The Montreal-Toronto rivalry is a rivalry that exists between the Canadian cities of Montreal and Toronto. Both cities have many similarities and differences which have intensified the rivalry.citation needed
Canada's first city
St. James Street was Canada's financial centre during the first three-quarters of the 20th century.
Up until the mid 1970s, Montreal was without question Canada's largest and most important city. This changed partially as a result of the rise of the Quebec sovereignty movement[1] and the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which helped shift goods and economic activity inland. From 1971 to 2001, Quebec has had a net loss of 387,100 people who left for the other provinces.[2] The majority of these migrants were anglophones from Montreal. Many of them headed down Highway 401 to Toronto.[3]
| City/Year |
Montreal |
Toronto |
| 1931 |
1,023,000 |
810,000 |
| 1941 |
1,150,000 |
900,000 |
| 1951 |
1,539,000 |
1,262,000 |
| 1961 |
2,216,000 |
1,919,000 |
| 1971 |
2,743,000 |
2,628,000 |
| 1981 |
2,828,000 |
2,999,000 |
| 1991 |
3,127,000 |
3,893,000 |
| 2001 |
3,451,027 |
4,682,897 |
| 2006 |
3,635,571 |
5,113,149 |
Numbers pre-2001 are rounded off to nearest thousand.
Source: Statistics Canada and Demographia
Comparison
| Category |
Montreal |
Toronto |
| Primary language |
French |
English |
| Founded |
1642 (as Ville-Marie) |
1793 (as York) |
| Pro sports teams |
3: National Hockey League, Canadian Football League, United Soccer Leagues First Division |
6: National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, Canadian Football League, National Lacrosse League |
| Universities |
5: McGill University, Concordia University, Université de Montréal, Université du Québec à Montréal, École de technologie supérieure |
6: University of Toronto, York University, Ryerson University, Ontario College of Art and Design, Tyndale University College and Seminary, University of Guelph-Humber |
| University Population |
~194,600 (5.3 students for every 100 residents) |
~131,700 (2.4 students for every 100 residents) |
Sports
Sports teams from both Toronto and Montreal have been competing against each other as long as Canada has been a country.
Soccer
Recently, as the increase of soccer's popularity has spread throughout Canada, a new sporting rivalry has been created between the fans and supporters of Major League Soccer's Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact of the United Soccer Leagues (Division 1). In 2008, both teams played each other for the first time in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship along with the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Impact would win the inaugural tournament.
Hockey
- See also: Maple Leafs-Canadiens Rivalry
Historically the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Montreal Canadiens have had a long standing hockey rivalry, known as "Forever Rivals." This rivalry not only included residents of the two cities, but also hockey fans from across the country. The intensity of this rivalry has lessened since National Hockey League expansion.
The Canadiens and Maple Leafs have met in the playoffs 15 times. To date, Montreal has won 8, Toronto 7. Scores of games won by the series winning team are in bold.
| Season |
Round |
Result |
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3 |
Game 4 |
Game 5 |
Game 6 |
Game 7 |
| 1917-18 |
NHL Final* |
Toronto 10-7** |
3-7 |
3-4 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1924-25 |
NHL Semifinal* |
Montreal 5-2** |
3-2 |
2-0 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1943-44 |
Semifinal |
Montreal 4-1 |
3-1 |
1-5 |
2-1 |
4-1 |
0-11 |
|
|
| 1944-45 |
Semifinal |
Toronto 4-2 |
1-0 |
3-2 |
4-1 |
3-4 |
3-10 |
2-3 |
|
| 1946-47 |
Final |
Toronto 4-2 |
0-6 |
4-0 |
2-4 |
1-2 |
1-3 |
1-2 |
|
| 1950-51 |
Final |
Toronto 4-1 |
2-3 |
3-2 |
2-1 |
3-2 |
2-3 |
|
|
| 1958-59 |
Final |
Montreal 4-1 |
3-5 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
3-2 |
3-5 |
|
|
| 1959-60 |
Final |
Montreal 4-0 |
2-4 |
1-2 |
5-2 |
4-0 |
|
|
|
| 1962-63 |
Semifinal |
Toronto 4-1 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
2-0 |
1-3 |
0-5 |
|
|
| 1963-64 |
Semifinal |
Toronto 4-3 |
0-2 |
2-1 |
3-2 |
3-5 |
2-4 |
0-3 |
3-1 |
| 1964-65 |
Semifinal |
Montreal 4-2 |
2-3 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
2-4 |
1-3 |
4-3 |
|
| 1965-66 |
Semifinal |
Montreal 4-0 |
3-4 |
0-2 |
5-2 |
4-1 |
|
|
|
| 1966-67 |
Final |
Toronto 4-2 |
2-6 |
3-0 |
2-3 |
6-2 |
4-1 |
1-3 |
|
| 1977-78 |
Semifinal |
Montreal 4-0 |
3-5 |
2-3 |
6-1 |
2-0 |
|
|
|
| 1978-79 |
Quarterfinal |
Montreal 4-0 |
2-5 |
1-5 |
4-3 |
5-4 |
|
|
|
* Stanley Cup Finals were between the NHL and PCHA champions prior to 1927. ** Total goals series.
Baseball
-
Main article: Pearson Cup
In 1969, Major League Baseball awarded the city of Montreal a baseball franchise. The Montreal Expos quickly became not only the team of the city, but the team of the whole country. This changed in 1977, when MLB awarded a second team to Canada, more specifically, Toronto. This led to a small rivalry, but nothing compared to its NHL counterpart, since baseball isn't nearly as popular in Canada and because the Expos were in the National League, while the Blue Jays are in the American League. As of 2005, the Montreal Expos have moved to Washington under the name of the Nationals. This ended the baseball rivalry.
References
See also
External links
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