In 1998, the Ontario government, led by the Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris, amalgamated the then city of Toronto, its neighbours of Scarborough, North York, East York, York, and Etobicoke, and the regional government (Metropolitan Toronto) against the will of the elected governments and the residents. In a referendum, voters in all of the municipalities voted overwhelmingly against amalgamation, but it proceeded nonetheless. The courts upheld the legislation despite legal challenges, essentially ruling that the province, because it has the legal ability to legislate over municipalities, had the authority to impose an amalgamation against the will of the residents and the people elected by them.
Amalgamation was a double-edged sword: on the one hand, its very size risked the existing tradition of robust engagement with residents; on the other, it empowered the city government and the office of mayor with a tremendous platform—speaking for about 2.3 million residents—a population not only bigger than that of most Canadian provinces but only a little smaller than the then populations of Alberta and British Columbia.
