Amalgamation of Toronto

The amalgamation of Toronto was the creation of the current political borders of Toronto, Ontario, Canada after amalgamating, annexing, and merging with surrounding municipalities since the 18th century. The most recent occurrence of amalgamation was in 1998, which resulted in Toronto's current boundaries.

The city retained the same boundaries until 1883, when it began to amalgamate with the small surrounding communities. This continued until 1914, after which no more expansion of Toronto would take place until 1967.

In 1954, the City of Toronto was federated into a regional government known as Metropolitan Toronto. Metro Toronto was composed of the City of Toronto, the towns of New Toronto, Mimico, Weston, and Leaside; the villages of Long Branch, Swansea, and Forest Hill; and the townships of Etobicoke, York, North York, East York, and Scarborough.

The postwar boom had resulted in rapid suburban development, and it was believed that a coordinated land use strategy and shared services would provide greater efficiency for the region. The metropolitan government began to manage services that crossed municipal boundaries, including highways, water and public transit.

In Canada, the creation of municipalities falls under provincial jurisdiction. Thus it was provincial legislation, the Metropolitan Toronto Act, that created this level of government in 1953. When it took effect in 1954, the portion of York County south of Steeles Avenue, a concession road and township boundary, was severed from the county and incorporated as the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. The area north of Steeles remained in York County, which ultimately became York Region in 1971.

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