While 2016 was a year to mourn notable deaths, some are still mourning the death of Toronto’s six separate municipalities exactly 19 years ago.

On Jan. 1, 1998, Toronto’s amalgamation took effect, merging the six previous municipalities that made up Metro Toronto – Etobicoke, Scarborough, York, East York, North York, and the City of Toronto, into a new singular City of Toronto.

The amalgamation was – and still is – one of the most controversial moves in Toronto’s local government history. One Star article claimed it was the biggest fight since the “Stop the Spadina Expressway” movement. Another headline read “Mega no to megacity,” after it was found that 76 per cent of voters were opposed to the merger.

Despite the backlash, then-Premier Mike Harris charged ahead with his plans for amalgamation, citing cost saving as the sensible reason for it.

Whether or not money was saved is still not entirely clear, but there were definitely other benefits. A Star editorial noted that the number of municipal politicians representing the area dropped from 100 to 45, that there was a more uniform provision of services across the city, and that poorer municipalities like York were able to improve their parts of the city thanks to the redistribution of wealth.

There are still people unhappy with the amalgamation though. In November 2016, one resident launched the “Free Scarborough Campaign,” calling for Scarborough to de-amalgamate.

Whether or not the amalgamation has worked, however, it’s still too early to tell. 19 years is a very short time for a city to have existed.

The amalgamation made Toronto the fourth largest municipality in North America, behind Mexico City, Los Angeles, and New York.