.png){kind=logo}
Toronto, the largest city in Canada, is a diverse and multicultural metropolis that offers something for everyone. Known for its beautiful architecture, delicious food, and vibrant arts and culture scene, it's no surprise that Toronto is a top tourist destination. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a seasoned traveler, our list of Toronto trivia questions is the perfect way to explore the city and learn more about its many wonders.
Our list of trivia questions covers a wide range of topics, including the city's history, landmarks, food, and entertainment. You'll find questions about the origin of Toronto's name, the oldest building in the city, famous museums and galleries, traditional Canadian dishes that originated in Toronto, and much more. With our trivia questions, you'll be able to explore the city like never before and gain a deeper understanding of what makes Toronto such a special place.
So, pack your bags and get ready to explore the city! Whether you're a history buff, a foodie, or just someone looking for a fun way to learn more about Toronto, our trivia questions are sure to provide you with an enjoyable and informative experience. Don't hesitate - start exploring Toronto today and discover all the fascinating facts and trivia this city has to offer!
1. Canada's "Big Five" banks are all based in Toronto. They are Bank of Montreal (BMO), Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and what fifth bank?
Answer: Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)
3. Torrington, Wyoming got the TOR airport code instead of Toronto, because Canadian airport codes all start with what letter?
Answer: Y
4. Named for the railway company that built it, what 1,815-foot-tall communications and observation edifice is the tallest structure in Toronto?
Answer: CN Tower
5. The CF Toronto Eaton Centre has a holographic fashion show display thanks to what 5-letter cloud technology? Coincidentally, they're the first letters of the largest city in Oregon in the U.S.
Answer: PORTL
6. What Toronto-based NHL franchise was one of the “Original Six” teams to form the professional hockey league in 1942?
Answer: Toronto Maple Leafs
7. British-born geophysicist Cecil Green lived in Toronto and San Francisco growing up, and ultimately earned two college degrees from M.I.T. However, when he cofounded a company, the firm included what other state in its name? You might be most familiar with one of their products from algebra class.
Answer: Texas Instruments
8. Toronto is often considered the anchor of what "shiny equine" name for the region surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario?
Answer: Golden Horseshoe
9. What 2007 film written by Diablo Cody stars two teen actors from Canada? The film premiered in Canada, receiving a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival, before later winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Answer: Juno
10. What is the "Q" name for the waterfront district in Toronto that had been slated for redevelopment by Google-owned "Sidewalk Labs" but is now on indefinite hold? The area was formerly used for dockland and industrial uses but is likely to be remade into mixed-use properties.
Answer: Quayside
11. Based on the daily average high temperature, July is the hottest month of the year in Toronto. What month is the second-hottest?
Answer: August
12. What "sweet" Canadian actor and comedian rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City, starred in major movies like "Uncle Buck," and died of a heart attack in Mexico at the age of 43?
Answer: John Candy
13. What is the name for the Gothic Revival style mansion in midtown Toronto constructed in 1911 for financier Sir Henry Pellatt? The name translates from Spanish to "Hill House."
Answer: Casa Loma
14. Mies van der Rohe was the internationally renowned architect chosen to design what flagship project for Fairview in the 1960s before the company had merged with Cadillac?
Answer: Toronto-Dominion Centre
15. In 1980, what athlete and Canadian hero, who was equipped with a prosthetic right leg, ran more than 5,000 kilometers across the country to raise money for cancer research in his "Marathon of Hope"?
Answer: Terry Fox
16. What is the name of the multi-sport event featuring thousands of athletes from the Americas in summer sports that Toronto hosted in 2015?
Answer: Pan American Games
17. What urban park in Toronto, opened in 1860 and named after Victoria, is the site of the Ontario Legislative Building?
Answer: Queen's Park
18. Which two Canadian cities made their NBA franchise debuts in 1995? We need BOTH answers here.
Answer: Toronto and Vancouver
19. Often considered the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America, what is the name of the "spirited" and alliterative 13-acre area in Toronto located east of downtown?
Answer: Distillery District
20. Born and raised in Toronto as the sixth of seven, who is the actress, comedian, and writer who famously starred as the mother of Kevin McAllister in "Home Alone" and more recently became an Emmy-winning star of "Schitt's Creek"?
Answer: Catherine O'Hara
21. Toronto Blue Jays were the first (and to date only) non-US team to win the World Series, but which baseball team from the Deep South did they courageously defeat in October 1992 to claim their first title?
Answer: The Atlanta Braves
22. Owned by The Woodbridge Company of Toronto, what Monday-to-Saturday newspaper with two nouns in its title is the most popular in Canada?
Answer: The Globe and Mail
23. Prior to a slight rebranding in 2015 to "CF Eaton Centre," what was the name of the Cadillac Fairview-owned Toronto mall?
Answer: Eaton Centre
24. With an average daily high temperature of 27 C, what month is technically the hottest month of the year in Toronto (using data from the past 50 years)?
Answer: July
25. Designed by Robert Watt in 1998, Toronto's official coat of arms includes a depiction of three rivers flowing into what body of water?
Answer: Lake Ontario
26. What alliterative National League East team did the Toronto Blue Jays defeat in 1993 to win their second World Series title in a row?
Answer: Philadelphia Phillies
27. On January 1st of what year was Toronto greatly enlarged through the amalgamation of six municipalities, including York, North York, and East York?
Answer: 1998
28. In 2010 Cadillac Fairview opened a new Toronto property near the Scotiabank Center, named for what most Canadian of symbols?
Answer: Maple Leaf
29. In 2016, two extraordinarily large rodents escaped Toronto's High Park Zoo and became an international news sensation referred to as Bonny and Clyde. What type of animal were these critters?
Answer: Capybaras
30. "Flight Stop," a sculpture in Cadillac Fairview's Toronto Eaton Centre, depicts 60 of what birds in flight?
Answer: Canada goose
31. The Ashbridges Bay Marsh was the natural landmark that was largely replaced with what industrial and recreational neighborhood in Toronto that includes Villiers Island?
Answer: Port Lands
32. Toronto’s Canadian Football League team has what name? It refers to the crew members of the ship commanded by Greek hero Jason.
Answer: Argonauts
33. Although it has been moved from its original location, what is the eponymous name of the oldest residential structure in Toronto that has been standing since 1794?
Answer: Scadding Cabin
34. The Great Lakes Storm sunk 10 ships and more than 20 additional ships were driven ashore as 16 hours of winds and rain killed more than 200 seafarers. In what decade was this Ontario-adjacent storm?
Answer: 1910s
35. The CN Tower was completed, the Marlboros won their seventh Memorial Cup, and Lorne Michaels began his takeover of the U.S. with the first season of "SNL" in what very winning year of the '70s for Toronto?
Answer: 1975
36. What aquarium is located in downtown Toronto, to the southeast of the CN Tower, whether you “Believe It Or Not?”
Answer: Ripley's Aquarium
37. What Toronto Blue Jays player hit a walk-off three-run home run off Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams to win the 1993 World Series?
Answer: Joe Carter
38. "Chicago Freestyle" is a 2020 hit song from the album "Dark Lane Demo Tapes" by what one-named rapper who's more often associated with Toronto than Chicago?
Answer: Drake
39. What public market on Front and Jarvis Streets in Toronto was originally built in 1845? It shares its name with a river that connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.
Answer: St. Lawrence Market
40. Because of Canada’s imposed travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Toronto Raptors temporarily relocated their home games for the 2020-21 NBA season to Amalie Arena in what Floridian city?
Answer: Tampa
41. The letters “CN” in Toronto’s CN Tower stand for what railway company who originally constructed the communications tower in 1976?
Answer: Canadian National
42. Measuring 12 acres in area in front of Toronto City Hall, Canada’s largest city square is named for what politician who served as the city’s major from 1955 to 1962?
Answer: Nathan Phillips
43. Beloved by calceology enthusiasts, the Bata Museum in Toronto is dedicated to displaying exhibits of what items of clothing?
Answer: Shoes
44. What Toronto-born actor is best known for losing track of her son Kevin as Kate McCallister in “Home Alone” and portraying the eclectic Moira Rose in the television series “Schitt’s Creek”?
Answer: Catherine O' Hara
45. Winning two consecutive titles during the early '90s, who became the first MLB team who were NOT based in the United States to win the World Series in 1992?
Answer: Toronto Blue Jays
46. In 2017, the Toronto Raptors replaced their popular "We the North" slogan with what three-word phrase that some considered overly domineering?
Answer: North Over Everything
47. Which shopping centre in the Rexdale area of Toronto was opened in 1985 by Cadillac Fairview? This centre shares its name with a type of climbing plant.
Answer: Woodbine Centre
48. Also in the 100th year of one of the two banks’ existence, in which year was TD bank created when the Bank of Toronto merged with the Dominion Bank?
Answer: 1955
49. Fans of the Canadian prog rock band Rush will know that, as per the title of a track on 1981's "Moving Pictures," what three letters serve as the IATA code for Toronto's Pearson Airport?
Answer: YYZ
50. Architect and native son Frank Gehry led the redevelopment of a Canadian institution in the 2000s, a particularly challenging feat as the building was considered a "hodgepodge" from six previous expansions dating back to the 1920s. What was the building Gehry revitalized as?
Answer: Art Gallery of Ontario
51. What Western Conference team did the Toronto Raptors defeat in the 2019 NBA finals to become league champions?
Answer: Golden State Warriors
52. Despite poor reviews and even poorer performance at the box office, what 1999 movie set in Boston (though mostly filmed in Toronto) followed fraternal-twins turned vigilante killers became a cult favorite in part due to an exclusive partnership with Blockbuster?
Answer: The Boondock Saints
53. Based on climate data from 1981 - 2010, during what month of the year does Toronto receive the most snowfall on average? It totals 37 inches per year in this month.
Answer: January
54. There was a fire in Toronto that destroyed more than 100 buildings downtown near Wellington Street West and claimed one victim's life and although the exact cause of the fire wasn't determined, it was likely a heating stove or electrical problem. In what decade was this fire?
Answer: 1900s
55. Anthony Harris Bennett is a Torontonian athlete who is widely considered one of the most famous "draft busts" in what sport?
Answer: Basketball
56. The name “Canada” comes from the word “Kanata” which was a word used by what native American tribe who lived in Quebec in the 1500s?
Answer: Iroquois
57. On Bloor St in West Toronto, there is a retail establishment named The Monkey Paw with a customized vending machine. When a customer inserts a token, rather than getting a snack or beverage, they receive what edifying object?
Answer: A book
58. A Canadian national park established in 1987 to protect the rock formations and shoreline of the Niagara Escarpment is named for what peninsula that extends northwest of Toronto into Lake Huron?
Answer: Bruce Peninsula
59. Featuring spectacular views of Lake Ontario, what Toronto building, which is named for a railway company, is billed as the tallest free-standing structure in the Western hemisphere?
Answer: CN Tower
60. Number 8 Fire Station and Tom's Place are two of the well-known landmarks, and its approximate borders are College St, Spadina Ave, Dundas St W, and Bathurst St. What is this Toronto neighborhood?
Answer: Kensington Market
61. What numerical nickname did Canadian rapper Drake give his hometown in Toronto following his announcement in 2014 to promote his new album, “Views”?
Answer: The Six
62. What is the name of the luxury hotel and residential condo building in downtown Toronto that is one of the fifteen tallest buildings in the city and was named for a fictional place first described in a 1933 novel by James Hilton?
Answer: Shangri-La Toronto
63. If you're looking at an alphabetically-sorted list of all the stores and restaurants in Toronto's Fairview Mall, every letter in the first half of the alphabet except for ONE, will be represented as the first letter of a retail location. What is this lonely letter that does not begin the name of any establishment?
Answer: I (i)
64. What baseball player, who would later set a Major League record with 714 home runs, hit his first professional homer in 1914 at Toronto's Maple Leaf Park?
Answer: Babe Ruth
65. What’s the nickname for the University of Toronto’s sports program (as well as the title of a 1999 football flick)?
Answer: Varsity Blues
66. Shot primarily in Toronto, what 2010s sci-fi TV series starred actress Tatiana Maslany in multiple roles as clones called "sestras?"
Answer: Orphan Black
67. What Raptors shooting guard/small forward, who still has the franchise’s single season scoring record for 1999-2000, was known for his high flying athleticism, winning the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk contest?
Answer: Vince Carter
68. Given to the city in 1981 as part of its "Salute to Switzerland," a 1,000-pound piece of what European mountain sits at the base of the CN Tower?
Answer: Matterhorn
69. The Calypso Monarch, the King and Queen Showcase, and the Grand Parade are all key elements to what annual Torontonian tradition?
Answer: Caribana
70. Who became the first mayor of Toronto in 1834? He also led the unsuccessful Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837-1838, after which he escaped to the United States.
Answer: William Lyon Mackenzie
71. Generally acknowledged as "the largest continuous area of preserved Victorian housing in all of North America," what is the neighborhood in central Toronto whose name supposedly came from the planting of crops in front yards?
Answer: Cabbagetown
72. What “M” Canadian insurance company based in Toronto, Canada mainly operates in the United States through John Hancock Financial, while operating in Canada and Asia under its own name? Its logo is a green chart.
Answer: Manulife
73. "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" and "We Can't Be Friends" were top-ten hits for what Toronto-born artist who got her start singing backup for Celine Dion?
Answer: Deborah Cox
74. First released in 1991, the Heritage Minutes are a bilingual series of PSAs that are produced by what non-profit organization that also famously publishes an encyclopedia?
Answer: Historica Canada
75. What was the last name of the Toronto dental surgeon whose namesake "elevators," also called "chisels," are still used for tooth extraction?
Answer: Coupland
Water Cooler Trivia is well-equipped to provide you with exciting and engaging trivia quizzes.
So, how does it work?
Each week, our team will deliver original trivia quizzes straight to your inbox.
All you have to do is pick the categories.
You can leave the rest of the heavy lifting to us.
Take Water Cooler Trivia for a test run with our four-week free trial.
We do everything we can to ensure that Water Cooler Trivia's questions are appropriate, relevant, and accurate. Our database has tens of thousands of questions, so we don't always get it right. If you see a question that needs editing, we would love if you let us know here or email [email protected].
.png)