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Toronto ( /təˈrɑntoʊ/) is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous city in North America. Its metropolitan area with over 5 million residents is the seventh largest urban region in North America. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, which is home to over 8.1 million residents—approximately 25% of Canada's population.As Canada's economic capital and one of the top financial centres in the world, Toronto is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group.A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy. The settlement was later established as the Town of York and proclaimed as the new capital of Upper Canada by its lieutenant-governor, John Graves Simcoe. In 1834, York was incorporated as a city and renamed to its present name. The city was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812, and damaged in two great fires: in 1849 and in 1904. Since its incorporation, Toronto has repeatedly expanded its borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities, most recently in 1998. Toronto's population is cosmopolitan and international,According to Forbes, Toronto is the tenth-most economically powerful city in the world and one of the fastest growing among the G7 nations, whilst PwC ranks the city as the world's second-best "metro powerhouse".