What Municipalities are Part of the GTA?

If you live in Southern Ontario, chances are you often hear the phrase GTA, or Greater Toronto Area. But what cities and towns are included in the GTA?

Besides all of the neighbourhoods in the amalgamated City of Toronto, when people refer to the Greater Toronto Area they are usually talking about an area which includes the regions of Halton, Peel, York and Durham.

Halton Region

The regional municipality of Halton is the westernmost part of the GTA. According to the official Halton Region website, the population of the area was approximately 439,000 in 2006. Halton Region includes:

• The City of Burlington
• The Town of Oakville
• The Town of Milton
• The Town of Halton Hills

Peel Region

Peel is west of Toronto, and stretches much further north. Although Peel Region has the fewest individual municipalities of the four regions, they are densely populated and still growing:

• The City of Brampton
• The City of Mississauga
• The Town of Caledon

York Region

Sitting North of Toronto, the region of York stretches all the way to Lake Simcoe and includes nine municipalities:

• City of Vaughan
• Town of Richmond Hill
• Town of Markham
• Town of Aurora
• Town of Newmarket
• Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville
• Town of East Gwillimbury
• Town of Georgina
• Township of King

Durham Region

The eastern side of the GTA, parts of Durham Region are also within the area of Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe. The Region of Durham includes:

• City of Pickering
• City of Oshawa
• Town of Ajax
• Town of Whitby
• Municipality of Clarington
• Township of Uxbridge
• Township of Scugog
• Township of Brock

Living and Working in the GTA

It is not uncommon for GTA residents to live in one municipality and work in another, including people who commute both into and out of Toronto daily. In these cases, it's helpful to stay updated on Toronto traffic. But there are also ways to use public transit between the regions, such as GO Transit, and options to connect between the public transportation systems in the GTA.