ABSTRACT
The building of the Toronto waterfront beginning in the nineteenth century is an excellent example of shaping the land to utilize the coastal waters for the sake of commercial and urban growth. Toronto has a long history of modifying its harbor and extending its shoreline which directly influenced the form, size, and scale of its city proper. Toronto is the capital of Ontario Province and the largest city in Canada with a metro population of over 6 million in 2020. Since the early 1600s, French fur traders knew about a shortcut between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay referred to as the Toronto Passage. In 1867, Toronto became the capital of the new Province of Ontario and rapidly was industrialized. Its economic growth was enhanced by railroad promotion, industrial tariff protection after 1879, and the opening of forests and mines to development in northern Ontario in the 1890s and 1900s.
