Toronto, city, capital of the province of Ontario, southeastern Canada. It is the most populous city in Canada, a multicultural city, and the country’s financial and commercial center. Its location on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario, which forms part of the border between Canada and the United States, and its access to Atlantic shipping via the St. Lawrence Seaway and to major U.S. industrial centers via the Great Lakes have enabled Toronto to become an important international trading center. Moreover, the city is positioned on the edge of some of the best farmland in Canada, with a climate favorable to growing a wide range of crops, thereby making Toronto a transportation, distribution, and manufacturing center. Most importantly, its central location, along with a host of political policies favoring international trade, places this city with the greatest economic ties to, and influence from, the United States.