York is a district and former city within

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It is located northwest of

Old Toronto Old Toronto is that part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that corresponds to the original City of Toronto which existed from 1834 to 1998. It was first incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the town of York, and being part of York Co ...

, southwest of

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

and east of

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

, where it is bounded by the Humber River. The district had a recorded population of 145,662 in 2016. As a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form the current city of Toronto. The City of York was created by the amalgamation of several villages, including the present-day neighbourhoods of

Lambton Mills The Village of Lambton Mills was a settlement at the crossing of Dundas Street and the Humber River. The settlement was on both sides of the Humber River, in both the former Etobicoke Township and York Township, within today's City of Toronto, On ...

and

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

. The city has a diversified character and is home to a number of Portuguese, Jamaican and Latin American neighbourhoods.

History

Teiaiagon Teiaiagon was an Iroquoian village on the east bank of the Humber River in what is now the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located along the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. The site is near the current intersection of Jane Street ...

, settled by the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

on the eastern bank of the Humber River, where Baby Point is now, was the oldest known settlement on the land that would later become York Township. York Township was incorporated by

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

in 1850 (Canada West later became Ontario in 1867, due to

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

), bounded in the west by the Humber River, in the east by what would become

Victoria Park Avenue Victoria Park Avenue is a major north-south route in eastern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the western border of Scarborough, separating it from Old Toronto, East York, and North York. The common nickname for it is VP or Vic Park. History Vic ...

, and in the north by what would become

Steeles Avenue Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of Regional Municipality of York, York Region in Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area from ...

Township and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

Township were located west and east, respectively, while the townships of

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

and

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

bordered on the north. York Township was home to one of the original

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

communities in the Toronto area, which was populated by many

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

fugitive slaves In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called free ...

.Reverend Mitchell
Harriet Tubman Institute. Accessed 28 February 2016. 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 Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...

and north of

Bloor Street Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkw ...

). The legacy of York's original Black community continues today; as of the

2016 Census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

, 17 percent of York's population is Black, the largest percentage of Toronto's six former municipalities. York Township, Oakwood Ave, north of St Clair

York Township, Oakwood Ave, north of St Clair

The

Humewood–Cedarvale Humewood–Cedarvale is an area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of Humewood in the south, divided by Vaughan Road and Cedarvale Ravine. The neighbourhood is bordered by Bathurst Street on the east, Eglinton Avenue to the north, Arlington ...

neighbourhood was developed in the 1910s to attract development in the growing township.

Oakwood Village Oakwood Village, formerly known as Oakwood–Vaughan, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the former suburb of York, the neighbourhood is a Business Improvement Area (BIA); it has an annual arts festival and a public librar ...

was also developed during this time. In the 1920s, the character of the township changed, with its southern reaches abutting the city of

taking on a more urban character, compared with the very rural character of the north. The decision was made to split the township into two, with the northern, rural portion becoming

in 1922. The remaining, two pockets of unincorporated urban development at the north end of the city, were split by the village of

North Toronto North Toronto is a former town and informal district located in the northern part of the Old Toronto district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Currently occupying a geographically central location within the city of Toronto, the Town of North Toronto w ...

, which was by then a part of the City of Toronto. Within years, the Province of Ontario saw that this arrangement of having an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

was impractical, and further subdivided York, creating the township of

East York East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...

out of the eastern pocket. The Township of York contracted

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

and bus services from the

Toronto Transportation Commission Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) was the public transit operator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, beginning in 1921. It operated buses, streetcars and the island ferries. The system was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 1954. H ...

(later became

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...

in 1954), but remained independent from Toronto. During this time, American novelist and journalist

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

resided in the Humewood–Cedarvale community, writing for the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

''. In 1954, York, along with other municipalities south of

were severed from York County, forming the new upper-tier government of

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

. In 1967, it absorbed the town of

, and became the Borough of York, later known as the City of York. (The map shows this area in red). York was amalgamated into the new City of Toronto on 1 January 1998. Its former council and administrative building,

York Civic Centre The York Civic Centre is a government building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 2700 Eglinton Avenue West in the neighbourhood of Beechborough-Greenbrook. The building is used by the Toronto West Court Office and was the seat of the ...

, is located at 2700

Eglinton Avenue Eglinton Avenue is a major east–west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. The street begins at Highway 407 (but does not interchange with the tollway) at the western limits of Mississauga, as a ...

West, between

Black Creek Drive Black Creek Drive is a four lane north–south arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It connects Weston Road and Humber Boulevard with Highway 401 via Highway 400, the latter of which it forms a southerly extension. Black Creek ...

and

Keele Street Keele Street is a north–south road in Toronto, Vaughan and King in Ontario, Canada. It stretches , running from Bloor Street in Toronto to the Holland Marsh. South of Bloor Street, the roadway is today known as Parkside Drive, but was originally ...

Neighbourhoods

North and west of Oakwood Village is the Fairbank community.

Silverthorn Silverthorn may refer to: * ''Silverthorn'' (album), an album by Kamelot * ''Silverthorn'' (novel), a novel by Raymond E. Feist *Silverthorn, Toronto, a neighbourhood in Toronto *Silverthorn Collegiate Institute *Silverthorn, a character on ''The ...

is west of Fairbank. Silverthorn (and Fairbank) is described as "Toronto's hidden

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

" in reference to its "steep streets, staircases, and unusual views of houses built in what must be the hilliest part of the city." This is due to Toronto's topography being shaped by its deep ravines being similar to the hills of San Francisco, especially in Fairbank and Silverthorn. Another community in York,

Mount Dennis Mount Dennis is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is within the former suburb of York, now Ward 11 in Toronto. Primarily located along Eglinton Avenue between the Humber River and the Kitchener commuter rail line, the neighbourhoo ...

, was the base for the former campus of

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

's Canadian operations from 1912 to 2006. While most of the buildings were demolished, the branch head office has been repurposed for

Line 5 Eglinton Line 5 Eglinton (also known as the Eglinton Crosstown or the Crosstown) is a light rail line that is under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Metrolinx and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the line will be part ...

Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility The Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility is a rail yard and vehicle service centre for Line 5 Eglinton of the Toronto subway. The facility is located near the line's western terminus at Mount Dennis station, on lands formerly occupied by Kodak ...

Baby Point Baby Point is a residential neighbourhood in the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the west by the Humber River from south of Baby Point Crescent to St. Marks Road, east to Jane Street and Jane Street south to Raymond Av ...

is situated where the former Iroquoian village of

was located.

Education

Four

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

school boards A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

offers schooling to students residing in York,

Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir ( en, My Future Catholic School Board) is a Roman Catholic French first language public- separate school board that manages elementary and secondary schools in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board o ...

(CSCM),

Conseil scolaire Viamonde The Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV) is a public-secular French first language school board, and manages elementary and secondary schools in the Ontario Peninsula and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board operates 41 elementary schools and ...

(CSV), the

Toronto Catholic District School Board The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. I ...

(TCDSB), and the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

(TDSB). CSV and TDSB operate as

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

public school boards, the former operating

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

institution, whereas the latter operated English first-language institutions. The other two school boards, CSCM and TCDSB, operate as public

separate school In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories ( Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadi ...

boards, the former operating French first language separate schools, the latter operating English first language separate schools. York Memo Coll

Before York was

amalgamated Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

with the rest of Metropolitan Toronto, the York Board of Education oversaw public secular schools in the former city. As with the other school boards in Metro Toronto, they were amalgamated to form TDSB in 1998. Presently, the school board operates several institutions that offer

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

. Secondary schools in York that are operated by TDSB include: *

Forest Hill Collegiate Institute Forest Hill Collegiate Institute (FHCI) is a semestered public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Forest Hill neighbourhood. Having about 900 students and 55 teachers, it is part of the Toronto District School Board. P ...

* Frank Oke Secondary School *

George Harvey Collegiate Institute George Harvey Collegiate Institute (George Harvey CI, GHCI also known simply as Harvey) was a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formerly known as George Harvey Vocational School and George Harvey Secondary School. It was located in t ...

Oakwood Collegiate Institute Oakwood Collegiate Institute (commonly known as OCI or Oakwood) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the neighbourhoods of Regal Heights, Oakwood-Vaughan and Bracondale Hill. History and Alumni Oakwood was foun ...

Runnymede Collegiate Institute Runnymede Collegiate Institute (colloquially known as Runnymede CI, RCI, or Runnymede) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school first opened in 1927 and is operated by the Toronto District School Board. Runnymede has a pop ...

Weston Collegiate Institute Weston Collegiate Institute (Weston C.I., WCI, Weston) is a Grade 9 to 12 public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formerly known by its previous names of Weston Grammar School, Weston High School, Weston High and Vocational School ...

York Memorial Collegiate Institute York Memorial Collegiate Institute (York Memorial CI, YMCI, York Memorial, or Memo) is a public secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Toronto District School Board (TDSB), ''de jure'' located at 2690 Eglinton Aven ...

TDSB formerly operated another secondary school in York,

Vaughan Road Academy Vaughan Road Academy (VRA), formerly known as Vaughan Road High School and Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute, is a Toronto District School Board (TDSB) facility that formerly operated as an International Baccalaureate high school in Toronto, Ont ...

. Opened in 1927, the secondary school was York's first but was closed on its 90th anniversary in 2017 due to its lack of student population resulting from students in the local catchment area attending other nearby secondary schools. Vaughan Road Academy is repurposed as a temporary elementary school for students in the Yonge and Davisville area in

Midtown Toronto Midtown is one of four central business districts outside the city's downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the north of Old Toronto, its borders are roughly defined by St. Clair Avenue to the south and Eglinton Avenue or Lawrenc ...

since the 2018–19 school year to accommodate the construction of a new school building. TCDSB operates one secondary school in York,

St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School (acronym as SORCSS, St. Oscar Romero, St. Oscar Romero CSS, or in short Romero) is a Catholic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It operated as Archbishop Romero Catholic Secondary School until ...

. Neither CSCM nor CSV operate a secondary school in York, with CSV/CSCM students residing in York attending secondary schools located in adjacent districts of Toronto.

Infrastructure

Public library system

Presently, the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...

operates several branches within York. Prior to York's amalgamation of Toronto in 1997, the city operated its own library system, known as York Public Library. As a result of amalgamating the municipalities in Metropolitan Toronto, York Public Library was merged with the other library systems of the new City of Toronto to form the new Toronto Public Library. York's first public library was the Mount Dennis branch, which operated out of rented premises since 1923. In 1945, the Township of York Public Library Board was established, and proceeded to build three new library buildings that opened in 1951, including the Jane/Dundas library, Main Library (Eglinton Avenue one block east of Dufferin Street), and the Mount Dennis Library. The Main Library was later renamed after York Public Library head librarian Maria Shchuka and was later rebuilt in 2003. The Oakwood Village branch was York's newest library; opening a year before the municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto amalgamated.

Public transit

York is served by the

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

, and

subway system Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

. Early in the community's history, York had operated its own bus and streetcar service, until it was absorbed by the Toronto Transit Commission. Of the Toronto subway system, only the Heath Street exit of

St. Clair West station St. Clair West is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans the block north of St. Clair Avenue West to Heath Street, between Bathurst Street and Tweedsmuir Avenue. The station serves the local communiti ...

Line 1 Yonge–University Line 1 Yonge–University is a rapid transit line on the Toronto subway. It serves Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission, has 38 stations and is in length, making it th ...

is in the former city of York as Eglinton West station is completely within Old Toronto. The

Rogers Road streetcar line The Rogers Road streetcar line was a streetcar line that operated mainly within the Township of York (later the Borough of York, today a district within the City of Toronto) from 1924 to 1974. The line was owned by the Township of York Railways, ...

served the namesake street as well.

Line 5 Eglinton

The TTC once had plans to construct the Eglinton West subway line along Eglinton Avenue in the former city of York. It began construction in 1994. However, it was cancelled in 1995 under premier

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

and there had been no serious discussion about reviving the line until 2007, when

(then known as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT) was proposed as part of David Miller's

Transit City Transit City was a plan for developing public transport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first proposed and announced on 16 March 2007 by then-Toronto Mayor David Miller and Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Adam Giambrone. T ...

. When

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...

became mayor in 2010, he immediately announced the cancellation of Transit City. However, city council spared a few lines, including the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, from cancellation, despite Ford's objections. Since 2013, the new LRT has been under construction and is expected to be opened in 2023.

GO Transit

The Weston GO Station along the

Kitchener line Kitchener is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends westward from Union Station in Toronto to Kitchener, though most trains originate and terminate in Brampton in off-peak h ...

is the only

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven millio ...

train station and

Union Pearson Express The Union Pearson Express (UP Express or UPX) is an airport rail link connecting Union Station in Downtown Toronto to Toronto Pearson International Airport. The UP Express began operation on 6 June 2015, in time for the 2015 Pan American Games. ...

train station within the former city of York. There are also plans to construct the Caledonia GO Station along the

Barrie line Barrie is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto in a generally northward direction to Barrie, and includes ten stations along its route. From ...

, which would connect with Line 5's

Caledonia station Caledonia is an underground light rail transit (LRT) station under construction on Line 5 Eglinton, a new line that is part of the Toronto subway system. It will be located along Eglinton Avenue between the GO Transit Barrie rail corridor and ...

, along with the Mount Dennis GO Station along the Kitchener line to connect with Line 5's

Mount Dennis station Mount Dennis is an intermodal transit terminal under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located east of the intersection of Eglinton Avenue and Weston Road in the Mount Dennis neighbourhood in the district of York, the station will be th ...

Politics

York was formerly an incorporated municipality, now a part of the City of Toronto. The community was first incorporated as a township in 1793. The township was initially a township under the

County of York Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

until 1954. In 1954, York was formally severed from the county, along with other municipalities situated south of

to form the upper-tier government of

. In 1967, the township was formally made into a borough of Metropolitan Toronto, and later a city in 1983. In 1997, York, along with the remaining municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto were formally amalgamated to form the new City of Toronto. York Civic Centre Time Capsule

On a provincial and federal level of governance, eligible residents of York are also able to vote for members of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

and the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

. Additionally, as a part of the City of Toronto, York takes part in Toronto municipal elections, with eligible residents able to vote on the

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

, as well as councillors to the

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

. Prior to York's amalgamation with Toronto, York operated its own municipal council, with a mayor heading York's council. Prior to the municipality's incorporation as a borough, the chief magistrate of the council was referred to as a reeve.

Reeves

The following individuals served as the reeves of the Township of York: * Franklin Jackes (1850–1851) – ''first reeve''Adam, G. Mercer, and Charles Pelham Mulvany. History of Toronto and County of York, Ontario. Manotick, Ont.: Archive CD Canada, 2008. Print. * William James (1852–1860) * William Tyrrell (1860–1864) – architect, later first reeve of Weston *Bartholomew Bull, Jr. (1865–1872) * William Tyrell (1873–1878) – second tenure *Henry Duncan (1879–1886) *Henry Frankland (1887) *A.L. Wilson (1888–1889) *Simon Thomas Humberstone (1890–1894) * William James Hill (1894–1897) – later MPP for York West *Henry Duncan (1898–1902) – second tenure *William Sylvester (1903–1904) *George Syme (1905) *

George Stewart Henry George Stewart Henry (July 16, 1871 – September 2, 1958) was a farmer, businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as the tenth premier of Ontario from 1930 to 1934. He had acted as minister of highways while Ontario greatly ex ...

(1906–1910) – later MPP for York East and Premier of Ontario *John T. Watson (1911–1912) *George Syme (1913–1914) – second tenure *Thomas Griffiths (1915–1918) *Frederick H. Miller (1919–1922) *W.S. Jury (1923) *William M. Graham (1924–1927) *Ernest C. Westbury (1928–1929) *W.J. Gilbert Dean (1930–1931) *A.J.B. Gray (1932–1933) *R.J. Stuart (1934–1935) *Wesley Marsh Magwood (1936–1937) *F.J. MacRae (1938–1946) *Charles J. McMaster (1947–1948) * William George Beech (1949–1951) – later MPP for York South * Frederick W. Hall (1952–1956) – was reeve when Metropolitan Toronto was created, with York as a member municipality. Subsequently, became chairman of the Metro Licensing Committee. Hall was later tried on charges of municipal corruption for allegedly accepting bribes for building permits during his tenure as reeve. *

Christopher Alexander Tonks Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

(1957–1960) - focus of a scandal after he was accused of conflict of interest for voting for a by-law that allowed him to purchase property from the township. Unseated by a court order after a judicial probe but then reinstated on appeal. * Frederick Charles Taylor (1961) - Owner of a construction firm, he was elected on a reform agenda after allegations of corruption against York Township council, having first demanded a judicial probe of the township in 1956. Died in office. *Walter Saunders (1962) - Previously Councillor for Ward 2, council voted Saunders in as reeve in January 1962, following the death of Reeve Taylor. A travel agent by profession, Saunders had run for reeve in previous general elections but had not been successful. * John Lister (Jack) Mould (1963–1966) - ran against former reeve Chris Tonks and was elected by 44 votes, after a recount. Mould was York's last reeve and would be its first mayor. Ran for the position of Metropolitan Toronto Chairman in July 1969 but was forced to withdrew from the contest after Member of Parliament Ralph Cowan accused him of tax evasion."War pilot Jack Mould was York's first mayor":

IN Edition IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

Toronto Star; Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont2 Aug 1990: A19., "Political credentials are sound: Smiling Jack Mould is the man to watch in the contest for Metro chairman", Baker, Alden. The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont4 Aug 1969: 5., "Mould Declared Township Reeve After Recount", The Globe and Mail (1936-Current); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont1 Dec 1962: 5, "Metro chairman campaign shaping up as a 2-man contest", Baker, Alden. The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont2 July 1969: 5. ,"Charge by Cowan: Mould denies Council wrote off firm's taxes", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont4 Sep 1969: 5, "Tax writeoff disclosure sought: Resignation of Mould is demanded by York ratepayers", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont0 Sep 1969: 5 "Writ filed by Mould charges libel, slander", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont7 Sep 1969: 5. "White urges inquiry as more tax write-offs queried by residents", Baker, Alden The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont4 Oct 1969: 4 "Remains in Metro race: Mould denies interest in firm given tax deal", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont5 Sep 1969: 1. "Mould reddens as support lost; Goodhead dejected:, The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont1 Oct 1969: 5. "Mould asked to call meeting to explain disclosure on taxes", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont9 Oct 1969: 5. "Mould subject of report ordered by York Council", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont5 Oct 1969: 5 "White to seek mayor's chair", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont1 Oct 1969: 2. "Won't seek re-election, Mould says", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont2 Oct 1969: 1. "Launched to quash comment: Grys and Mould suits similar, Cowan says", The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont6 Feb 1972: 5. "Believed typical of several 'swing' ridings: Wait-and-see attitude of York South delegates has strategists worried", Zaritsky, John. The Globe and Mail (1936-2016); Toronto, Ont. oronto, Ont0 Feb 1971: 8.

Mayors

The following individuals served as York's mayor: *John Lister (Jack) Mould (1966–1969) * Philip White (1970–1978) *

Gayle Christie Gayle Christie (née Ingle; born ) is a former politician in Toronto, Ontario. She was mayor of the borough of York, Ontario from 1978 to 1982. Background Christie was born in Garson, Ontario just outside of Sudbury. Her parents were John and Mur ...

(1978–1982) *

Alan Tonks Alan Tonks (born April 2, 1943) is a former Canadian politician. He was the Liberal MP for the federal riding of York South—Weston in Toronto from 2000 to 2011, and was the final Metro Toronto Chairman before the amalgamation of Metro Toronto i ...

(1982–1988) – resigned to become

Metro Chairman The Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto or Metro Chairman was the Regional Chair (Ontario), regional chair of Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the most senior political figure in the municipality. The Metro Chairman wa ...

, later MP for

York South York South was an electoral district (or "riding") in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1979. The riding is notable for the 1942 federal by-election in which newly elected Conservative leader Ar ...

* Fergus Brown (1988–1994) *

Frances Nunziata Frances Nunziata ( , ; born ) is a Canadian politician who has served as the speaker of Toronto City Council since December 1, 2010. Nunziata presently represents Ward 5 York South—Weston. She is the sister of former member of Parliament (MP) ...

(1994–1997) The following individual served as the Deputy Mayor of York: *

Joe Mihevc Joe Mihevc ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian politician who was appointed to represent Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York on Toronto City Council on June 1, 2022. He was previously elected to represent Ward 21 St. Paul's from 2000 to 2018, Ward ...

(1991–1997)

Board of Control

The Board of Control was created in 1966 and abolished in 1988. The following individuals served as on the Board of Control: York's two Controllers also sat on Metro Council. Names in

boldface In typography, emphasis is the strengthening of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text, to highlight them. It is the equivalent of prosody stress in speech. Methods and use The most common methods in W ...

indicate Controllers that were or became Mayor of York in other years.

Italics In typography, italic type is a cursive font based on a stylised form of calligraphic handwriting. Owing to the influence from calligraphy, italics normally slant slightly to the right. Italics are a way to emphasise key points in a printed tex ...

indicate those who only sat on the Board of Control as mayor. X = elected as Controller
A = appointed Controller to fill a vacancy
M = sitting as Reeve or Mayor *Brown served as mayor from 1988 to 1994

Notes

References

External links

City of Toronto
{{authority control Black Canadian culture in Toronto Black Canadian settlements Former municipalities in Toronto Former cities in Ontario Metropolitan Toronto Neighbourhoods in Toronto Populated places disestablished in 1998 1998 disestablishments in Ontario