The Toronto Purchase is the transaction by which the Crown acquired the land under present-day Toronto from the Mississaugas of the Credit. British records date the first agreement to September 23, 1787, at the Carrying Place on the Bay of Quinte, but the deed produced from that meeting was blank. The boundaries were set in an indenture dated August 1, 1805, registered as Treaty 13. In 2010 Canada settled the First Nation’s specific claim over the purchase, together with a second claim, for CAD 145 million.
The story has two parts that sources describe differently: what happened at the 1787 council, and how large the 1805 tract was. This page separates what the primary documents say from what later accounts add.
Timeline of the Toronto Purchase
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1787 | Sir John Johnson, Superintendent General of the Indian Department, holds a council with Mississaugas at the Bay of Quinte. |
| 1788 | An attempted survey meets Mississauga opposition, which shows that no clear boundaries had been agreed. |
| 1797 | A separate Crown land purchase, later the subject of the Brant Tract claim. |
| August 1, 1805 | Indenture signed at the River Credit: the Crown pays ten shillings for the tract. |
| January 25, 2010 | Canada announces an offer of CAD 145 million to settle the Brant Tract and Toronto Purchase claims. |
| May 29, 2010 | Members of the First Nation vote to ratify the settlement. |
| October 29, 2010 | Canada and the First Nation celebrate the final settlement. |
The 1787 council at the Bay of Quinte
The Crown looked for lands to buy north of Lake Ontario in the 1780s. In 1785 Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton sent John Collins to survey a route from the Bay of Quinte to Lake Huron and to identify lands to buy. The route proved unsatisfactory, according to the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
In 1787 Sir John Johnson held a council at the Bay of Quinte. Library and Archives Canada describes the document made there as a manuscript indenture dated September 23, 1787, with the boundaries left blank to be filled in later. The First Nation’s own account differs on what the meeting was. It states that Johnson gave the Mississaugas goods worth 1,700 pounds as a reward for their loyalty during the American Revolution, that a possible purchase of the carrying place between Toronto and Lake Simcoe was discussed, and that nothing was sold at that council.
The deed that surfaced years afterward was blank. The marks of three chiefs, according to the First Nation, were written on separate scraps of paper and attached to it with wafers, and it described no land. The only surviving record of the talks, in the First Nation’s reading, is a letter Johnson wrote in 1798. In it he recalled a tract of ten miles square (about 16 kilometers) at Toronto, with a strip two or four miles wide (about 3 to 6 kilometers) on each side of the carrying place. The First Nation notes that this description did not include the Toronto Islands, which were not yet islands at that time.
The 1805 indenture
The Crown still needed a deed with boundaries, and on August 1, 1805 an indenture was made at the River Credit on Lake Ontario. The text published by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada records that the Mississaugas received ten shillings in lawful money, paid by William Claus for the Crown, and it refers back to the 1787 agreement with Sir John Johnson that the new deed was meant to formalize. The Mississaugas reserved the exclusive right to fish on Etobicoke Creek, according to the First Nation. Both agreements are registered together as Crown Treaty No. 13.
The tract now lies within the Etobicoke, Toronto, North York, York, and Vaughan areas, in the First Nation’s description of the lands. Its size depends on the source.
| Source | Area stated for the 1805 tract |
|---|---|
| Text of the 1805 indenture (Crown-Indigenous Relations) | 250,808 acres (about 101,500 hectares) |
| Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation website | 250,830 acres |
| Some published accounts | 250,880 acres |
The differences are small and look like transcription variants, but only the first figure comes from the text of the deed read for this page.
Why the Mississaugas challenged the purchase
The Mississaugas disputed the purchase over generations. In the claim they brought against Canada, the First Nation argued that the Crown took more land than had been agreed in 1787, including the Toronto Islands, and that it did not pay a reasonable sum for the land described in 1805. The date the claim was filed is itself reported differently: the First Nation gives 1998, while the Canadian Encyclopedia gives 1986.
The Government of Canada’s 2010 releases state the basis more briefly. The claim was that Canada did not provide adequate compensation for the land at the time of the 1805 purchase. The claims, the releases add, sought financial compensation only, and current land ownership was not in question.
The 2010 settlement
On January 25, 2010 Canada announced an offer to settle two specific claims of what was then called the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation: the Toronto Purchase claim, concerning the 1805 purchase, and the Brant Tract claim, concerning a 1797 purchase. The offer was CAD 145 million in financial compensation for both claims. The release described the process: negotiators draft a settlement agreement, the First Nation prepares a trust agreement in consultation with members, and the membership must vote to approve it before Canada gives final approval.
Members ratified the agreement on May 29, 2010. Canada finalized the settlement in October 2010, and a joint celebration was held on October 29, 2010 with the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, John Duncan, and Chief Bryan LaForme. The release states that the settlement was financial only and included no land. It also gives the membership of the First Nation, which is located near Hagersville, Ontario, as about 1,842.
Press and encyclopedia accounts report that each member received a cash payment of CAD 20,000 and that the remainder went into a trust for future generations. The number of recipients is given as 1,700 in one source and 1,842 in another, and no official document read for this page confirms the payment details, so they are not treated here as established. The First Nation’s website describes it as the largest claims settlement in Canadian history at that time.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Toronto Purchase made?
The first agreement is dated September 23, 1787, and the boundaries were set in the indenture of August 1, 1805. The 1805 deed is the one registered as Treaty 13.
How much did the Crown pay for Toronto?
The 1805 indenture records ten shillings. The goods given in 1787 are described by the Mississaugas as a reward for loyalty, not as a price, and are valued at 1,700 pounds in their account.
Was the Toronto Purchase ever challenged?
Yes. The Mississaugas of the Credit brought a specific claim against Canada, which was settled in 2010 for CAD 145 million together with the Brant Tract claim.
Did the settlement return any land?
No. The Government of Canada’s release states that the settlement was financial only.
Related reading
- An overview of Toronto’s history
- Toronto’s Indigenous history
- The origin of the name Toronto
- John Graves Simcoe and the founding of York
- The Toronto Islands: history
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Treaty 13 (Toronto Purchase, 1805), indenture text
- Government of Canada news releases, January 25, 2010 and October 29, 2010, on the Brant Tract and Toronto Purchase claims
- Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation: The Toronto Purchase pages
- The Canadian Encyclopedia: Toronto Purchase (Treaty 13)
- Library and Archives Canada: treaty IT 040
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). The Toronto Purchase: 1787 Council, Treaty 13 and the 2010 Claim. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-purchase-1787
MLA: “The Toronto Purchase: 1787 Council, Treaty 13 and the 2010 Claim.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-purchase-1787. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “The Toronto Purchase: 1787 Council, Treaty 13 and the 2010 Claim.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-purchase-1787.
The pages have no named author, so the site is given as the author. Add the date you read the page if your style asks for it.