Editing Proposal for the Province of Toronto

{{Short description|Proposed Canadian province}}
{{Redirect|Province of Toronto|the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical province|Ecclesiastical Province of Toronto}}
<!-- {{Distinguish |Ecclesiastical Province of Toronto}} -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
[[File:Greater toronto area map.svg|thumb|right|250px|A map of the Greater Toronto Area with the City of Toronto and the four surrounding regional municipalities.]]

The '''Province of Toronto''' is an [[urban secession]] proposal to split the city of [[Toronto]] and some or all of the [[Greater Toronto Area]] (GTA)<ref name="TOorGTA">{{Cite news
  | url = https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/780997--coyle-toronto-secede-where-s-the-door
  | title = Toronto secede? Where's the door?
  | last = Coyle
  | first = Jim
  | newspaper = [[Toronto Star]]
  | publisher = [[Star Media Group]]
  | date = 2010-03-17
  | access-date = 2010-03-18
}}</ref> from the province of [[Ontario]] into a new [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]]. Secession of Toronto, the surrounding region, or any other portion of the province from Ontario to create a new province would require an [[Amendments to the Constitution of Canada|amendment to the Constitution of Canada]].<ref name="amendconstitution">{{Cite web
  | url = http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/9.html#anchorsc:7-bo-ga:l_V-se:42
  | title = Amendment by general procedure
  | work = Constitution Act, 1982
  | publisher = [[Department of Justice (Canada)|Department of Justice]], [[Government of Canada]]
  | access-date = 2010-03-17
  | quote = An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to the following matters may be made only in accordance with subsection 38(1)...notwithstanding any other law or practice, the establishment of new provinces.
}}</ref><ref name="amendment">{{Cite news
  | url = https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/780385--mpp-s-vision-province-of-toronto
  | title = MPP's vision: Province of Toronto
  | agency = The Canadian Press
  | location = [[Owen Sound]]
  | newspaper = [[Toronto Star]]
  | publisher = [[Star Media Group]]
  | date = 2010-03-16
  | access-date = 2010-03-17
}}</ref>

The proposal for a new province of Toronto has been made by politicians and urban affairs commentators, in 2010 by MPP [[Bill Murdoch]],<ref name="murdoch2010">{{Cite news
  | url = https://www.thestar.com/yourcitymycity/article/780571
  | title = Should Toronto go it alone?
  | last = Lu
  | first = Vanessa
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | publisher = Star Media Group
  | date = 2010-03-16
  | access-date = 2010-03-17
}}</ref> and most recently by 2018 Toronto mayoral candidate and former Toronto Chief Planner [[Jennifer Keesmaat]].<ref name="keesmaat2018">{{cite tweet |user=jen_keesmaat |number=1022820231281029120 |date= 27 July 2018 |title=Now I have had a chance to sleep on it. Secession. Why should a city of 2.8 million not have self governance? |link=https://twitter.com/jen_keesmaat/status/1022820231281029120}}</ref> The concept has also been supported by [[Jane Jacobs]] and others.<ref name="murdoch2010" />

Variations of the proposal have appeared intermittently for decades.<ref name="intermittent">{{Cite news
  | url = https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/781385--should-toronto-be-a-province
  | title = Should Toronto be a province?
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | publisher = Star Media Group
  | date = 2010-03-18
  | access-date = 2010-03-18
}}</ref>
{{Quotation|text=In fact, the remedy he proposes has been discussed, off-and-on for decades, by a variety of urban advocates dedicated to securing more power, autonomy and clout for Canada's largest city.|author=Editorial|title="Should Toronto be a province?"|source=''Toronto Star''<ref name="intermittent" />}}

==Causes==
Arguments posited for Toronto or GTA provincehood include those stating that the area's residents are politically and economically exploited by the rest of the province.<ref name="intermittent" /> Another argument presented is the urban issues faced by Toronto not present in other cities or rural areas of Ontario, including the delivery of public services to large numbers of immigrants and visible minorities,<ref name="TOorGTA" /><ref name="immigrants">{{Cite news
  | url = https://www.thestar.com/gta/columnist/article/627909
  | title = Toronto needs 'powers of a province'
  | last = Hume
  | first = Christopher
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | date = 2 May 2009
  | access-date = 2010-04-20
  | quote = Broadbent notes, for example, Toronto receives nearly half the newcomers who arrive in Canada annually, but it has no control over services that affect them most, including education and health care.
}}</ref> gun control,<ref name="TOorGTA" /> and differences in the delivery of education and health care to its residents.<ref name="TOorGTA" /> A federal political issue is the Greater Toronto Area's under-representation in the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]].<ref name="TOorGTA" />

{{Quotation|text=The Toronto region, with a population of almost six million, is under-represented in the Commons with fewer seats than its population warrants.|author=Jim Coyle|title="Toronto secede? Where's the door?"|source=''Toronto Star''<ref name="TOorGTA" />}}

Murdoch's proposal was motivated by a contrary sentiment, that the rural areas of Ontario have little clout in the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]] compared to Toronto.<ref name="TOorGTA" /><ref name="amendment" /><ref name="noclout">{{Cite news
 |url         = https://nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2690534
 |title       = Ontario politician wants Toronto to become a province
 |last        = Couvrette
 |first       = Phil
 |newspaper   = [[National Post]]
 |date        = 16 March 2010
 |access-date  = 2010-04-20
 |quote       = Bill Murdoch, a Conservative member of the Ontario legislature, who represents the riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, says Toronto should form Canada's newest province because communities outside the metropolis are simply not being heard.
 
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20100324053149/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2690534
 |archive-date = 24 March 2010
}}</ref> Andrew Steele, in an editorial in [[The Globe and Mail]], stated that Murdoch was instead speaking to the rural base of voters in his constituency and calling for the separation of rural Ontario from Toronto.<ref name="ruralbase">{{Cite news
  | url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/andrew-steele/progressive-conservative-separatists/article1503565/
  | title = Progressive Conservative separatists
  | last = Steele
  | first = Andrew
  | newspaper = The Globe and Mail
  | date = 17 March 2010
  | access-date = 2010-04-20
  | quote = More importantly, that's not who Murdoch is talking to. He's talking to the rural base of the PC Party.
}}</ref><!-- The previous sentence needs rephrasing --> Another argument sometimes presented to support a split of Toronto from the province is that politicians from other cities in the province are concerned about their influence on provincial politics.<ref name="secondarycities">{{Cite news
  | url = https://calgaryherald.com/story_print.html?id=2695958
  | title = Toronto as 11th province not all that far-fetched
  | last = Martin
  | first = Don
  | newspaper = Calgary Herald
  | date = 2010-03-18
  | quote = Secondary cities like Ottawa, Hamilton, Windsor, Sudbury and Thunder Bay support the partition idea because they increasingly see themselves as mere specks on a provincial radar ignored in the blinding glare of Toronto's political desires.
}}</ref>

{{Quotation|text=He said rural Ontario is fighting a losing battle against "a Toronto mentality," adding that Toronto decision-makers ignore rural voices.|author=The Canadian Press|title="MPP's vision: Province of Toronto"|source=''Toronto Star''<ref name="amendment" />}}

[[Glen Murray (politician)|Glen Murray]] has stated that Canadian cities must rely on [[property tax]]es, as they have no ability to enact other taxes or collect [[Income tax|income]] or [[consumption tax]]es.

{{Quotation|text=Cities - largely reliant on stagnant property taxes - need access to growing revenue sources such as the income tax, and consumption taxes such as the GST, the PST and the gas tax, Murray says. And they need the power to spend that money for the good of their residents without having to ask the province for permission.|author=Laurie Monsebraaten|title="Toronto the could..."|source=''Toronto Star''<ref name="citystate" />}}

==History==
The Province of Toronto was first proposed as the name of the province of Ontario during the debates leading to [[Canadian Confederation]] in 1867.<ref name="1867ontario">{{Cite book
  | title = Ontario, 1610-1985: a political and economic history
  | work = Ontario Heritage Foundation local history series
  | last = White
  | first = Randall
  | publisher = Dundurn Press Ltd
  | date = 1985
  | isbn = 978-0-919670-98-3
  | page = 14
}}</ref> British imperial officials considered the name after noting that [[Quebec City]] was the capital of [[Quebec]],<ref name="1867ontario" /> and hence Toronto should be the capital of a similarly named province. The idea had little traction and was dismissed in favour of using the same name for the province as the lake adjacent to its capital city,<ref name="1867ontario" /> [[Lake Ontario]].

The [[Proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories|provincehood movement]] idea has been supported by the urban activist [[Jane Jacobs]] and urban planner Joe Berridge.<ref name="TOorGTA" /><ref name="JacobsPOT">{{Cite book
  | title = Land Management: Challenges & Strategies
  | last = Iyyer
  | first = Chaitanya
  | publisher = Global India Publications
  | date = 2009
  | isbn = 978-93-8022-848-8
  | quote = In Toronto no such relief occurred but a Province of Toronto movement emerged under Jane Jacobs (who had moved to Toronto in the 1960s and again fought expressways penetrating the downtown there, notably the Spadina Expressway...
}}</ref> Jacobs viewed Toronto as a region, which was split into multiple jurisdictions as an artefact of historical politics.<ref name="jabobsregion">{{Cite news
  | url = https://www.thestar.com/yourcitymycity/article/781997--hume-getting-past-the-punchlines-about-toronto-the-province
  | title = Getting past the punchlines about Toronto the province
  | last = Hume
  | first = Christopher
  | newspaper = [[Toronto Star]]
  | date = 20 March 2010
  | access-date = 2010-04-20
  | quote = "Toronto is a region and should not be confined by an artificial boundary drawn more than a century ago," Jacobs wrote. "Whether people live in Swansea or Buttonville, Erindale or Dunbarton, the point at which their lives converge with others is in the new Toronto."
}}</ref>
<!--
need refs for these:
entrepreneur [[Ed Mirvish]]
former councillor and current MPP for Beaches East-York [[Michael Prue]]
former mayor [[John Sewell]]
-->

In the 1970s, [[Paul Godfrey]] presented to the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Toronto, as chairman of [[Metropolitan Toronto]], arguments that the region should have the capability to set policy as does a provincial government.<ref name="murdoch2010" />
{{Quotation|text=Back in the 1970s, Paul Godfrey, when he was Metro chair, argued before the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Toronto that the region should have the range and flexibility of a province in its decision making.|author=Vanessa Lu|title="Should Toronto go it alone?"|source=''Toronto Star''<ref name="murdoch2010" />}} In 1991 academic and future member of parliament [[Ted McWhinney]] argued before a parliamentary committee that if [[Quebec separatism|Quebec were to separate]] Ontario would need to be broken up to rebalance confederation. According to McWhinney, splitting off Toronto would be the most sensible option, pointing to Germany where [[Hamburg]] and [[Berlin]] have their own [[States of Germany|states]] as an example.<ref>{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/514254741.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130131152318/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/514254741.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 31 January 2013
  | title = Province of Toronto: Prof sees Ontario being split up after Quebec separates.
  | newspaper =Kitchener - Waterloo Record
  | location = Kitchener
  | date = 22 February 1991
  | page = D.8
}}</ref>

[[Mel Lastman]] proposed Toronto provincehood in 1999 while attending the ''Mayors Summit of the Americas'' in [[Miami]], Florida;<ref name="mayorsummit">{{Cite news
  | title = His Melness asks 'why not?'
  | last = Wanagan
  | first = Don
  | newspaper = [[National Post]]
  | date =<!--  | access-date = 2010-03-19-->
  | quote = "We can't afford to stay part of the province of Ontario," the mayor mused from Miami last week, where he was attending the Mayors Summit of the Americas.
}}</ref><ref name="urbanneo">{{Cite book
  | title = Changing Toronto: Governing Urban Neoliberalism
  | isbn = 978-1-4426-0093-5
  | last1 = Boudreau
  | first1 = Julie-Anne
  | last2 = Keil
  | first2 = Roger
  | last3 = Young
  | first3 = Douglas
  | publisher = [[University of Toronto Press]]
  | year = 2009
  | pages = 78–79
}}</ref> he later retracted his comments, but by then, they had already spurred discussion of the idea in the media.<ref name="urbanneo" /> Lastman was panned in an editorial by [[The Hamilton Spectator]] for not having considered all the consequences of provincehood.<ref name="thespec">{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/446958141.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121026113558/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/446958141.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 26 October 2012
  | title = Lastman's latest wacky ramblings
  | agency = [[Torstar Corporation]]
  | newspaper = [[The Hamilton Spectator]]
  | date = 23 November 1999
  | access-date = 2010-04-20
  | page = A.12
  | quote = He hasn't bothered to ask the rest of Ontario for its reaction to his proposal, or studied the potential costs and drawbacks for those of us who don't live in the big enchilada.
}}</ref> Debate flourished, as various proposals were presented, including one for the creation of the Province of Southern Ontario<ref name="urbanneo" /><!-- pg 78 --> and another for the creation of a city-state status in Canada,<ref name="citystate">{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/438061481.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604213815/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/438061481.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | title = Toronto the could; Why the city falls way short of its potential What our next mayor, Liberals can do to fix it
  | last = Monsebraaten
  | first = Laurie
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | page = G20
  | access-date= 2010-03-19
  | quote = Many say it needs city-state status with new powers and revenues to compete on the national and international stage.
| date=6 November 2003
}}</ref> which could also include [[Vancouver]] and [[Montreal]].<ref name="urbanneo" /><!-- pg 78 --> The Committee for the Province of Toronto was formed to seek a constitutional amendment enabling the formation of a new province.<ref name="urbanneo" /> On 9 February 1999, councillor [[Michael Walker (politician)|Michael Walker]] presented a notice of motion to Toronto City Council on behalf of the committee.<ref name="walker">{{Cite book
  | title = Canada: The State of the Federation, 2004, Municipal-federal-provincial Relations in Canada
  | work = Canada: The State of the Federation Series
  |author=Robert Young |author2=Christian Leuprecht
  | publisher = McGill-Queen's University Press
  | date = 2006
  | isbn = 978-1-55339-016-9
  | page = 170
}}</ref> Lastman also considered issuing a [[plebiscite]] to the residents of Toronto about Toronto provincehood.<ref name="plebiscite">{{Cite news
  | title = Lastman mulls referendum on city secession
  | last = Benzie
  | first = Robert
  | newspaper = National Post
  | date =<!--  | access-date = 2010-03-19-->
  | quote = Mel Lastman is considering a referendum so residents can vote on whether the city should pursue secession from Ontario.
}}</ref>
{{Quotation|text="I'm in favour of it considering it and thinking about it", the mayor said, adding the secession question could be put to Torontonians as early as the [[2000 Toronto municipal election|municipal election in November, 2000]].|author=Robert Benzie|title="Lastman mulls referendum on city secession"|source=''National Post''<ref name="plebiscite" />}}

These debates faded, but did result in negotiation between the [[City of Toronto government]] and the [[Government of Ontario|provincial government]] about greater autonomy for Toronto, which eventually resulted in new legislation "''The Stronger City of Toronto for a Stronger Ontario Act''",<ref name="urbanneo" /><!-- pg 80-81 --> as well as the ''City of Toronto Act''<ref name="murdoch2010" /> which granted the city more policy-setting powers; it has used these, for example, to define new taxes, and to ban corporate and union donations for municipal election campaigns.<ref name="murdoch2010" /> It also indirectly influenced federal policy, as the ''New Deal for Cities'' in 2003 was one of the platforms for [[Paul Martin]]<ref name="urbanneo" /><!-- pg 80 --> after he succeeded [[Jean Chrétien]] as [[Prime Minister of Canada]].<!--
<ref name="citystate" />
While nobody took Lastman seriously, his musings tapped into a growing sentiment in cities across Canada for a "new deal" from senior governments.
-->

[[Tooker Gomberg]] who placed second to Lastman in the [[2000 Toronto municipal election|2000 mayoral election]], also favoured the idea.<ref name="tookidea">{{Cite web
 |url         = http://www.greenspiration.org/memorial/eulogies/craig.htm
 |title       = Ten thousand Tookers
 |work        = Eulogies for Tooker
 |last        = Hubley
 |first       = Craig
 |date        = 2004-03-29
 |access-date  = 2010-03-19
 |quote       = Nailing a proclamation of independence for Province of Toronto, right to Queen's Park's door.
 
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720135000/http://www.greenspiration.org/memorial/eulogies/craig.htm
 |archive-date = 20 July 2011
}}</ref> In November 2000, just before the election, he stated that "the province of Toronto idea, though it's a long shot and a long-term solution, is something I favour. It's a compelling idea whose time has not quite come."<ref>{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427097721.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604215420/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427097721.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | title = Behind the act, Gomberg aims for protest vote
  | last = James
  | first = Royson James
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | date = 3 November 2000
  | page = B.01
}}</ref>

At a meeting of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture in 2010, a [[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|Member of Provincial Parliament]] from central Ontario, [[Bill Murdoch]], suggested that the city of Toronto become its own province,<ref name="BCFA">{{Cite news
  | url = http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2494941
  | title = Province of Toronto gets mixed reviews
  | last = Jeffords
  | first = Shawn
  | newspaper = The Observer
  | publisher = Sun Media
  | date = March 2010
  | access-date = 2010-04-20
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100324092634/http://theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2494941
  | archive-date = 24 March 2010
  
  }}</ref><ref name="murdoch2">{{Cite news
  | url = http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2492416
  | title = MPP says it's time for Toronto to separate from the province
  | agency = QMI Agency
  | newspaper = The Brantford Expositor
  | publisher = Sun Media
  | last = Crosby
  | first = Don
  | date = 2010-03-16
  | access-date = 2010-03-17
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100522232425/http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2492416
  | archive-date = 22 May 2010
  
  }}</ref> but the other parts of the GTA (also known as ''[[Area codes 905 and 289#905 in popular culture|the 905]]'') would remain in Ontario,<ref name="amendment" /><ref name="murdoch3">{{Cite news
  | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-should-separate-from-ontario-mpp-1.878679
  | title = Toronto should separate from Ontario: MPP
  | publisher = CBC News
  | date = 2010-03-16
  | access-date = 2010-03-17
}}</ref> proposing its new capital to be [[London, Ontario|London]].<ref name="murdoch2" /> [[David Miller (Canadian politician)|David Miller]], mayor of Toronto, responded by issuing a message via [[Twitter]], stating "Province of Toronto... an idea whose time has come?",<ref name="murdoch3" /><ref name="millertweet">{{Cite web
  | url = https://twitter.com/mayormiller/status/10572537485
  | title = Province of Toronto...an idea whose time has come?
  | last = Miller
  | first = David
  | author-link = David Miller (Canadian politician)
  | date = 2010-03-16
  | access-date= 2010-03-17
}}</ref> and his spokesman Stuart Green indicated that Miller would consider a public debate about the possible secession of Toronto from Ontario,<ref name="murdoch3" /> and Murdoch stated that he received an email from Miller also indicating he was agreeable to a discussion about it.<ref name="milleremail">{{Cite news
 |url         = https://nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2690534
 |title       = Ontario politician wants Toronto to become a province
 |last        = Couvrette
 |first       = Phil
 |newspaper   = [[National Post]]
 |publisher   = Canwest News Service
 |date        = 2010-03-16
 |access-date  = 2010-03-18
 
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20100324053149/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2690534
 |archive-date = 24 March 2010
}}</ref> Murdoch had considered presenting a [[private member's bill]]<ref name="murdoch2010" /><ref name="murdoch3" /> to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario about this proposal. [[Thunder Bay]] mayor Lynn Peterson opposed Murdoch's proposal, stating that one of the perceived issues was inconsequential, specifically that policies defined in the Ontario legislature are not Toronto-centric.<ref name="TBmayor">{{Cite news
  | url = http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local.php?id=251793
  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130119210733/http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local.php?id=251793
  
  | archive-date = 19 January 2013
  | title = Toronto has fans
  | last = Walker
  | first = Brandon
  | newspaper = The Chronicle Journal
  | location = [[Thunder Bay]]
  | date = 22 March 2010
  | access-date = 2010-04-20
  | quote =Peterson said she doesn't believe Queen's Park sets policies based on Toronto or that its separation would allow Thunder Bay to set its own energy rates.
}}</ref> [[Michael Gravelle]], the [[Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (Ontario)|Minister of Northern Development and Mines]], said "I look at it from the perspective of would this be good for Northern Ontario . . . and I don't think it would be".<ref name="TBmayor" />

In 2018, some activists revived the proposal again, after Ontario premier [[Doug Ford]] introduced legislation to reduce [[Toronto City Council]] from 47 to 25 seats, months after the [[2018 Toronto municipal election|2018 municipal election]] was already underway.<ref>[https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/07/30/9-questions-about-toronto-secession-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask.html "9 questions about Toronto secession you were too embarrassed to ask"]. ''[[Toronto Star]]'', 3 August 2018.</ref>

==Constitutional amendment==
For any part of Toronto and the surrounding region to secede from Ontario to create a new province would require an amendment to the Constitution of Canada.<ref name="amendconstitution" /><ref name="amendment" /> The constitutional amendment would require resolutions from the [[House of Commons of Canada]] and the [[Senate of Canada]], and resolutions from the legislative bodies of 7 of the provinces representing at least 50% of the population.<ref name="amendsupport">{{Cite web
  | url = http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/9.html#codesc:7-bo-ga:l_V-se:38
  | title = General procedure for amending Constitution of Canada
  | work = Constitution Act, 1982
  | publisher = [[Department of Justice (Canada)|Department of Justice]], [[Government of Canada]]
  | access-date = 2010-03-17
  | archive-date = 5 January 2011
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110105224835/http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/9.html#codesc:7-bo-ga:l_V-se:38
  
  }}</ref>

However, it has also been suggested that such an amendment may not be necessary if the federal and provincial government agree to split the province.<ref name="secondarycities" />

{{Quotation|text=Expert opinion suggests it might not require a constitutional amendment. If there was agreement between the feds and the legislature to divide the province, presto, Canada's first and second largest province could apparently be created overnight.|author=Don Martin|title="Toronto as 11th province not all that far-fetched"|source=''Calgary Herald''<ref name="secondarycities" />}}

==By the numbers==
With 2.6 million residents as of 2016, the city of Toronto is more populous than six provinces: namely, [[Manitoba]], [[New Brunswick]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Prince Edward Island]] and [[Saskatchewan]]. With a population of over 6 million, the Greater Toronto Area is more populous than those six, as well as [[Alberta]] and [[British Columbia]].

The Province of Toronto would become the second smallest in Canada by area, larger only than Prince Edward Island, whose area is 5,660&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, but would become the third most populous province in Canada only after [[Quebec]] and the resized Ontario.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|- bgcolor="pink"
! Name
! Total area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Rank
! Population est 2011<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table-Tableau.cfm?LANG=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=3&O=D&RPP=9999&PR=35 |title=Population and Dwelling Count Highlight Tables, 2011 Census |date=7 January 2016 |access-date=18 February 2016}}</ref>
! Rank
|-
|align="left"| Existing Province of [[Ontario]]
|align="right"| 1,076,395
|align="right"| 2 of 10
|align="right"| 12,851,821
|align="right"| 1 of 10
|-
|align="left"| Existing City of [[Toronto]]
|align="right"| 630
|align="right"| n/a
|align="right"| 2,615,060
|align="right"| n/a
|-
|align="left"| [[Regional Municipality of Durham]]
|align="right"| 2,523.15
|align="right"| n/a
|align="right"| 608,124
|align="right"| n/a
|-
|align="left"| [[Regional Municipality of Halton]]
|align="right"| 967.17
|align="right"| n/a
|align="right"| 501,669
|align="right"| n/a
|-
|align="left"| [[Regional Municipality of Peel]]
|align="right"| 1,241.99
|align="right"| n/a
|align="right"| 1,296,814
|align="right"| n/a
|-
|align="left"| [[Regional Municipality of York]]
|align="right"| 1,761.84
|align="right"| n/a
|align="right"| 1,032,524
|align="right"| n/a
|-
|bgcolor="pink" align="left"| Resized Province of Ontario
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 1,069,270.85
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 2 of 11
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 6,797,630
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 2 of 11
|-
|bgcolor="pink" align="left"| Combined Province of Toronto
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 7,124.15
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 10 of 11
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 6,054,191
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 3 of 11
|}

If the boundaries were redefined to also include the adjacent city of [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]] to turn the contiguous [[Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area]] into the new province of Toronto, it would supersede the resized province of Ontario as the 2nd largest province by population.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|- bgcolor="pink"
! Name
! Total area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Rank
! Population est 2011
! Rank
|-
|align="left"| [[Hamilton, Ontario|City of Hamilton]]
|align="right"| 1138.11
|align="right"| n/a
|align="right"| 519,949
|align="right"| n/a
|-
|bgcolor="pink" align="left"| Resized Province of Ontario
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 1,068,132.74
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 2 of 11
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 6,277,681
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 3 of 11
|-
|bgcolor="pink" align="left"| Combined Province of Toronto
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 8,262.26
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 10 of 11
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 6,574,140
|bgcolor="pink" align="right"| 2 of 11
|}

==Political party==
Registration for the ''Province of Toronto Party'' was accepted by [[Elections Ontario]] on 18 June 2001, and became effective on 1 July that year.<ref name="poft">{{Cite web
 |url          = http://www.elections.on.ca/en-CA/CandidatesAndParties/PoliticalParties/PartyNames.htm
 |title        = REQUESTS TO REGISTER THE NAME OF A NEW POLITICAL PARTY IN ONTARIO
 |work         = Party names
 |publisher    = [[Elections Ontario]], [[Government of Ontario]]
 |access-date   = 2010-03-19
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100314093544/http://www.elections.on.ca/en-CA/CandidatesAndParties/PoliticalParties/PartyNames.htm
 |archive-date = 14 March 2010
 
}}</ref> One of its founding members was David Vallance.<ref name="poftfounding">{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/421591641.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604213712/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/421591641.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | title = Unless it separates, city will remain an afterthought
  | last = Vallance
  | first = David
  | newspaper = Toronto Star; Letters to the Editor
  | date = 2002-01-14
  | page = A15
  | quote = For that reason, we have registered the name Province of Toronto Party in an attempt to establish a provincial party with the sole agenda of making Toronto a province.
}}</ref><ref name="poftvallacne">{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/421643401.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604213726/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/421643401.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | title = Make the city a province
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | date = 2002-02-16
  | page = B5
  | quote = Citing the Supreme Court of Canada's decision on Quebec's legal ability to separate, he says there's no reason Toronto can't do same thing as Nunavut, when it sprang from the Northwest Territories.
}}</ref> Members of the party contested for the mayorship of Toronto in the [[2003 Toronto municipal election|2003]] and [[2006 Toronto municipal election|2006]] municipal elections.<!-- Vallance membership has been established, and the fact he contested the mayorship is documented below -->

Paul Lewin's campaign in the 2003 mayoral election used the slogan "Free 416", referring to the regional use of the city's [[Area codes 416 and 647#416 in popular culture|area code as a nickname]],<ref name="free416">{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/393119991.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604203616/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/393119991.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | last = James
  | first = Royson
  | title = A voice of dissent lost in high noon din
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | location = [[Toronto]]
  | date = 3 September 2003
  | access-date = 2010-03-17
  | page = B5
}}</ref> while advocating a Province of Toronto.<ref name="free416" /><ref>{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/396147641.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604203644/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/396147641.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | title = Province of T.O.: It makes sense
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | location = [[Toronto]]
  | last = Hume
  | first = Christopher
  | page = B3
| date=5 September 2003
}}  He was 36 years old at the time. See Brian Borzykowski and James Cowan, "They would be king", ''National Post'', 4 October 2003, TO11.</ref> He fared poorly in the municipal election.<ref name="Lewin2003">{{Cite news
 |url          = http://www.thetorontobulletin.com/Archives/apr05.pdf
 |title        = New movement declares: 'Province of Toronto is possible'
 |last         = touby
 |first        = Frank
 |date         = April 2005
 |newspaper    = The Bulletin
 |access-date   = 2010-04-20
 |quote        = Lewin, who finished far behind the five frontrunners, has said he will gladly step aside for a better known mayoral candidate who will pursue separation from Ontario.
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717035958/http://www.thetorontobulletin.com/Archives/apr05.pdf
 |archive-date = 17 July 2011
 
}}</ref>

David Vallance was the 2006 candidate for the mayoral election in Toronto. He has written several [[Letter to the Editor|Letters to the Editor]] over the years on various matters, including the state of Toronto's provincial tax burden.<ref name="taxburden">{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/503012071.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604214151/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/503012071.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | title = Province must stop its tax grab
  | last = Vallance
  | first = David Vallance
  | newspaper = Toronto Star; Letters to the Editor
  | date = 19 December 2003
  | page = A31
}}</ref> He was a vocal opponent of the amalgamation of the [[Old Toronto|old City of Toronto]] with neighbouring municipalities in 1997, and led the group Taxpayers Against Megacity.<ref>{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/21206492.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604214208/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/21206492.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | title = Property taxes hit women who rent, mayor is told
  | last = Small
  | first = Peter
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | date = 30 June 1995
  | page = A10
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/16817404.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604214305/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/16817404.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | title = Megacity is hot topic at levees
  | author = Caroline Mallan
  | author2 = Theresa Boyle
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | date = 2 January 1997
  | page = A7
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/16821072.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130131205604/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/16821072.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 31 January 2013
  | title = Megacity foes rush to barricades
  | last = Talaga
  | first = Tanya
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | date = 25 January 1997
  | page = A1
}}</ref> He had previously campaigned for [[Toronto City Council|city council]] in the [[1997 Toronto municipal election|1997 municipal election]] as an extension of his anti-megacity campaign, and also advocated property tax reforms.<ref>{{Cite web
 |url          = http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/17/09/News/feature4.html
 |last         = Sewell
 |first        = John
 |author-link   = John Sewell
 |title        = Midtown licks wounds and gets ready to vote
 |publisher    = Now Magazine
 |date         = 30 October 1997
 |access-date  = 22 January 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060617021944/http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/17/09/News/feature4.html
 |archive-date = 17 June 2006
 
}}</ref> In 2006, he argued that Torontonians should "take control of our own taxes and control our own destiny".<ref>{{Cite news
  | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/1159043271.html?FMT=ABS
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604214446/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/1159043271.html?FMT=ABS
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 4 June 2011
  | title = Toronto Mayoral Race
  | newspaper = Toronto Star
  | date = 9 November 2006
  | page = G1
}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada}}
* [[Proposal for the Province of Montreal]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite news|url=http://www.torontosun.com/comment/2010/03/16/13252231.html|title=Toronto the province?|last1=Goldstein|first1=Lorrie|last2=Den Tandt|first2=Michael|newspaper=Toronto Sun|date=16 March 2010}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110604213843/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/421598251.html?FMT=ABS ''A strategy for secession''] (Toronto Star article)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proposal for the Province of Toronto}}
[[Category:Greater Toronto Area| ]]
[[Category:Proposed provinces and territories of Canada|Toronto]]
[[Category:Municipal government of Toronto]]