The City of Scarborough

Scarborough, which forms the eastern edge of the city of

Toronto, was originally a separate city and prior to that a

borough and township, but has been part of the East

District since its amalgamation with Toronto 1998.

The area was named after Scarborough in North Yorkshire,

England, by Elizabeth Simcoe, wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada. The

bluffs along Lake Ontario's shore reminded her of the

limestone cliffs of her home. In her diary she wrote,

"the [eastern] 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."

Much of Scarborough was settled by suburban

housing developments in the last third of the 20th

century. The older section is in the southwest along

the Kingston and Danforth corridors, where the

housing stock was built beginning in the late-19th

century as Toronto grew outward. New low-rise

condominium development has extended into this

area, which borders the growing, trendy strip along

Queen Street East known as The Beach.

A significant amount of building activity has

spurred growth along the Highway 401 corridor at

the northern end of the Scarborough RT. Several

key high-rise condominium projects have increased

the residential density around Scarborough Centre,

increasing the apparent affluence of the onceneglected

neighbourhood and increasing the traffic

congestion in the region.

Scarborough Town Centre, the biggest commercial

and entertainment hub, has undergone massive

renovations to transform it into a modern and

competitive mall. Recent additions include satellite

establishments such as Jack Astor's, Milestone's, and

Best Buy Electronics.

In Scarborough's northeast corner is Agincourt,

which has a large Asian population. It's a great place

to have a nice meal and it also provides some of the

city's best shopping.

One of the nicest areas in Scarborough is situated

in the southern part of the city. The earthen cliff

formation known as Scarborough Bluffs stretches for

about 14 kilometres and in some places reaches

heights of more than 60 metres. The Bluffs and

Bluffers Park are heavily used by tourists and families

looking for a break from the city. The Bluffs is also

a favourite with boaters because it hosts numerous

marinas and its closeness to Toronto's downtown

makes it accessible to everyone.

Scarborough is also notable for the Rouge River

Valley, an area where many parts are still wild and

mostly wooded. The Valley is home to a great variety

of wildlife including deer, foxes, and the occasional coyote. The Toronto Zoo is also located in the

Rouge River Valley.

In 2005, Scarborough's population was 593,297.

A large portion of the population is composed of

immigrants who have arrived in the last two decades,

which has created various multicultural havens.

Scarborough residents have developed their own

unique culture and sense of humour as evidenced by

such native Scarberians such as Mike Myers, the

Barenaked Ladies, and pop teen princess Fefe

Dobson.

The city offers a little bit of everything for

everybody-making it a great place to live.

Community Resources

TTC

416-393-INFO (4636)

Toronto District School Board

416-397-3000

Toronto Catholic District School Board

416-222-8282

French Public School Board

416-614-0844

French Catholic School Board

416-397-6564

Access Toronto, Public Information, & Referral Service

416-338-2010