History of Toronto
In 1998, the six municipalities comprising Metropolitan Toronto – East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York, and the old City of Toronto – and its regional government were amalgamated into a single City of Toronto (colloquially dubbed the "megacity") by an act of the Government of Ontario. This was despite a municipal referendum in 1997 that was overwhelmingly against amalgamation. Subsequently, Mel Lastman defeated Barbara Hall to become the first elected mayor of the megacity.
Exhibition Place
When York, the predecessor of Toronto was inaugurated in the 1790s, the land to the west of the garrison (later Fort York) was reserved for military purposes. This includes all of today's Exhibition Place. Years later, the British military decided to replace Fort York with a new fort, to be located at the eastern end of the reserve. In 1840–1841, they constructed a series of seven limestone buildings and several smaller ones. Elaborate defensive works were never built and the buildings were turned over to the Canadian military in 1870, which named it Stanley Barracks in 1893.