Toronto’s stretch into the skies is capturing the attention of the world.

Tall-building development here is outpacing every other city in the Western Hemisphere with 15 skyscrapers exceeding roughly 45 storeys now under construction, according to a new study by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

That means by 2015, Toronto will be home to 44 highrises exceeding 150 metres, more than triple the 13 skyscrapers that graced the city’s skyline in 2005, says the Chicago-based clearing house on all the latest in tall building design and construction.

In a report titled “Canada Rising,” the well-respected council points to the Great White North’s fast-paced push upwards in just the last eight years. And it credits Toronto with “spearheading a countrywide interest in tall building development” that has seen a dramatic shift away from simply highrise office towers to homes in the heavens that are transforming the look and feel of Canada’s major cities.

“There’s no doubt that Canada is at the forefront of discussion around how to create more vibrant urban centres, increase density and build more sustainable cities,” said council spokesperson Kevin Brass.

“Tall buildings are a big part of that.”

So far at least, the 37-year-old First Canadian Place remains the tallest building in Toronto at 298 metres, the council notes. But not far behind are newcomers Trump International Hotel and Tower at 277 metres and Canderel’s 272-metre condo project at College and Yonge Sts., touted to be Canada’s tallest residential building.

Workers have just started pouring the 48th floor of what will be a 78-storey tower with nearly 1,500 residents — so unusually big for a condo project that it will have two condo corporations so residents can be moved in in two phases starting next summer.

“Ten years ago, the average highrise was 30 to 35 storeys. Today, 60 is becoming commonplace. Those heights are going to become the new norm as (building) sites become more scarce,” says Riz Dhanji, vice president of sales and marketing for Canderel Residential Group.

“We’re turning into a very exciting city. The tall buildings are bringing the density and the people into the downtown core and making us more of a walkable city, which is fantastic.”

Just last June, the council voted Mississauga’s iconic 50- and 56-storey Absolute World — the so-called Marilyn Monroe towers — the best tall buildings in the Americas and became fascinated by the extent of the building boom north of the border, says executive director Antony Wood.

That followed the 2009 win by Winnipeg’s Manitoba Hydro Place. While just 22 storeys, it was voted best in Americas by council judges because it was considered “the next generation of sustainable buildings,” with cutting-edge design meant to boost energy efficiency and minimize its environmental impact, says Wood.

In fact, the council now considers Canada such a North American leader in green highrise development, it’s looking to establish a Canadian chapter and considering holding an annual conference here so leading architects and building professionals can see what’s happening firsthand.

“When Canada wins the best tall building in the Americas twice in four years, you kind of think to yourself, there’s something good going on up there. And we’d heard of all this activity coming out of Toronto. That’s what piqued our interest,” says Wood.

Even council members were surprised by how much has gone up in just a few short years, some of which reflects pure economics: While the U.S. building industry has been battered by the recession, Canada’s has soared since suffering just a brief downturn in 2007/2008.

In just the last eight years, 25 buildings of more than 150 metres have crept up across the country compared to just five between 1995 and 2005, says the council.

By the end of 2015, the number of buildings higher than 150 metres across Canada will have almost tripled since 1995, from 26 to 74.

Toronto ranks No. 1 in Canada with 30 buildings over 150 metres while Calgary is runner up with 14.

Vancouver has just three buildings exceeding roughly 45 storeys but is due to get a 4th in 2014, in suburban Burnaby.

It may not be long until Toronto hits the 100 storeys-plus mark and finally starts embracing far more extraordinary projects like the Frank Gehry-designed culture-and-condo towers proposed for Toronto’s entertainment district, says architect Richard Witt of Toronto’s Quadrangle Architects.

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Which makes him chuckle thinking back to 2001 when an architect friend was shocked to hear Witt was leaving London’s esteemed Foster + Partners for Toronto.

“He said, ‘Don’t do it. Toronto is like an old sock under the couch. Every so often the dog picks it up, has a little play with it and forgets about it again. The city is not going anywhere.’

“For sure he is eating his words now.”