Carle Jasmin (Image : Pixabay)
Ask Canadians what the title “Queen City,” attributed to Toronto, means and where the name comes from. I would bet that 99% of them would tell you it is the city’s former nickname, from back when it was the second-most-populous city in Canada. Yet the reality is far from what most people imagine.
When the question comes up on LGBTQ+ social media, several people jokingly suggest that it must be because Toronto is home to the largest number of drag queens: “queen” means “reine” in English. But as amusing as these answers may be, that is not the real explanation.
Why is Montreal known as the Metropolis, while Toronto is nicknamed the Queen City?
The explanation dates back to the 19th century, when Toronto was still seeking to establish its identity and its place among Canada’s major cities. The English nickname Queen City emerged at a time when the British monarchy played an important role in the political and symbolic life of Upper Canada. Queen Victoria was then on the British throne. Her long reign, from 1837 to 1901, defined an entire era during which references to the monarchy and British culture occupied an important place in Canadian society. It was in this context that the nickname Queen City became established for Toronto. It reflects the British influence of the time, although there is no evidence to suggest that the name was created specifically in Victoria’s honour.
The nickname reflects the attachment that people of the time felt toward British culture and the monarchy. However, we should avoid assigning it an overly precise date of origin: the historical sources consulted do not establish with certainty when the nickname first appeared. By the end of the 19th century, however, the expression Queen City of Canada was well established and even appeared in publications devoted to the city.
The little irony of the story is that Toronto has not always been called Toronto. Until 1834, the city was known as York. So the next time you hear someone refer to the Queen City, you can leave the drag queens out of it: the title has more to do with Toronto’s British heritage. Although, to be fair, the LGBTQ+ community has certainly given the word queen a whole new level of visibility!
And why is Montreal called the Metropolis?
Unlike Toronto and its nickname, the Queen City, Montreal owes its title as a metropolis to its economic, commercial and cultural influence, rather than to any reference to the monarchy.
To understand the title, we need to go back to the 19th century. Thanks to its strategic location on the St. Lawrence River, Montreal became a major gateway for goods and travellers arriving from Europe. Its port, followed by the development of the railway, encouraged trade, industrialization and the establishment of major businesses. As a result, the city became an indispensable economic centre in Canada.
At the time, being a metropolis meant more than simply being a large city: it meant bringing together the banks, corporate headquarters, industries and transportation networks that kept the economy running.
But the title was not permanent. After the Second World War, Toronto gradually gained the upper hand. The relocation of corporate headquarters, economic growth in Ontario and Western Canada, and changes in transportation all contributed to Montreal losing its status as the country’s leading economic metropolis. Beginning in the 1960s, Montreal increasingly established itself as Quebec’s metropolis, playing a central role in French-speaking cultural, economic and political life.
In short, Toronto is the Queen City because of its historical and cultural heritage, while Montreal is the Metropolis because of the role it played in Canada’s economic development and the role it continues to play in Quebec. Two nicknames, two histories—and a rivalry between the two cities that certainly did not begin yesterday.
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