The Golden Horseshoe is a densely populated geographical region at the west end of Lake Ontario in southern Ontario, Canada. The built-up region extends from the Niagara Falls region at the eastern end of the Niagara Peninsula, west to Hamilton, and then east again across the northern edge of Lake Ontario, past Toronto to, approximately, Oshawa, with a population of over 8 million people.

The "horseshoe" part of the region's name is derived from the characteristic horseshoe shape with Hamilton in the centre and Niagara Falls and Oshawa at either end. The "golden" part is historically attributed to the region's wealth and prosperity, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. (An alternative explanation often quoted attributes it to its bright, or "golden", appearance from space, as a result of city lights; however, the name predates satellite photography.)

A July 13, 2004 report from the provincial Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal entitled Places to Grow coined the term Greater Golden Horseshoe, extending the boundaries west to Waterloo Region, north to Barrie, and east to Peterborough. A subsequent edition released February 16, 2005 broadened the term further, adding Brantford and Haldimand and Northumberland Counties.

External links

• Places to Grow
• Population breakdown of GTA and GGH