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.
Scarborough, Toronto
First settled by Europeans in the 1790s, Scarborough has grown from a collection of small rural villages and farms to become fully urbanized with a diverse cultural community. Incorporated in 1850 as a township, Scarborough became part of Metropolitan Toronto in 1953 and was reconstituted as a borough in 1967. Scarborough rapidly developed as a suburb of Old Toronto over the next decade and became a city in 1983. In 1998, Scarborough and the rest of Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated into the present city of Toronto. Scarborough is an administrative district in Toronto and has its own community council. The Scarborough Civic Centre, the former city hall, is still used by the municipal government of Toronto.