Why is Toronto called the "Big Smoke"?

Answer 1

It relates to pollution, but not the way people think... the name originates back to the early 1900's, the city was very industrial at the time and the name is due to the smog clouds that were over the city.

Answer 2

I always thought it was called The Big Smoke because of the major fire when a hundred buildings were destroyed.

Answer 3

I have to disagree with most of these answers. I grew up near Hamilton, Ont, and ALWAYS heard Toronto referred to as the Big Smoke. Then I moved there and heard Hamilton called the same. Now I live in Vancouver, and have discovered that the term originated here on the west coast, and it was and is because of the pollution of the city apparently.

Answer 4

I remember hearing this term in the 60's and 70's, but it was the nickname for Hamilton, not Toronto.

I lived in Toronto all my life too, and I too have never heard it referring to Toronto. I have had friends and acquaintances in Hamilton in the 60's, 70's, and even now.

Hamilton in the 60's and 70's was the most air-polluted city because of the heavy steel industries there which involved coal, and had the most air pollution. Now there is more recycling happening, which is more efficient and less polluting.

Toronto's nickname is Hogtown, because in the formative years, the streets were mud, and farms were close, and some farm animals sometimes wandered around town. You can still see a historic fence around Osgoode Hall, beside City Hall, designed to let people in, but keep farm animals out. No farm animals wander around anymore, not since 100 years ago, but its still our fun little nickname.

I've hear Big Smoke used for Sudbury too, perhaps because of the world's tallest smoke-stacks in the world's largest Nickel mining operation, and there was air pollution from it, but since the early 1980's activism about "acid-rain", they have reduced air pollution from there 90-something percent with filters etc.

Answer 5

In the early 1900s it was heavily industrialized, hence the name - the first name that comes to mind when I hear "Toronto" - never heard Hogtown till late in the last century and my family has been based in Toronto/York since 1857

Answer 6

As we all know Canada is very clean and has good environment. Lately scientist found that Toronto is very poluted and it has a bug smoke over the sky of toronto because of the day to day fussil fuel and etc....

so thats why they call like this....

Answer 7

I don't think it has anything to do with pollution as some others here have suggested. I was born and raised there and I always thought it was because it is the largest city in Canada, hence "the big smoke" Oh by the way, it's also know as Hog town because that is where all of the pigs from the local farming were taken to be made into pork chops and such.

Answer 8

I've lived in Toronto for most of my life, and I've never heard it called that. Right now, the sun is out, the air quality is very good, and the sky is clear. Sometimes, in the summer, there is pollution. Most of the pollution in southern Ontario comes from Michigan and the Buffalo area.

Answer 9

I have lived in Toronto all my life and I have never heard such a thing!!

The Big Smoke??

Are you American by any chance??

Answer 10

Two things...

One could be all the pollution as the smog levels tend to get back which would I guess look like a bunch of cigarrettes.

Secondly, I've heard of Barrie (city 45 mins north of Toronto) being called the big smoke because of this:
Barrie: The big smoke
Police fear doorway to Ontario's cottage country has become a haven for drug lords
By Tracy McLAUGHLIN

BARRIE -- Greenhouses filled with thousands of marijuana plants, a private plane laden with eight hockey bags stuffed with cocaine, hidden fields with acres of pot plants, vats of the date-rape drug, GHB, being sold on the Internet, two dead bodies lying in a field. "Hometown" Barrie, the doorway to cottage country, ain't what it used to be.