Toronto’s magnetism starts with its brainpower: the University of Toronto, York and Toronto Metropolitan (all combing for a #11 global University ranking) anchor one of North America’s most educated metros. In fact, Toronto boasts the fourth most educated population on the planet. They feed centuries-old companies and a humming start-up scene – momentum that keeps the city among the planet’s most coveted for immigrants, resulting in a populace where the majority of residents were born outside of Canada. You feel the growth in the skyline: more than 150 tower cranes, a renovated Massey Hall, Renzo Piano’s Ontario Court of Justice and Love Park’s heart-shaped pond – all catnip for Instagram, where Toronto consistently ranks among the most-posted cities (#13) and firmly atop Google Trends (#18). On the city’s long-neglected Lake Ontario waterfront, the billion-dollar Port Lands Flood Protection has rerouted the Don River into a new 0.8-mile channel and opened the first 49 acres of Biidaasige Park, with another 15 acres coming online through 2028, cementing Toronto’s impressive #21-ranked Nature & Parks. Big stages are next. BMO Field’s expansion to host FIFA World Cup 2026 matches is underway, and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre pipeline is strengthening citywide events.