William Lyon Mackenzie
The township of York, which until 1793 had been known as "Toronto", incorporated as a city (meaning it received local self-government) on March 6, 1834, taking the name of "the City of Toronto" to distinguish it from New York City and the dozen other settlements named 'York' in Upper Canada. The Tories and the Reformers fielded candidates for Toronto's first municipal election, held on March 27, 1834, with the Reformers winning a majority on the Toronto City Council. Mackenzie was elected as an alderman. The City Council then met to decide who should become mayor. Mackenzie, after being nominated by Franklin Jackes, defeated John Rolph in the vote and thereby became the first Mayor of Toronto.
History of Toronto
The town was incorporated on March 6, 1834, reverting to the name of "Toronto" to distinguish it from New York City, as well as about a dozen other localities named 'York' in the province (including York County in which Toronto was situated), and to disassociate itself from the negative connotation of "dirty Little York", a common nickname for the town by its residents. William Lyon Mackenzie was its first mayor.