Toronto the Great

As much fun as it is to watch Torontonians get a little snippy when any slight is whispered against their home town, I don't much care to add fuel to the fire (unless we're talking hockey, ovvio).

I have one friend still living in Toronto, and when I visited to meet her future husband, he kept baiting me. Albeitly playfully, but baiting nonetheless.

"So what does that mean? Are you saying that people in Toronto move too fast? That they don't stop to smell the flowers like your Montrealers?"

"Em, no, I just meant that one car was going super fast. I think it may even have a Quebec plate."

But then today, I had to research some tourist attractions in the TDot, and I nearly peed myself laughing.

Here's a sampling of what I found. Keep track of the superlatives if you can:

• CN Tower: Defining the Toronto skyline, the CN Tower is Canada’s most recognizable and celebrated icon. At a height of 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches), it is the World’s Tallest Building, a Wonder of the Modern World, an important telecommunications hub, the centre of tourism in Toronto and a first class dining and event centre.
• Rogers Centre: Rogers Centre is recognized as one of the world's premiere entertainment centres, which since its spectacular opening on June 3, 1989, has achieved the highest honours in the stadium entertainment industry. -- A unique feature of the Rogers Centre is its Videoboard, one of the world's largest, measuring 110 feet wide by 33 feet high - bringing everyone even closer to the action.
• Canada's Wonderland: Canada's Wonderland is Canada's premier theme park and features over 200 attractions, more than 65 thrilling rides, North America's greatest variety of roller coasters, and Splash Works, a 20-acre water park. --  Canada's Wonderland opens for the 2008 season with the biggest, tallest and fastest rollercoaster in Canada - BEHEMOTH!

My question is: How is the rest of the world managing to summon up any tourism considering that the biggest, best, most amazazing attractions in Canada and the world, are in Toronto? Has Toronto not heard of the Burj Dubai?

Does Toronto have anything that's mediocre? Other than the Leafs? (you knew that was coming)

Although I find the gushing adjectives and superlative to be nauseous au bout, you have to give credit to the people responsible for Toronto tourism. They've started a campaign using an American-style marketing onslaught. and it may just be working. After all, if you always hear great things about City X or Movie Y, aren't you apt to go and see it, if only to satisfy your curiosity?

Laugh all your want, but who's boasting a better tourist industry right now? (I honestly don't know and am currently too feverish to reply - will Google tomorrow when I'm not shivering)

This kind of campaign works for Toronto. It would never work for Montréal. So what I want to hear from you is, what's so special about Mtl that we could never (with a straight face) sell ourselves so flagrantly?

And, if some Mtl attractions have started to get mouthy like this, tell me where to find their sites.

PS. This has nothing to do with work, or any of our clients. This is simple curiosity from someone who loves her city and wants to understand it a little better. For true.