Rep your Toronto borough: Scarborough, Etobicoke, North York and the rest

Toronto is six former cities in a trench coat, and people still know which one is theirs. A quick guide to the boroughs, and how to rep yours.

Rep your Toronto borough: Scarborough, Etobicoke, North York and the rest

Ask someone in Toronto where they are from and they rarely say Toronto. They say Scarborough. They say the west end. They say North York like it explains everything, and to them it does. The city is one place on a map and six places in people's heads.

Here is the quick version of each, and how to rep the one that is yours.

The six

In 1998, six municipalities were merged into a single City of Toronto. They are still the mental map locals use every day.

  • Old Toronto. The core, the waterfront, the oldest streets. Downtown to most visitors.
  • Scarborough. The east end. Big, diverse, and fiercely proud of it. Some of the best food in the country is here.
  • Etobicoke. The west end by the lake. Quieter, leafier, its own world.
  • North York. Straight up Yonge. A downtown of its own bolted onto the top of the city.
  • York and East York. The smaller two, tucked between the giants, with a village feel the bigger boroughs lost.

You can browse every one, and the independent businesses across them, on the boroughs page.

How to rep it

Borough pride is real, and it does not always want a slogan. Sometimes the cleanest way to say where you are from is to say the city as a whole and let the people who know, know.

That is the idea behind the the 6ix tee, which carries the nickname for all six, and the coordinates design, which pins the exact spot without naming a single neighbourhood. If you want to keep it broad, Home Is Toronto covers everyone who claims any part of it. All $34.99 in the shop.

The short version

  • Toronto is six former cities: old Toronto, Scarborough, Etobicoke, North York, York and East York.
  • Locals still identify by borough first. Find yours on the boroughs page.
  • Rep the whole city with a clean tee, or dig into your borough's businesses and eat like a local.

Written by See The Six · kept current from the directory, last checked 2026-10-13

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