Toronto and New York City are both immigrant gateways in the northeast of North America, but they work differently. Toronto is a single-tier city in a Canadian province, with a mayor and a 25-member council. New York is a city of five boroughs under a mayor-council system. The sections below compare governance, transit, immigration, language, and climate, using only figures that could be read at the sources listed.
How each city is governed
Toronto is a single-tier municipality with a mayor-council system and a 25-member city council, according to the reference article on the city. The City of Toronto Act, 2006, is the statute that continues agencies such as the Toronto Transit Commission. New York City is also governed under a strong mayor-council system, and its five boroughs are each coextensive with a county.
The New York City Council describes itself as separate from the mayor’s administration but an equal partner in running the city. The mayor can veto legislation the council has approved, and the council can override a veto with a vote of two-thirds or more. The council also negotiates the budget with the mayor and approves it. The City of Toronto’s council pages did not state equivalent rules in the text that could be read, so a point-by-point match of veto powers is left out.
Public transit systems
The Toronto Transit Commission is a City of Toronto agency. Its board has 10 members appointed by city council: four public members and six councillors, according to the City of Toronto. New York’s subway is operated by the New York City Transit Authority, owned by the City of New York, and is an affiliate of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Oversight therefore sits with the city in Toronto and with a state authority in New York.
Scale differs sharply. The reference article on the New York subway lists 472 stations by the agency’s count, 25 services, and 24-hour operation at 470 of the 472 stations. The reference article on the Toronto subway lists 109 stations on subway and light-rail lines with about 100 km of line. Both articles give 2025 ridership, but one counts linked trips and the other a different measure, so the ridership figures are better left uncompared.
Immigration
Immigrants made up 46.6 percent of the Toronto census metropolitan area at the 2021 Census, the highest share of any large urban center in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. For all of Canada the share was 23.0 percent, the largest since Confederation. Among immigrants admitted from 2016 to May 11, 2021, the top countries of birth nationwide were India (18.6 percent), the Philippines (11.4 percent), and China (8.9 percent).
The reference article on New York City puts the foreign-born share at about 36.3 percent, based on 2018 to 2022 American Community Survey data, compared with 13.7 percent nationwide. The two numbers are close in spirit but not in method. Canada’s census asks about landed immigrant or permanent resident status. The American survey counts people born outside the United States, and the geography differs (a metropolitan area against a city).
Languages
The reference article on New York calls it the most linguistically diverse city in the world and estimates that 800 languages are spoken there. For Toronto it reports that more than 160 languages are spoken. These counts come from different surveys and counting rules, so neither supports a ranking. They show that both cities host speakers of far more languages than most places. English is the main language of daily life in both. Toronto’s own language data are discussed in the related article on the city’s spoken languages.
Climate
| 1991 to 2020 normals | Toronto Pearson Airport | New York (Central Park) |
|---|---|---|
| January mean daily temperature | -5 C (23 F) | 0.7 C (33.3 F) |
| July mean daily temperature | 22.1 C (71.8 F) | 25.3 C (77.5 F) |
| Annual precipitation | 806.8 mm | 1,260 mm |
| Annual snowfall | 114.5 cm | 76 cm |
| Köppen type | humid continental (Dfa) | humid subtropical (Cfa) |
The Toronto figures are Environment and Climate Change Canada normals as quoted in the reference article; the New York figures are the 1991 to 2020 normals quoted in its article. Station placement matters, since the Toronto airport is outside the city center. Toronto is colder in winter and gets more snow, while New York is warmer and wetter.
Cost-of-living comparisons were left out because no official, same-year, same-method source could be read for both cities. Readers who want to browse further can start from and then check any figure against the sources listed below.
Frequently asked questions
Is Toronto’s government like New York’s?
Both use a mayor and a council. Toronto has a 25-member council and its powers come from Ontario. New York’s mayor can veto council legislation, subject to a two-thirds override.
Which city has more immigrants?
By share, Toronto’s census metropolitan area was 46.6 percent immigrant in 2021, against about 36.3 percent foreign-born for New York City in survey data for 2018 to 2022. The measures differ, so the gap is indicative only.
Which city has the colder winter?
Toronto. The January mean at Pearson Airport is -5 C against 0.7 C at Central Park, in 1991 to 2020 normals.
Who runs the transit system?
The TTC is governed by a 10-member board appointed by Toronto city council. New York’s subway belongs to the City but is operated by an affiliate of the state’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Statistics Canada, The Daily, Canada a leader in G7 in immigrants, 2021 Census (October 26, 2022)
- City of Toronto, Toronto Transit Commission governance
- New York City Council, About
- Wikipedia, Toronto
- Wikipedia, New York City
- Wikipedia, Climate of Toronto
- Wikipedia, New York City Subway
- Wikipedia, Toronto subway
Related reading
- Immigration history of Toronto
- Languages spoken in Toronto
- Toronto subway history
- Toronto compared with other Canadian cities
- Toronto facts hub
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 27). How Toronto and New York City Differ in Government and Transit. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/what-are-the-similarities-and-differences-between-toronto-and-new-york-city
MLA: “How Toronto and New York City Differ in Government and Transit.” History of Toronto, 27 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/what-are-the-similarities-and-differences-between-toronto-and-new-york-city. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “How Toronto and New York City Differ in Government and Transit.” Last modified October 27, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/what-are-the-similarities-and-differences-between-toronto-and-new-york-city.
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