The position was created in 1953 when Metropolitan Toronto was created by the province of Ontario as a new urban county-level municipality out of the southernmost part of the-then York County. It had exactly the same boundaries as the present-day City of Toronto, but originally consisted of thirteen cities and boroughs, each with its own mayor. These cities included the City of Toronto and what were then its surrounding suburbs: the towns of New Toronto, Mimico, Weston, and Leaside; the villages of Long Branch, Swansea, and Forest Hill; and the townships of Etobicoke, York, North York, East York, and Scarborough.