Scarborough, Ontario

This article is about the Toronto suburb and former Canadian municipality. For other places, see Scarborough (disambiguation).

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.

Demographics

In 2001, Scarborough's population was 593,297, with a density of 3,160.9/km². A significant portion of Scarborough's population is composed of immigrants who have arrived in the last four decades.. Chinese residents make up 17.73% of the population, South Asian Residents account for 17.76% of the population. Caribbean and African-Canadian residents make up 10.09% of the visible minority population, while Filipino Canadian residents account for 5%. The remaining visible minority groups are all below 2%.

The immigrant population has created vibrant multicultural locales in various areas of Scarborough. Most notable among these is the heavy concentration of Chinese businesses and restaurants in the Agincourt neighbourhood.

Segments along Kingston Rd., Eglinton Ave. E., and Lawrence Ave. E., features Carribean, Chinese and Halal restaurants and shops among others. Scarborough also encompasses Malvern, Ontario, one of the most multicultural neighbourhoods in the world. Fifty-four percent of residents are foreign born.

Census

Along with Markham, ON and Richmond, BC, the majority of Scarborough's population is multicultural with many minority groups represented.

Immigration

• Foreign-born Population - 55%
• Canadian-born Population - 45%

External link: Scarborough at Statistics Canada

Recent developments

A significant amount of building activity has spurred growth along the 401 corridor at the northern end of the Scarborough RT between McCowan and Scarborough Centre Stations. Several key highrise condominium projects have increased the residential density around Scarborough Centre.

Originally, the Sheppard Subway was to extend eastward to Scarborough Centre. This extension is still a priority for the TTC alongside the extension of the Spadina Subway. As well, the Scarborough RT will reach its end of life, for which a replacement is currently being studied.

Scarborough Town Centre, the former city's biggest commercial and entertainment hub, has recently undergone extensive renovations to transform it into a modern and competitive mall. Recent additions include satellite establishments such as Jack Astor's, Milestones, and Best Buy Electronics.

History

Scarborough was incorporated as a township on 1 January 1850[1] and included as a municipality within Metropolitan Toronto when it was formed on 15 April 1953. It was then incorporated as a borough within Metropolitan Toronto on 1 January 1967, and later incorporated as a city within it in 1983. It was amalgamated into the City of Toronto ("megacity") on 1 January 1998, losing its separate legal identity.

It was named after Scarborough, North Yorkshire, 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 [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."[2]

Much of the area of Scarborough was settled by suburban housing developments in the last third of the 20th century. Except for a few small villages that existed, the older section is in the southwest along the Kingston Rd. and Danforth Rd. 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 St. known as The Beaches or simply The Beach.

Scarborough residents have developed their own unique sense of humour as evidenced by Mike Myers (Wayne's World, Austin Powers), Eric McCormack (Will & 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.

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.

Scarborough's oldest school is thought to be R.H. King Academy which was built in 1922, but is actually Agincourt Collegiate Institute, built in 1915, It was previously Agincourt Junior Public School. Other schools in Scarborough include David and Mary Thomson C.I., Winston Churchill CI and Woburn CI.

Geography

Scarborough is home to an earthen cliff formation known as the Scarborough Bluffs. These can be found along the shore of Lake Ontario, stretching about 14 km, and reaching heights of more than 60 m in places. The Bluffs are part of a much larger formation known as the Iroquois Shoreline. Most of this formation is located somewhat further inland, and not right at the lakeshore as in this area of Scarborough. The Iroquois Shoreline marks the extent of a prehistoric lake, Glacial Lake Iroquois, whose level was quite a bit higher than present-day Lake Ontario's. It shrank in size at the close of the last ice age.

Erosion has been a problem along the Scarborough Bluffs. Some properties located near the brink have actually had to be abandoned, and some houses condemned, as the brink wears back away from the lake. The erosion process was accelerated by the 19th century ship-based removal of aggregates (stone-hooking) from the beaches at the base of the bluffs for construction in Toronto. The removal of this material allowed wave action to directly scour the base of the bluffs in many sections. Since the 1980s, large areas of beach at the base of the bluffs have been reinforced with limestone breakwaters and contruction rubble infilling.

Scarborough is also notable for the Rouge River Valley, an area where many parts of which are still in a wild state, and are mostly wooded. The Valley is home to a great variety of wildlife including deer, foxes, and the occasional coyote. In the mid-1990s, there were several unconfirmed sightings of a cougar in the Rouge Valley. One witness even produced a videotape purportedly showing it.

The Toronto Zoo is also located in the Rouge Valley.

Scarborough's coordinates are roughly 43.78° N, 79.25° W.

Nicknames

Scarborough has acquired several nicknames, second only to the nickname list for Toronto. The most popular is Scarberia, a port-manteau of Scarborough and Siberia, a reference to its seemingly distant location to downtown Toronto residents. Depending on who you talk to being called a Scarberian can be a badge of honour or an insult.

Scarborough has also acquired a number of nicknames related to the demographics of the area. Such nicknames are typically a portmanteau of Scarborough and some other location perceived to share the ethnic or economic qualities that are often associated with Scarborough. Among the mode widely recognised is Scarlem[3]

Notable residents and ex-residents

• Barenaked Ladies, a popular alternative rock band.
• Paul Bernardo, a notorious criminal convicted of murder and sex crimes.
• Jim Carrey, a well-known comedic actor.
• Marilyn Denis, a television/radio personality for CityTV (CityLine)/CHUM-FM (Roger, Rick and Marilyn)
• Andy Donato, editorial cartoonist for the Toronto Sun newspaper.
• Melyssa Ford, model.
• David Furnish, filmmaker and civil partner of Elton John.
• Bill Hastings, Chief Censor of New Zealand.
• Omar Khadr, teenage detainee at American military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
• Maestro, rapper and actor.
• Jamaal Magloire, NBA basketball player.
• Eric McCormack, actor.
• Mike Myers, a comedian known for his portrayal of Austin Powers.
• Alan Park, a comedian starred in Royal Canadian Air Farce.
• Craig Russell, female impersonator.
• Monika Schnarre, a fashion supermodel.
• Rick Tocchet, NHL hockey player.
• Paul Tracy, race car driver.

Scarborough in the news

Growth Rate

A new study based on census data between 1996 and 2001 shows that Scarborough's growth rate was more than 6%, the highest growth in Toronto. Its population is second to North York, but if this trend continues it should be the most populated municipality in Toronto by 2010. [4]

Nike Malvern Sports Complex Opened

On May 17, 2006, a new sports complex opened up in the Malvern neighbourhood. Nike Canada donated $500,000 to build the complex, which includes a basketball court, a practice soccer pitch, and a running track. The track was constructed from 50,000 used running shoes. The complex was built on the grounds of the Blessed Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School, but is open to the public. Olympic hurdler Perdita Felicien was on hand to encourage youth to participate in sports. [5]

Walk of Fame

On May 17, 2006, The Scarborough Walk of Fame was created at the Scarborough Town Centre to honour notable residents, past and current. The inaugural inductees include NBA player Jamaal Magloire, Olympic gold medallist Vicky Sunohara as well as 8 other prominent residents contributing to advances in medicine, arts, and community. [6]

Drugs

On May 6, 2006, the Globe and Mail reported that the police had uncovered 400 marijuana grow-ops in Scarborough over the past two years. Indoor grow operations are rapidly increasing, replacing the much riskier cross-border smuggling operations. Scarborough is a target for these setups because it has a significant number of large modern homes that have attached garages allowing for inconspicuous access. Houses used for these operations often need costly repairs to restore them to livable conditions. [7]

Crime

Scarborough experienced a drop in its murder rate in 2005. Out of 78 murders in Toronto in 2005, 14 were recorded in Scarborough (or 18% of the total), which houses almost 24% of the Toronto's population. So far in 2006, there has been 25 murders of which 5 have been recorded in Scarborough, equalling to 20% of Toronto's murders. (Updated (2) May 29, 2006) [8]

See also

• Golden Mile (Scarborough)

Further reading

• A History of Scarborough, Robert Bonis, 1968

External links

• Scarborough Historical Society
• Scarborough Archives