Scarborough, Ontario

Scarborough forms the eastern part of the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formerly a separate city, and prior to that a borough and township, but has been part of the 'East District' since it was amalgamated with the old city of Toronto and four other municipalities in 1998. It retains its original name for most local residents, and is recognized by Canada Post as a municipality name. Its borders are Victoria Park Ave. to the west, the Rouge River, the Little Rouge Creek and the Scarborough-Pickering Townline to the east, Steeles Ave. E. to the north, and Lake Ontario to the south.

History

It was incorporated as a township in 1850http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/archives/records_scarborough.htm and included as part of Metropolitan Toronto when it was formed in 1953. It was incorporated as a borough within Metropolitan Toronto in 1963. It was then incorporated as a city within Metropolitan Toronto in 1983. It was amalgamated into the "megacity" in 1998, losing its separate legal identity.

Related Topics:
1850 - Metropolitan Toronto - 1953 - 1963 - 1983 - 1998

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It was named after Scarborough, England by Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. The bluffs along Scarborough's Lake Ontario shores reminded her of the limestone cliffs in Scarborough, England. In her diary, she wrote, "The shore is extremely bold, and has the appearance of chalk cliffs, but I believe they are only white sand. They appeared so well that we talked of building a summer residence there and calling it Scarborough."http://www.toronto.com/feature/491

Related Topics:
Scarborough - England - Elizabeth Simcoe - John Graves Simcoe - Lieutenant governor - Upper Canada - Lake Ontario

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Much of the area of Scarborough was settled by suburban housing developments in the last third of the 20th century. Often considered a poor cousin to the more urbane Toronto, Scarborough residents have developed their own unique culture and sense of humour as evidenced by such native "Scarberians" as Mike Myers (Wayne's World, Austin Powers), Eric McCormack (Will and Grace), John Candy (Second City, SCTV) the musical group Barenaked Ladies, and pop teen princess Fefe Dobson. Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Truman Show) also lived in Scarborough during his teen years.

Related Topics:
20th century - Mike Myers - Wayne's World - Austin Powers - Eric McCormack - Will and Grace - John Candy - Second City - SCTV - Barenaked Ladies - Fefe Dobson - Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - The Truman Show

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The darker side of Scarborough has also been written about, notably in local author Christophe Richardson's website and soon-to-be novel called Scarlem. Scarlem is a slang term making reference to the similarities that Scarborough shares with places like Harlem.

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Scarborough is the home of Ontario's only elevated rapid transit line, the Scarborough RT. It is also home to the University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC) and Centennial College.

Related Topics:
Rapid transit - University of Toronto at Scarborough - Centennial College

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