North York

City in Toronto Metropolitan Municipality, southern Ontario; population (1991) 562,600. It is bounded on the north by Vaughan and Markham , on the south by East York, Toronto, and York, on the east by Scarborough, and on the west by Etobicoke.

Initially part of York Township, North York became a separate township in 1922, a borough in 1967, and a city in 1979. The East and West branches of the Don River flow through the city. Chiefly residential sections of North York include Willowdale and Newtonbrook. The planned industrial-residential community of Don Mills is in the southeast, while Downsview, site of military, industrial, and residential developments, is in the west-central section. York University (founded 1959) lies on the city's northwestern boundary. The Ontario Science Centre is in the southeast, in Ernest Thompson Seton Park, on the West Branch of the Don.