List of neighbourhoods in Toronto explained

The strength and vitality of the many neighbourhoods that make up Toronto, Ontario, Canada has earned the city its unofficial nickname of "the city of neighbourhoods."[1] There are 158 neighbourhoods officially recognized by the City of Toronto (in 2022, 34 neighbourhoods were created from 16 of the previous 140)[2] and upwards of 240 official and unofficial neighbourhoods within city limits.[3]

The current City of Toronto is the amalgamation of the former Metropolitan Toronto municipalities. Along with the original City of Toronto, these are East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, and York. The names of these municipalities are still often used by Toronto residents, sometimes for disambiguation purposes as amalgamation resulted in duplicated street names. The area known as Toronto before the 1998 amalgamation is sometimes called the "Old Toronto", and "the core". For administrative purposes, Toronto is divided into four districts: Etobicoke-York, North York, Scarborough and Toronto-East York.

The Old Toronto district is, by far, the most populous and densest part of the city. It is also the business and administrative centre of the city. The uniquely Torontonian bay-and-gable housing style is common throughout the former city. The "inner ring" suburbs of York and East York are older, predominantly middle-income areas, and ethnically diverse. Much of the housing stock in these areas consists of pre-World War II single-family houses and some post-war high-rises. Many of the neighbourhoods in these areas were built up as streetcar suburbs and contain many dense and mixed-use streets, some of which are one-way. They share many characteristics with sections of the "old" city outside the downtown core. The "outer ring" suburbs of Etobicoke, Scarborough, and North York are much more suburban in nature, although even these districts have some old-city characteristics (in particular southern Etobicoke along the shore of Lake Ontario) in areas bordering Old Toronto, and have developed modern urban centres of their own, such as North York City Centre around Mel Lastman Square.

The following is a list of the more notable neighbourhoods, organized by former municipality.

Neighbourhoods by former municipality

Toronto

See also: Old Toronto. Old Toronto refers to the City of Toronto and its limits from 1967 to 1997. It is sometimes referred to as the "South" or "Central" district, and includes the "downtown core". Some of these names such as "The Fashion District" are (or were) used as marketing for the areas or by BIAs; this area is actually called "King-Spadina" by locals. Another example is the "Old Town of York", also known as "King and Parliament" (although that intersection is one block east of the original ten blocks that formed the old town). Some people in the area also consider it to be a suburb of the main city of Toronto, as many choose to move there in pursuit of a more relaxed and "backwoods" vibe.[4]

Many were recreated or named to reconnect the areas with their past history, early beginnings, or even recent use and prominence. Some historical city "wards" used in the 19th century are no longer used: St. David's, St. John's, St. Paul's, St. George's, St. Andrew's, and St. Patrick's wards. There was a ward named for the patron saint of each of the three British nationalities: English (St. George), Scottish (St. Andrew), Welsh (St. David) and Irish (St. Patrick)., and still survive as subway stations, though St. George station is not named after the ward, but after St. George Street instead, itself named after Quetton St. George, a local military officer and landowner. St. Lawrence's Ward (named after the patron saint of Canada and the river, itself also named after the saint) remains, known today as "St. Lawrence". St. Paul's (named after the saint) remains as the name of an electoral district for each of the three levels of government, although the electoral district has very little to no overlap with the historic St. Paul's Ward and beginning in the 2015 Canadian federal election, the electoral district was renamed Toronto—St. Paul's. This meant that the St. Paul's electoral district is a misnomer for much of the history of the electoral district.

For the purposes of geographic distinction, Old Toronto is broken down into four subsections:

Downtown Core (Central)

See also: Downtown Toronto.

East End

See also: East Toronto.

North End

See also: North Toronto.

West End

East York

See also: East York. An autonomous urban borough until 1997, East York is primarily located north of Danforth Avenue between the Don River to the west and Victoria Park Avenue to the east, though the Shoppers World Danforth shopping plaza/mall hybrid, on the south side of Danforth Avenue west of Victoria Park Avenue, is located in East York. East York was an exclave of York from 1922 to 1924 and became a separate municipality to simplify governance. East York developed contemporaneously with the West End of old Toronto, and it is similar in form and character. In 1967, East York was expanded to include the Town of Leaside. Since the 1998 amalgamation, it is administered together with old Toronto, and separate from Scarborough, North York, and Etobicoke-York, by the "Toronto and East York Neighbourhood Council".

East York itself is commonly divided into two zones with mainly Edwardian urban neighbourhoods situated south of Taylor-Massey Creek and referred to as Old East York.

Old East York

Suburban East York

Etobicoke

See also: Etobicoke. The former township and city of Etobicoke is on the west side of the Humber River. Several of its neighbourhoods, such as Long Branch, New Toronto, and Mimico, were villages independent of Etobicoke. Others, such as Claireville, Islington and Thistletown were former postal villages established when Etobicoke was an agrarian district. Others are residential subdivisions built after World War II as Toronto expanded.

Etobicoke is often divided into three zones: north, central, and south, roughly approximate to that of the electoral districts of all three levels of government.

North York

See also: North York. The former city of North York is located north of York, Old Toronto, and East York, from the Humber River to the west and Victoria Park Avenue to the east. North York is split by Yonge Street into an east section and a west section. Several of North York's neighbourhoods (such as Lansing, Newtonbrook and Willowdale) developed from postal villages when North York Township was primarily agrarian. Others are residential subdivisions developed after World War II. North York City Centre is a commercial district developed to be the 'downtown' of the city.

Scarborough

See also: Scarborough, Ontario. The district of Scarborough extends from the east side of Victoria Park Avenue to the eastern border of Toronto. West Rouge was transferred from Pickering to Scarborough in 1974 as part of the establishment of Durham Region. It is the largest district by area.

Many of the neighbourhoods, such as Agincourt, Brown's Corners and Milliken, correspond to former postal villages supporting the then-agrarian township. Others are residential subdivisions developed after World War II. Others are commercial districts.

York

See also: York, Ontario. The former city of York is situated between Old Toronto and North York, west of Bathurst Street (aside from the neighbourhood of Tichester at the southeasternmost corner of the former city, which extends as far east as Walmer Road and includes much of St. Clair West station, including its northern unstaffed entrance on Heath Street, as well as St. Michael's College School). The community of Weston, to the northwest, was itself an independent village. Several neighbourhoods are former residential subdivisions built on the limits with Toronto before and after World War II.

York is often divided into two sections: a western section and an eastern section, on either side of GO Transit's Barrie rail line.

History

See main article: History of neighbourhoods in Toronto.

See also: Amalgamation of Toronto.

Lists of city-designated neighbourhoods

For administrative purposes, the City of Toronto divides the city into 158 neighbourhoods. These divisions are used for internal planning purposes. The boundaries and names often do not conform to the usage of the general population or designated business improvement areas. A number of neighbourhood maps of Toronto do exist, some produced by real estate firms and some by Internet portals. A project to map the neighbourhoods according to the common usage of the residents was done by the Toronto Star newspaper. Based on feedback from Toronto Star readers, it has produced the most comprehensive, albeit informal, neighbourhood map. 31 of these neighbourhoods are Neighbourhood Improvement Areas with the strategy to strengthen the social, economic and physical conditions and delivers local impact for city-wide change in these areas.[2]

Table

width=5%CDN numberwidth=20%City-designated neighbourhoodwidth=10%Former city/boroughwidth=50%Neighbourhoods coveredwidth=50%Neighbourhood Improvement Areawidth=15%Map
129Agincourt NorthScarboroughAgincourt and BrimwoodN
128Agincourt South-Malvern WestScarboroughAgincourt and MalvernN
20AlderwoodEtobicokeAlderwoodN
95AnnexOld City of TorontoThe Annex and Seaton VillageN
42Banbury-Don MillsNorth YorkDon MillsN
34Bathurst ManorNorth YorkBathurst ManorN
169Bay–CloverhillOld City of TorontoN
52Bayview VillageNorth YorkBayview VillageN
49Bayview Woods-SteelesNorth YorkBayview WoodsN
39Bedford Park-NortownNorth YorkBedford Park, Ledbury Park, and NortownN
112Beechborough-GreenbrookYorkKeelesdale and SilverthornY
156Bendale–Glen AndrewScarboroughBendaleN
157Bendale SouthScarboroughBendaleN
122Birchcliffe-CliffsideScarboroughBirch Cliff and CliffsideN
24Black CreekNorth YorkJane and FinchY
69Blake-JonesOld City of TorontoThe Pocket and RiverdaleN
108Briar Hill-BelgraviaYorkFairbankN
41Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York MillsNorth YorkThe Bridle Path and York MillsN
57Broadview NorthEast YorkOld East YorkN
30Brookhaven-AmesburyNorth YorkAmesburyN
71Cabbagetown-South St. James TownOld City of TorontoCabbagetown and St. James TownN
109Caledonia-FairbankYorkFairbank and CedarvaleN
96Casa LomaOld City of TorontoCasa Loma and WychwoodN
133Centennial ScarboroughScarboroughPort Union and CentennialN
167Church–WellesleyOld City of TorontoChurch and Wellesley and Toronto Metropolitan UniversityN
120Clairlea-BirchmountScarboroughClairleaN
33Clanton ParkNorth YorkWilson HeightsN
123CliffcrestScarboroughCliffsideN
92Corso Italia-DavenportOld City of TorontoCorso Italia, Davenport, Earlscourt, and Regal HeightsN
59Danforth - East YorkEast YorkOld East York, The DanforthN
66DanforthOld City of TorontoThe DanforthN
47Don Valley VillageNorth YorkDon Valley Village, The PeanutN
126Dorset ParkScarboroughDorset ParkN
168Downtown Yonge EastOld City of TorontoN
171Junction–Wallace EmersonOld City of TorontoDovercourt Park, Wallace Emerson, Junction Triangle and DavenportN
172Dovercourt VillageOld City of TorontoDovercourt ParkN
155DownsviewNorth YorkDownsviewY
83Dufferin GroveOld City of TorontoBrockton and Dufferin GroveN
62East End-DanforthOld City of TorontoUpper Beaches, East DanforthN
148Easr L'AmoreauxScarboroughL'Amoreaux, Leacock, and BridlewoodN
9Edenbridge-Humber ValleyEtobicokeHumber ValleyN
138Eglinton EastScarboroughEglinton EastY
5Elms-Old RexdaleEtobicokeThe Elms and RexdaleY
32Englemount-LawrenceNorth YorkLawrence Manor and Glen ParkN
11Eringate-Centennial-West DeaneEtobicokeCentennial Park and West Deane ParkN
163Fort York–Liberty VillageOld City of TorontoLiberty Village, Exhibition PlaceN
159Etobicoke City CentreEtobicokeIslington-Six PointsN
13Etobicoke West MallEtobicokeCentennial Park and EatonvilleN
44Flemingdon ParkNorth YorkFlemingdon ParkY
102Forest Hill NorthOld City of TorontoForest HillN
101Forest Hill SouthOld City of TorontoForest HillN
25Glenfield-Jane HeightsNorth YorkJane and FinchY
141Golfdale–Cedarbrae–WoburnScarboroughY
65Greenwood-CoxwellOld City of TorontoLeslievilleN
140GuildwoodScarboroughGuildwoodN
53Henry FarmNorth YorkHenry FarmN
88High Park NorthOld City of TorontoHigh Park North, West BendN
87High Park-SwanseaOld City of TorontoHigh Park, Roncesvalles and SwanseaN
134Highland CreekScarboroughHighland CreekN
48Hillcrest VillageNorth YorkHillcrest VillageN
161Humber Bay ShoresEtobicokeMimico, Humber BayN
8Humber Heights-WestmountEtobicokeHumber Heights-WestmountN
21Humber SummitNorth YorkHumber SummitY
22HumbermedeNorth YorkHumbermede and EmeryY
106Humewood-CedarvaleYorkCedarvale and HumewoodN
125IonviewScarboroughIonviewY
158IslingtonEtobicokeIslington-Six PointsN
90Junction AreaOld City of TorontoThe JunctionN
110Keelesdale-Eglinton WestYorkKeelesdale and SilverthornY
124Kennedy ParkScarboroughScarborough JunctionY
78Kensington-ChinatownOld City of TorontoAlexandra Park, Chinatown, Grange Park, Kensington MarketN
6Kingsview Village-The WestwayEtobicokeKingsview Village and RichviewY
15Kingsway SouthEtobicokeThe KingswayN
147L'Amoreaux WestScarboroughL'Amoreaux, Leacock, and BridlewoodN
114Lambton Baby PointYorkBaby Point and Old MillN
38Lansing-WestgateNorth YorkLansingN
105Lawrence Park NorthOld City of TorontoBedford Park, Teddington Park, and Wanless ParkN
103Lawrence Park SouthOld City of TorontoLawrence Park, Lytton Park, North TorontoN
56Leaside-BenningtonEast YorkLeasideN
84Little PortugalOld City of TorontoLittle Portugal and BrocktonN
19Long BranchEtobicokeLong BranchN
146Malvern EastScarboroughMalvernN
145Malvern WestScarboroughMalvernN
29Maple LeafNorth YorkN
12Markland WoodEtobicokeMarkland WoodN
130MillikenScarboroughMillikenN
160Mimico–QueenswayEtobicokeMimicoN
135MorningsideScarboroughMorningsideN
144Morningside HeightsScarboroughMalvernY
73Moss ParkOld City of TorontoMoss Park, Corktown and Garden DistrictN
115Mount DennisYorkMount DennisY
2Mount Olive-Silverstone-JamestownEtobicokeSmithfieldY
99Mount Pleasant EastOld City of TorontoDavisville Village, North TorontoN
18New TorontoEtobicokeNew TorontoN
50Newtonbrook EastNorth YorkNewtonbrookN
36Newtonbrook WestNorth YorkNewtonbrookN
68North RiverdaleOld City of TorontoRiverdaleN
74North St. James TownOld City of TorontoSt. James TownN
173North TorontoOld City of TorontoNorth TorontoN
54O'Connor–ParkviewEast YorkParkview Hills, Topham ParkN
154Oakdale–Beverly HeightsNorth YorkDownsviewY
121OakridgeScarboroughOakridgeY
107Oakwood VillageYorkOakwood VillageN
58Old East YorkEast YorkOld East YorkN
80Palmerston-Little ItalyOld City of TorontoLittle Italy and PalmerstonN
149Parkwoods–O'Connor HillsNorth YorkParkwoodsN
150Fenside–ParkwoodsNorth YorkN
23Pelmo Park-HumberleaNorth YorkHumberleaN
67Playter Estates-DanforthOld City of TorontoPlayter Estates and GreektownN
46Pleasant ViewNorth YorkPleasant ViewN
10Princess-RosethornEtobicokePrincess Anne Manor, Thorncrest Village, and Princess MargaretN
72Regent ParkOld City of TorontoRegent Park, Trefann CourtY
4Rexdale-KiplingEtobicokeRexdaleN
111Rockcliffe-SmytheYorkHarwood, SymeY
86RoncesvallesOld City of TorontoRoncesvallesN
98Rosedale-Moore ParkOld City of TorontoRosedale and Moore ParkN
131RougeScarboroughWest Rouge, Rouge ParkN
89Runnymede-Bloor West VillageOld City of TorontoRunnymede-Bloor West VillageN
28RusticNorth YorkY
139Scarborough VillageScarboroughY
174South Eglinton–DavisvilleOld City of TorontoDavisville VillageN
70South RiverdaleOld City of TorontoN
85South ParkdaleOld City of TorontoParkdale, South ParkdaleY
40St. Andrew-WindfieldsNorth YorkYork Mills and Hoggs HollowN
116SteelesScarboroughN
16Stonegate-QueenswayEtobicokeHumber Bay, QueenswayN
118Tam O'Shanter-SullivanScarboroughN
61Taylor MasseyEast YorkCrescent TownY
63The BeachesOld City of TorontoThe Beach/Beaches, Beaches NorthN
3Thistletown-Beaumond HeightsEtobicokeY
55Thorncliffe ParkEast YorkY
81Trinity-BellwoodsOld City of TorontoN
79UniversityOld City of TorontoN
43Victoria VillageNorth YorkY
164Wellington PlaceOld City of TorontoN
165Harbourfront–CityPlaceOld City of TorontoN
166St Lawrence-East Bayfront The IslandsOld City of TorontoDistillery District, Old Town, St. LawrenceN
136West HillScarboroughY
1West Humber-ClairvilleEtobicokeN
162West Queen WestOld City of TorontoNiagaraN
143West RougeScarboroughMalvernN
35Westminster-BransonNorth YorkN
113WestonYorkY
91Weston-Pelham ParkOld City of TorontoCarlton, Davenport, St. Clair GardensY
119Wexford-MaryvaleScarboroughN
152East WillowdaleNorth YorkN
153AvondaleNorth YorkN
37Willowdale WestNorth YorkN
7Willowridge-Martingrove-RichviewEtobicokeN
142Woburn NorthScarboroughY
64Woodbine CorridorOld City of TorontoN
60Woodbine-LumsdenEast YorkN
94WychwoodOld City of TorontoN
170Yonge–Bay CorridorOld City of TorontoBay Street, Financial DistrictN
100Yonge–EglintonOld City of TorontoChaplin EstatesN
151Yonge–DorisNorth YorkN
97Yonge–St. ClairOld City of TorontoN
27York University HeightsNorth YorkY
31Yorkdale-Glen ParkNorth YorkGlen Park, Lawrence HeightsN

Business improvement areas

There are also several dozen city designated business improvement areas, covering almost all of Toronto's commercial areas. Some of these serve a particular ethnic group or several similar ethnic groups as part of an ethnic enclave.

Multiple listing service districts and neighbourhoods

After the update of Toronto Multiple listing service (MLS) on July 5, 2011, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) introduced a new search feature for the Toronto MLS, used by real estate agents operating in the region. MLS searches can be refined at three levels and MLS users can search houses by area, then by municipality, and then by neighbourhood or community. As with the other MLS services for other jurisdictions, it used Microsoft's Bing Maps for its web mapping features until 2018, when it switched to Google Maps. These feature changes were the first change of this magnitude in about 50 years of Toronto MLS history since its establishment.[5]

The change was designed to eliminate the obsolete coding systems whereby Greater Toronto was divided into 86 artificial districts denominated by alphanumeric codes. Due to the growing population in the city and the increasing difficulty of browsing the code-based system, the TREB made a radical change, which is intended to simplify the use of MLS for real estate agents and home buyers.[6]

Because Toronto is a populous municipality of its own, the core city area will continue to be split into coded districts, although each of the districts will in turn contain neighbourhoods. Hence, the city will be easily searchable as well.[6]

The following table contains a complete list of Toronto districts with a possibly incomplete list of Toronto neighbourhoods within each district:[7] [8]

width=10%District Numberwidth=90%Neighbourhoods Included
C01Downtown, Harbourfront, Little Italy, Little Portugal, Dufferin Grove, Palmerston, University, Yonge–Bay Corridor, Kensington Market, Chinatown, Trinity Bellwoods, South Niagara, Island airport, The Islands, Waterfront communities C1, Queen's Park, Ontario Provincial Government, Victoria Hotel, Central Bay Street, First Canadian Place, Design Exchange, Adelaide, Union Station
C02The Annex, Yorkville, South Hill, Summerhill, Wychwood Park, Deer Park, Casa Loma
C03Forest Hill South, Oakwood–Vaughan, Humewood–Cedarvale, Corso Italia, Forest Hill Road Park
C04Bedford Park, Lawrence Manor, North Toronto, Forest Hill North, Lawrence Park, Lawrence Heights, Roselawn
C06North York, Clanton Park, Bathurst Manor
C07Willowdale West, Newtonbrook West, Westminster–Branson, Lansing-Westgate
C08Cabbagetown, St. Lawrence Market, Toronto waterfront, Moss Park, Church and Wellesley, Garden District, Regent Park, St. James Town, Ryerson, Berczy Park
C09Moore Park, Rosedale
C10Davisville Village, Midtown Toronto, Mount Pleasant, Davisville North, Davisville
C11Leaside, Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park
C12York Mills, St.Andrew - Windfields, Bridle Path, Sunnybrook, York Mills West
C13Don Mills, Parkwoods, Victoria Village, Banbury, Parkwoods
C14Newtonbrook East, Willowdale East, Newtonbrook
C15Hillcrest Village, Bayview Woods-Steeles, Bayview Village, Don Valley Village, Henry Farm, Pleasant View
E01Riverdale, Danforth (Greektown), Leslieville, Blake-Jones, Greenwood, Coxwell, Studio District
E02The Beaches, Woodbine Corridor, East End - Danforth, The Beaches West, South Central Letter Processing Plant Toronto
E03Danforth (Greektown), East York, Playter Estates, Broadview North (Old East York), O'Connor–Parkview, Crescent Town, Woodbine Heights, Woodbine Gardens, Parkview Hill
E04The Golden Mile, Dorset Park, Wexford, Maryvale, Scarborough Junction (Kennedy Park), Ionview, Clairlea, Birchmount
E05Steeles, L'Amoreaux West, Tam O'Shanter – Sullivan, Clarks Corners, L'Amoreaux
E06Birch Cliff, Oakridge, Hunt Club, Cliffside
E07Agincourt, Malvern West, Milliken
E08Scarborough Village, Cliffcrest, Guildwood, Eglinton East (Knob Hill)
E09Scarborough City Centre, Woburn, Morningside, Bendale (Cedarbrae), Cedarbrae
E10Rouge (South), Port Union (Centennial Scarborough), West Hill, Highland Creek, Port Union
E11Rouge (West), Malvern, Rouge, Upper Rouge
W01High Park, South Parkdale, Swansea, Roncesvalles Village, Roncesvalles, Parkdale Village
W02Bloor West Village, Baby Point, The Junction (Junction Area), High Park North, Runnymede, Dovercourt Village, Christie
W03Keelesdale, Little Jamaica, Rockcliffe–Smythe, Weston-Pelham Park, Corso Italia, Davenport, Caledonia-Fairbanks
W04York, Glen Park, Amesbury (Brookhaven), Pelmo Park – Humberlea, Weston, Fairbank (Briar Hill-Belgravia), Maple Leaf, Mount Dennis, Pelmo Park – Humberlea W4, Beechborough, Greenbrook, Yorkdale, Rustic, Glencairn, Upwood Park
W05Downsview, Humber Summit, Humbermede (Emery), Jane and Finch (Black Creek or Glenfield-Jane Heights), York University Heights, York University, Pelmo Park – Humberlea W5, Downsview-Roding-CFB, Emery
W06New Toronto, Long Branch, Mimico, Alderwood, Humber Bay Shores
W07Sunnylea (The Queensway – Humber Bay), Sunnylea, Stonegate - Queenway, Thompson Orchard
W08The Kingsway, Central Etobicoke, Eringate-Centennial-West Deane, Princess-Rosethorn, Edenbridge-Humber Valley, Islington–City Centre West, Markland Wood, Royal York South West, Princess Gardens, Humber Valley Village
W09Kingsview Village-The Westway, Richview (Willowridge), Humber Heights – Westmount, Martin Grove Gardens, Kingsview Village, Westmount
W10Rexdale, Claireville, Thistletown - Beaumond Heights, Smithfield: Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown, The Elms (Elms-Old Rexdale), West Humber - Claireville, Mount Olive

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. "The Globe's Insider's City Guides: Toronto" John Allemang, Tralee Pearce. The Globe and Mail. Jun 11, 2003. pg. T.1
  2. Web site: About Toronto Neighbourhoods. City of. Toronto. 4 February 2024. toronto.ca.
  3. Web site: City of Toronto Residential Communities and Business Improvement Areas Map. toronto.ca. 2009-05-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20060103041741/http://www.toronto.ca/pdf/hoods.pdf. 2006-01-03. dead.
  4. Web site: Areas and Suburbs in Toronto Expat Arrivals. 2014-05-16. Expat Arrivals. en. 2017-04-23.
  5. http://jamiesarner.com/toronto-real-estate/2011/07/new-zoning-toronto-mls-neighbourhoods-municipalities/ New Zoning in Toronto MLS Brings Neighbourhood Names and Municipalities
  6. http://ilovetoronto.com/toronto-real-estate/2011/07/mls-zoning-change-treb-community-names MLS Zoning Change: TREB Introducing Friendly Community Names
  7. http://jamiesarner.com/buying-toronto-home/homes-daily-listings/ Looking at Homes: Your Daily Listings
  8. http://www.torontorealestateboard.com/about_treb/new_districts/index.htm TREB Zones & Regions