Canadians are used to seeing major cities and smaller communities disguised as American and European locations in American entertainment.

It’s rare for Canadian cities just get to play themselves.

There’s a fair amount of excitement that Toronto gets to play itself in Star Trek for the first time, even though some notable and recognizable landmarks like city hall and the Ontario Science Centre, have been identifiable in episodes going back to TNG.

So, a thank you to Goldsman and Myers from pulling back on their initial plan to have Toronto disguised as New York for this episode (as they’ve said in other interviews) and let Toronto play itself.