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.
Toronto Police Service
The Toronto Police Service was founded in 1834, when the city of Toronto was first created from the town of York. Prior to that, local able-bodied male citizens were required to report for night duty as special constables for a fixed number of nights per year on pain of fine or imprisonment, in a system known as "watch and ward".