Main article: Demographics of Toronto

The last complete census by Statistics Canada estimated there were 2,503,281 people residing in Toronto in June 2006,^[1] making it the largest city in Canada. The city's population grew by 4% (96,073 residents) between 1996 and 2001, and 1% (21,787 residents) between 2001 and 2006. Persons aged 14 years and under made up 17.5% of the population, and those aged 65 years and over made up 13.6%. The median age was 36.9 years. Foreign-born people made up 49.9% of the population.

As of 2006, 46.9% of the residents of the city proper belong to a visible minority group, and visible minorities are projected to comprise a majority in Toronto by 2017. According to the United Nations Development Programme, Toronto has the second-highest percentage of foreign-born population among world cities, after Miami, Florida. Statistics Canada's 2006 figures indicate that Toronto has surpassed Miami in this year. While Miami's foreign-born population consists mostly of Cubans and other Latin Americans, no single nationality or culture dominates Toronto's immigrant population, placing it among the most diverse cities in the world.

In 2006, people of European ethnicities formed the largest cluster of ethnic groups in Toronto, 53.1%, mostly of English, Irish, Scottish, Italian, and French origins, while the five largest visible minority groups in Toronto are South Asian/Indo-Caribbean (12.0%), Chinese (11.4%), Black/Afro-Caribbean (8.4%), Filipino (4.1%) and Latin American (2.6%). This diversity is reflected in Toronto's ethnic neighbourhoods which include Little Italy, The Junction, Little Jamaica, Little India, Chinatown, Koreatown, Greektown, Portugal Village, Corso Italia, Kensington Market, and The Westway.

Christianity is the largest religious group in Toronto. The 2001 Census reports that 31.1% of the city's population is Catholic, followed by Protestant at 21.1%, Christian Orthodox at 4.8%, Coptic Orthodox at 0.2%, and other Christians at 3.9%. Other religions in the city are Islam (6.7%), Hinduism (4.8%), Judaism (4.2%), Buddhism (2.7%), Sikhism (0.9%), and other Eastern Religions (0.2%). 18.7% of the population professes no faith.

While English is the predominant language spoken by Torontonians, many other languages have considerable numbers of local speakers, including French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Tagalog, and Hindi. Chinese and Italian are the second and third most widely spoken language at work. As a result, the city's 9-1-1 emergency services are equipped to respond in over 150 languages.