Toronto's Universities

Toronto is home to three major universities, each with a genuinely different origin story.

University of Toronto (chartered 1827)

Founded as the Anglican-affiliated King's College at York, chartered in 1827 but not actually established until 1843 — making it one of the oldest universities in Canada. It later added suburban campuses at Scarborough (1964) and Mississauga (1966). Its Mississauga campus, U of T Mississauga (UTM), is where linguist Dr. Derek Denis researches Multicultural Toronto English — the academic term for the vocabulary this entire dictionary documents. See our history of Toronto slang for that research directly.

York University (founded 1959)

Founded in 1959 in response to Toronto's rapid post-war growth, initially affiliated with the University of Toronto until becoming fully independent in 1965. Its main Keele campus opened that same year, alongside the smaller downtown Glendon campus.

Toronto Metropolitan University (founded 1948 as Ryerson)

Founded in 1948 as the Ryerson Institute of Technology to meet post-war demand for skilled trades training, on the site of Ontario's first teacher training college. It gained degree-granting authority in 1971 and rebranded as Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in 2022.

Sources

• The Canadian Encyclopedia — University of Toronto
• The Canadian Encyclopedia — York University
• Toronto Metropolitan University — History

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