Lastman. The last mayor of the pre-amalgamated city was Barbara Hall.
Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. In 2004, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ranked Toronto second, behind Miami, in its list of world cities with the largest percentage of foreign-born population
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