Name of Toronto
John Graves Simcoe identified the area as a strategic location to base a new capital for Upper Canada, believing Newark to be susceptible to American invasion. A garrison was established at Garrison Creek, on the western entrance to the docks of Toronto Harbour, in 1793; this later became Fort York. The settlement it defended was renamed York on August 26, 1793, as Simcoe favoured English names over those of First Nations languages, in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York. Residents petitioned to change the name back to Toronto, and in 1834 the city was incorporated with its original name. The name York lived on through the name of York County (which was later split into Metropolitan Toronto and York Region), and continues to live on through the names of several districts within the city, including Yorkville, East York, and North York, the latter two suburbs that were formally amalgamated into the "megacity" of Toronto on January 1, 1998.
Boroughs of Canada
East York, Ontario, although an independent municipality with its own mayor and council, was also formerly designated as a borough. With the community's amalgamation into Toronto in 1998, East York no longer holds this status. At the time, East York was the only municipality in Canada designated as a borough; most of the communities in Quebec now designated as "arrondissements" or boroughs were also independent "villes" prior to 2002.