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Criteria for second city status include population size, economic or commercial importance, political importance or some cultural sense. Since it is often difficult to draw a precise boundary where cities end, deciding which city is second in a country is not always straightforward. If the cultural definition is used, then the choice of second city is highly subjective and a matter of opinion rather than fact. In many counties, more than one city might have a legitimate claim to being second city, depending on the definition or criteria used.
In Australia, Melbourne is sometimes referred to as the second city, behind the largest city Sydney (although neither is the capital; this is the comparatively small Canberra).
In Canada, Toronto was referred to as the second city before the late 1970sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Events and trends when it overtook MontrealMontreal (/mVn. tri"Al/ in English, /mO~. re"al/ in French) is the largest city in the province of Quebec, Canada, where it also constitutes an administrative region. It is Canada's second most populous city after Toronto ( Statistics Canada), and the sec in population and the centre of the financial industury moved from St. James Street to Bay StreetBay Street is a street in downtown Toronto, Ontario Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's financial district and is often used as a synonym for Canada's financial industry just as Wall Street is used in the United States. It was named for the Hudson's Bay.
In the United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly, the distinction of second city is generally contended for by both ManchesterThis article is about the city in England. For alternative meanings, see Manchester (disambiguation). Manchester is a city in North West England, which in 2002 had a population of approximately 422,302. The city is situated in the centre of the large metr and BirminghamThis article is about Birmingham in England. See also Birmingham, Alabama or other places called Birmingham. Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. Being the country's second largest city, it is usually considered B. The metropolitan countiesThe metropolitan counties of England are administative counties that cover large urban areas, each with several metropolitan districts. The counties no longer have county councils, as they were abolished in 1986 with most of their functions being devolved surrounding the two cities - Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in England established in 1974 which covers an area roughly encompassing the conurbation of which the city of Manchester is the centre. It is situated in North West England. It borders onto the ceremonial counti and the West Midlands - each have a population of just over 2.5 million according to 2002 estimates.
Each of these metropolitan counties contain towns or cities that are clearly distinct from their mother city. The West Midlands contains Coventry and Wolverhampton, which are cities in their own right, as well as the towns of the Black Country. Similarly, Greater Manchester includes the cities of Salford and Trafford, and towns like Wigan and Bolton.
It is sometimes argued that since Manchester is further from London, it is less under the capital's influence, and so has more identity of its own, although the extent of London's influence over Birmingham may be exaggerated.
In the past, Glasgow and Liverpool each had a claim to being the UK's second city, by virtue of their economic importance through ship building and associated industries.