This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2013) |
This article needs to be updated.(March 2023) |
York | |
---|---|
Motto(s): E singulis communitas(Latin for "From individuals, a community") | |
Coordinates: 43°41′24″N79°28′41″W / 43.690°N 79.478°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
Municipality | Toronto |
Incorporated | 1850 (township) |
Changed Region | 1954 Metropolitan Toronto from York County |
Changed status | 1 January 1967 (borough) |
Changed status | June 1983 (city) |
Amalgamated | 1 January 1998 into Toronto |
Government | |
• Councillors | Mike Colle, Joe Mihevc, Frances Nunziata, Cesar Palacio |
• MPs | Carolyn Bennett, Julie Dzerowicz, Marco Mendicino, Ahmed Hussen |
• MPPs | Michael Ford, Robin Martin, Marit Stiles, Jill Andrew |
Area | |
• Total | 23.49 km2 (9.07 sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
Area code(s) | 416, 647, 437 |
York is a district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of the Humber River.
Originally formed as York Township, it encompassed the southern section of York County. It was split several times, creating East York and North York. In 1953, it became part of the Metropolitan Toronto federation. It absorbed several municipalities, including Lambton Mills and Weston and was eventually known as the City of York. In 1998, it was dissolved along with Metro Toronto and its constituent municipalities, amalgamated to form the current City of Toronto.
Today, the area is integrated into the multicultural mosaic of Toronto. The area is home today to several ethnic enclaves such as Portuguese, Jamaican and Latin American neighbourhoods.
Teiaiagon, settled by the Iroquois 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 first organized in 1793. [1] Its initial boundaries were the Humber River to the west, in the east by what would become Victoria Park Avenue, and in the north by what would become Steeles Avenue. Etobicoke Township and Scarborough Township were located west and east, respectively, while the townships of Vaughan and Markham bordered on the north, and Lake Ontario on the south, minus the small Town of York. It was incorporated by Canada West in 1850 [1] (Canada West later became Ontario in 1867, due to Confederation) within the new County of York. [2]
York Township was home to one of the original Black communities in the Toronto area, which was populated by many African American fugitive slaves. [3] 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). [3] The legacy of York's original Black community continues today; as of the 2016 Census, 17 percent of York's population is Black, the largest percentage of Toronto's six former municipalities. [4]
From the period of 1850 onwards, individual villages developed such as Parkdale (1879) and Brockton (1881), which were later annexed into Toronto. [5] The village of Weston was incorporated in 1882. [5] Toronto Junction and East Toronto were incorporated in 1887, both later annexed by Toronto. [5] The village of North Toronto was incorporated in 1889, annexed by Toronto in 1912. Other parts of York were directly annexed by Toronto, such as "The Annex", Riverdale, Rosedale, Seaton and Sunnyside in the 1880s [5] and Bracondale, Deer Park, Wychwood, The Midway and Balmy Beach after 1905. [6]
This pattern of absorption by Toronto ended as the City no longer wanted to take on the servicing costs of new suburbs. The Humewood–Cedarvale neighbourhood was developed in the 1910s to attract development in the growing township. Oakwood Village was also developed during this time. In the 1920s, the character of the township changed, with its southern reaches abutting the city of Toronto taking on a more urban character, compared with the very rural character of the north. The voters of the northern, rural part of York voted to secede, creating the new Township of North York in 1922. [7] This was followed in 1923 by the incorporation of the village of Forest Hill, while the residents of Mount Dennis and Silverthorn voted to remain in York. [8] The remaining two pockets of unincorporated urban development at the north end of the city, were split by the village of North Toronto, 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 was impractical, and further subdivided York, creating in 1924 the township of East York out of the eastern pocket.
The Township of York contracted streetcar and bus services from the Toronto Transportation Commission (later became Toronto Transit Commission in 1954), but remained independent from Toronto. During this time, American novelist and journalist Ernest Hemingway resided in the Humewood–Cedarvale community, writing for the Toronto Star .
In 1954, York, along with other municipalities south of Steeles Avenue were severed from York County, forming the new upper-tier government of Metropolitan Toronto. In 1967, it absorbed the town of Weston, and became the Borough of York, later known as the City of York. (The map shows this area in red). York was dissolved on 1 January 1998 and its functions amalgamated into the new City of Toronto. Its former council and administrative building, York Civic Centre, is located at 2700 Eglinton Avenue West, between Black Creek Drive and Keele Street, used for courts and other functions. The Etobicoke-York Community Council of Toronto administers minor responsibilities within the limits of York and Etobicoke.
There are several distinct neighbourhoods in the former city, including the former municipality of Weston, which retains its own main street, Weston Road, and several street names duplicated in other districts of Toronto, especially downtown Toronto.
North and west of Oakwood Village is the Fairbank community. Silverthorn is west of Fairbank. Silverthorn (and Fairbank) is described as "Toronto's hidden San Francisco" in reference to its "steep streets, staircases, and unusual views of houses built in what must be the hilliest part of the city." [9] 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.
The Mount Dennis area of Weston was the base for the former campus of Kodak'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's Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility.
Baby Point, between Jane Street and the Humber River, north of Bloor Street, is situated where the former Iroquoian village of Teiaiagon was located. It was formerly part of the Lambton Mills village within York Township.
Before York was dissolved, the York Board of Education oversaw public secular schools in the former city. Since 1998, the district has been administered by the four Toronto boards:
CSV and TDSB operate as secular public school boards, the former operating French first-language institution, whereas the latter operates English first-language institutions (although it does offer French immersion). The other two school boards, CSCM and TCDSB, operate as public Roman Catholic separate school boards, the former operating French first-language separate schools, the latter operating English first-language separate schools.
TDSB operates several institutions that offer primary and secondary education. Secondary schools in York that are operated by TDSB include:
TDSB formerly operated another secondary school in York, Vaughan Road Academy. 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 since the 2018–19 school year to accommodate the construction of a new school building. [10] [11]
TCDSB operates one secondary school in York, St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School. Neither CSCM nor CSV operate a secondary school in York.
St. Michael's College School, an independent young men's Roman Catholic school, is located in the Tichester neighbourhood with its sports field being directly over St. Clair West station.
Before 1998, the city operated its own library system, the York Public Library. York Public Library was merged with the other library systems of Metro Toronto to form the new Toronto Public Library (TPL). TPL operates several branches within the district.
York's first public library was the Mount Dennis branch, which operated out of rented premises from 1923. [12] 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. [12] [13] [14] The Main Library was later renamed after York Public Library head librarian Maria Shchuka and was later fully rebuilt in 2003. The Oakwood Village branch was York's newest library, which opened in 1996.
York operated its own bus and streetcar service, until it was absorbed by the Toronto Transit Commission. Today, the area is served by the Toronto Transit Commission's buses, streetcar, and subway system. Of the Toronto subway system, only the Heath Street exit of St. Clair West station on Line 1 Yonge–University is in the former city of York as Eglinton West station is completely within Old Toronto. The Rogers Road streetcar line served the namesake street as well.
The TTC once had plans to construct the Eglinton West subway line along Eglinton Avenue. It began construction in 1994. However, it was cancelled in 1995 under Ontario premier Mike Harris and there had been no serious discussion about reviving the line until 2007, when Line 5 Eglinton (then known as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT) was proposed as part of David Miller's Transit City.
When Rob Ford 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 the first phase is expected to be opened in the second half of 2024. [15]
The Weston GO Station along the Kitchener line is the only GO Transit train station and Union Pearson Express train station in the district. There are also plans to construct the Caledonia GO Station along the Barrie line, which would connect with Line 5's Caledonia station, along with the Mount Dennis GO Station along the Kitchener line to connect with Line 5's Mount Dennis station.
The community was first organized as a township in 1793, but not incorporated until 1850. [1] The township was initially a township under the County of York until 1954. In 1954, York was formally severed from the county, along with other municipalities situated south of Steeles Avenue to form the upper-tier government of Metropolitan Toronto. 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. Today, residents now vote for the Mayor of Toronto, as well as councillors of Toronto City Council. Federally and provincially, eligible residents of York are also able to vote for members of the Parliament of Canada and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
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. The following individuals served as the reeves of the Township of York:
The following individuals served as York's mayor:
The following individual served as the Deputy Mayor of York:
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 indicate Controllers that were or became Mayor of York in other years. Italics 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
Controller | 1966 | 1969 | 1972 | 1974 | 1976 | 1978 | 1980 | 1982 | 1985 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C. Wesley Boddington | X | ||||||||
Fergy Brown* | X | X | X | X | |||||
Gayle Christie | M | M | |||||||
John Lister Mould | M | ||||||||
Doug Saunders | X | X | X | X | |||||
Alan Tonks | X | X | M | M | |||||
James Trimbee | X | X | X | ||||||
Philip White | X | M | M | M | M | X | X | X |
*Brown served as mayor from 1988 to 1994
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, which were starting to urbanize rapidly after World War II. It was commonly referred to as "Metro Toronto" or "Metro".
North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by York Region to the north at Steeles Avenue, on the west by the Humber River, on the east by Victoria Park Avenue. Its southern boundary is erratic and corresponds to the northern boundaries of the former municipalities of Toronto: York, Old Toronto and East York. As of the 2016 Census, the district has a population of 644,685.
Leaside (/'liːˌsaɪd/) is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northeast of Downtown Toronto, in the vicinity of Eglinton Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. It is one of the most expensive and exclusive neighbourhoods in the city. The area takes its name from William Lea and the Lea family, who settled there in the early years of the 19th century. The area first developed as farmland along with Toronto through the 19th century. It was incorporated as a town in 1913. In 1967, it amalgamated with the township of East York to form the borough of East York. In 1998, it became part of the city of Toronto.
Mimico is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, being located in the south-west area of Toronto on Lake Ontario. It is in the south-east corner of the former Township of Etobicoke, and was an independent municipality from 1911 to 1967.
Weston is a neighbourhood and former town in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The neighbourhood is situated in the northwest of the city, south of Steeles Avenue West, east of the Humber River, north of Eglinton Avenue, and west of Jane Street. The eponymous Weston Road, just north of Lawrence Avenue is the historic core of Weston, with many small businesses and services. Weston was incorporated as a village in the 19th century and was absorbed into the Borough of York in the late 1960s. York itself was amalgamated into Toronto in 1998. Weston is one of the few former towns and villages in Toronto located in a generally suburban setting, although it is contiguous with the inner city to the southeast along Weston Road. It is also one of the few not developed as a planned satellite town, as is the case with Leaside or New Toronto.
Albert McTaggart "Ab" Campbell (1910–1973) was a Canadian politician and the Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto from 1969 to 1973.
The chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto or Metro Chairman was the regional chair of Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the most senior political figure in the municipality. The Metro Chairman was elected by the members of Metropolitan Toronto Council.
Nelson A. Boylen Collegiate Institute ; originally Nelson A. Boylen Secondary School was a Toronto District School Board secondary school facility located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada operated as a high school from 1966 to 2016. Opened by the former North York Board of Education in 1966, the school was part of the Toronto District School Board as a very small school, yet the student body was known to be one of the most multicultural in Toronto, with students representing countries from all around the world. The school ceased to exist as an operating school on June 30, 2016 and as of 2024, the school building remains vacant. The motto was "Veritas et Virtus".
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 5, 1966. The elections were the first in Toronto after its merger with several smaller suburban communities on January 1, 1967. Forest Hill and Swansea were annexed by the City of Toronto, Leaside was merged with the Township of East York to become the Borough of East York. Weston was combined with the Township of York to form the Borough of York. The Village of Long Branch and the towns of Mimico and New Toronto were merged with the Township of Etobicoke to form the Borough of Etobicoke.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 3, 1962. Incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips, then the longest-serving mayor in Toronto history, lost to Controller Donald Summerville by a significant margin.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 6, 1954. Incumbent mayor Leslie Saunders was defeated by Nathan Phillips in a close contest.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 7, 1953. Incumbent mayor Allan Lamport won an unexpectedly close race against school board chairman Arthur J. Brown. This election was the first for councils in the municipality of Metropolitan Toronto which would be created on January 1, 1954 and was composed of 14 municipalities: the City of Toronto, the towns of New Toronto, Mimico, Weston and Leaside; the villages of Long Branch, Swansea and Forest Hill, and the townships of Etobicoke, York, North York, East York, and Scarborough.
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 1, 1952. Incumbent mayor Allan Lamport easily won against former alderman Nathan Phillips.
Evelyn Gregory was the chief librarian of York Township Public Library from its inception in 1945 to 1969.
Frederick Joseph McMahon was a provincial court judge in Ontario who had previously been a lawyer and reeve of North York, Ontario from 1953 to 1955. As a lawyer, McMahon was well known for having defended bank robbers Edwin Alonzo Boyd and his brother Norman in their 1952 trials.
Jack Mould (1921-1990) was the last Reeve of York Township and the first mayor of the borough of York, one of six municipalities that made up Metropolitan Toronto.
Walter Saunders was a municipal politician in York, a municipality of Metropolitan Toronto who was a member of the township council throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including one year as reeve (mayor), also sitting on Metropolitan Toronto Council.