Scarborough – 200 Plus Years
A Rich History and an Uncertain Future

It’s been almost a decade since Scarborough celebrated its bicentennial year in 1996, and eight years since amalgamation annexed Scarborough into a subdivision of Toronto.  While Scarborough officially ceased to exist as an independent municipality soon after its bicentennial year, its role as a gateway into the Canadian mosaic continues.   However, the future of the highlands seem a little less certain under an amalgamated Toronto.

If there is one defining characteristic of Scarborough’s two hundred plus years of history, is that it has become home to a diverse array of cultures seeking a better life in a new world.   Although the various nationalities of Scarborough’s population have unique origins, most who settled this land fled harsh economic and political conditions in their homeland.  Regardless of whether it was the 18th or 21st century, all of Scarborough’s settlers continue to share a need to create a sense of community in a strange land far from home. 

Over the past two centuries, Scarborough has undergone five waves of immigration that has changed Scarborough’s character from a frontier woodland to a rural farming community to a residential suburban community, and more recently to a semi-urban multicultural community. 

Each of these stages in Scarborough’s transformation has seen its share of hardship, but through it all Scarborough has typified the cultural axiom of Canada being the peaceable kingdom.  The little community that could now boosts 600,000 people speaking over 150 languages.

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