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.
York, Toronto
York Township was home to one of the original Black communities in the Toronto area, which was populated by many African American fugitive slaves. By 1861, the township had the second-largest Black population in the Toronto area, after St. John's Ward, most of whom lived in York Township West (located west of Yonge Street and north of Bloor Street). The legacy of York's original Black community continues today; as of the 2011 Census, 15.9% of York's population is Black, the largest percentage of all six former boroughs.