The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is an
urban conurbation that is composed of some of the largest
cities
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
and
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
s by population in the Canadian province of
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. The GTHA consists of the
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...
(GTA) and the City of
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
. Unlike the
Golden Horseshoe, which covers a larger area, the GTHA specifically refers to the urban conurbation of these regions. Despite not being in the conurbation's name, it also includes the City of
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...
and its sub-metropolitan area.
The GTA is Canada's most populous metropolitan area that includes the core City of
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and the regional municipalities of
Halton,
Peel,
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, and
Durham (which contains Oshawa). The GTHA forms the core of a larger urban agglomeration known as the
Golden Horseshoe.
Beginning in the late-2000s, the term "Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area" was introduced by a few public bodies to refer to the GTA and the city of Hamilton as a single entity. The population of the combined area is 7,281,694 as of 2021,
and is projected to grow to 8.6 million by 2031.
The main
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
of roadways that connects all the areas together (going from Durham to Hamilton) includes highways
401,
427,
403, and the
Queen Elizabeth Way
The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highways, 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The highway begins at the Canada–United States border on the Pea ...
. The GTHA has regional public transport served by
GO Transit and local service by multiple agencies, which mostly use the
Presto card
The Presto card (stylized as PRESTO) is a contactless smart card automated fare collection system used on participating public transit systems in the province of Ontario, Canada, specifically in Greater Toronto Area, Greater Toronto, Hamilton, ...
as fare payment.
Municipalities and populations
See also
*
Golden Horseshoe
*
Great Lakes Megalopolis
*
Metrolinx mobility hubs
Footnotes
References
{{coord, 43, 40, N, 79, 25, W, scale:1000000_region:CN-ON, display=title
Geographic regions of Ontario
Toronto and Hamilton