In 1973, the Province of Ontario passed the Regional Municipality of Durham Act to establish Durham as one of five Regional governments in the Greater Toronto Area. The Act annexed and amalgamated 21 former municipalities of the counties of Ontario, Northumberland and Durham to form eight area municipalities: Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby. Members of the first Regional Council were elected late in 1973 and the Regional Municipality of Durham began operating on January 1, 1974. more... See more text