1992- when Montreal and Toronto were still neck and neck

Caption: Nodal structure of Southern Ontario-Quebec. The anglo influence associated with Toronto and the province of Ontario and the French allegiance to Montreal and the province of Quebec, place the cities in direct competition, each having strong ties to a distinctive hinterland.

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Canada was once considered exceptional for having two cities roughly the same size, which is not supposed to happen, according to urban studies theory. This, of course, was prior to the disastrous 1995 referendum and other such goof ups.


According to Interpreting the City, an Urban Geography 2nd Edition by Truman A. Hartshorn, (Wiley 1992):

Canada does not have a dominant city like New York; Toronto and Montreal each account for approximately 3 million persons, creating two cities at the to of the city-size list.
This relatively unique circumstance of having the two largest cities  about the same size in Canada can be largely explained by the dual ethnic traditions and the settlement history of the country. The Anglo influence associated with Toronto and the province of Ontario, on the one hand, and the French allegiance to Montreal and the Province of Quebec, on the other hand, have placed the two cities in direct competition, with each drawing from its own distinct cultural economic support base and market area.

In 1862 Montreal had 90,000 residents, twice that of the biggest competitor, Quebec City.

By 1900 we were up to 500,000. Toronto only reached that in 1941.

But Montreal has been easily surpassed since. We now have about 3.6 while Toronto is up to somewhere near 5.5 million.

So much for Canada not having a dominant city.