Neighbourhood Profiles

North Toronto

When the expanded Toronto Mega City was formed in 1998 the North Toronto neighbourhood went from being located at the north end of the old city to occupying a central location within the new city boundaries. Despite these changes North Toronto's identity as a neighbourhood endures.

North Toronto is especially popular with families raising school-age children. It has everything families are looking for in a neighbourhood including good size houses, an excellent selection of public, private and separate schools, convenient access to Toronto's transit system, and a multitude of parks and recreational facilities.

HISTORY

The town of North Toronto was incorporated in 1890. It was formed as the result of an amalgamation between Davisville Village, Eglinton Village, and Bedford Park Village.

At the time of its incorporation, North Toronto was primarily an agricultural farming community. However, large parcels of land in North Toronto were already subdivided, and were being held by speculators.

The actual building of houses in this area began in the 1890's, when the Metropolitan Street Railway, made North Toronto the northernmost stop on its five cent line from downtown Toronto.

By the early 1900's, North Toronto had emerged as one of Toronto's most popular commuter suburbs. However, frustrated by the poor level of municipal services being offered by the Town, North Toronto residents voted in favour of Annexation to the City of Toronto on December 15, 1912. North Toronto filled in quickly after annexation and was completely developed by the 1940's.

**The Toronto neighbourhood text profiles, sketches and maps displayed on this web site were originally published in “Your Guide to Toronto Neighbourhoods”, are © Maple Tree Publishing Inc. and have been reproduced by Toronto Real Estate Board under license.