The first neighbourhoods in Toronto were actually referred to as Wards. They date back to 1834 when Toronto was incorporated as a City.  Toronto was originally divided into five wards: St: Andrew’s, St. David, St. George’s and St. Patrick’s. These Wards were named after the patron saints of the four nations of the British isles. The fifth ward, St. Lawrence was named in honour of Saint Lawrence, a patron saint of Canada. All of these wards were located within the original City of Toronto boundaries which covered an area encompassing Front Street to the south, Queen Street to the north, Bathurst Street to the west, and Parliament Street to the east. St. Lawrence is still a neighbourhood today although much has changed from its Victorian past. St. Paul’s Ward has survived in name only (with some boundary changes) as a federal and provincial electoral riding while the other former wards are memorialized as the names of downtown Toronto subway stations.

As the City expanded more wards were created. In 1853 St. Jame’s and St. John’s wards were added to the City’s list of neighbourhoods followed by St. Thomas’s ward in 1874, St. Stephen’s ward in 1876, St. Mark’s and St. Matthew’s wards in 1884, and St. Alban’s in 1889. By 1892 with the City expanding by leaps and bounds the original ward names were replaced with generic numerical ward designations. This change left communities in Toronto devoid of an identity and a sense of place. But eventually distinct neighbourhoods would emerge from the former Wards adopting names like Rosedale, Forest Hill, Cabbagetown and Yorkville that made reference to their history or topography or neighbourhood landmarks.  Today, Toronto has over 150 neighbourhoods that are as diverse as the City itself.