Italian Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area


has a large Italian Canadian community, with 32.2 percent of the ethnic Italians in Canada living in the Greater Toronto Area as of 2016. Toronto is home to the fourth largest Italian population outside of Italy, behind São Paulo, Brazil, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and New York City, respectively. As of the Canada 2016 Census, there were 511,680 Italian Canadians located in the Greater Toronto Area, with 484,360 located within the Toronto CMA.
Italian immigration to Toronto started as early as the mid 19th century. By 1860, over a dozen ":wiktionary:soldier of fortune|Soldiers of fortune" and "men of letters" lived in Toronto. Italians arrived in Toronto in large numbers during the early 20th century, first settling in an area then known as The Ward, centred on University Avenue and College Street. By the 1920s, most Italians had moved west of Bathurst Street and the College-Clinton area had emerged as the city's major Little Italy. Italian immigration continued into the post-World War II era, where approximately 20,000 to 30,000 Italians immigrated to Canada each year between the early 1950s and the mid 1960s, many of the men working in the construction industry upon settling. In the late 1960s, the Italian economy experienced a period of growth and recovery, removing one of the primary incentives for emigration.
As early as 1961, the presence of new immigrants had already started changing Little Italy. Since the 1970s, Italian immigrants from Little Italy moved northward to Corso Italia on St. Clair Avenue West. As early as the 1990s, Italian immigrants moved to northwestern parts of the city such as Pelmo Park-Humberlea and Maple Leaf, as well as to the suburbs northwest of Toronto, in particular, York and Peel, and their respective communities, in particular, Woodbridge in Vaughan, Nobleton in King, and Bolton in Caledon.

History

":wiktionary:soldier of fortune|Soldiers of fortune" and "men of letters" from Italy immigrated to Toronto prior to the 1850s. Toronto absorbed pedlars and craftspeople from northern Italy until the 1880s. By 1860, 17 Italians lived in Toronto. Additional tradespeople arrived by 1870. After the 1880s many came from northern Italy, with most being from Genoa. The occupations tended to be craftspeople, service tradespeople, and pedlars. Italians arrived in Toronto in large numbers during the early 20th century. Italians first settled in an area then known as The Ward, centred on University Avenue and College Street. Approximately 40,000 Italians came to Canada during the interwar period of 1914 to 1918, predominantly from southern Italy where an economic depression and overpopulation had left many families in poverty. By the 1920s, most Italians had moved west of Bathurst Street and the College-Clinton area had emerged as the city's major Little Italy. They mainly immigrated to Toronto—increasing from 4,900 Italians in 1911, to 9,000 in 1921, constituting almost two percent of Toronto's population.
Italian immigration continued into the post-World War II era, where approximately 20,000 to 30,000 Italians immigrated to Canada each year between the early 1950s and the mid 1960s. By the 1960s, more than 15,000 Italian men worked in Toronto's construction industry, representing one third of all construction workers in the city at that time. 90 percent of the Italians who immigrated to Canada after World War II remained in Canada, and decades after that period, the community still had fluency in the Italian language. In the late 1960s, the Italian economy experienced a period of growth and recovery, removing one of the primary incentives for emigration.
As early as 1961, the presence of new immigrants had already started changing Little Italy. That year, 15,000 Italians, 12,000 being immigrants, lived in Little Italy, declining to 8,000 in 1971, and further to 3,600 in 1991. Since the 1970s, Italian immigrants from Little Italy moved northward to Corso Italia on St. Clair Avenue West. In 1981, about 35,000 Italians lived in this area, however, by 1991, had dropped to 20,000. Much of the Italian population subsequently moved to the northwestern part of the city, such as Pelmo Park-Humberlea and Maple Leaf, as well as to the suburbs northwest of Toronto, in particular, York and Peel, and their respective communities, in particular, Woodbridge in Vaughan, Nobleton in King, and Bolton in Caledon. Although the character of Toronto's two Italian enclaves still has several Italian restaurants and bakeries, the demographics of these neighbourhoods have changed drastically with a smaller Italian population than it had originally.
By 2001, 79,835 Italian Canadians lived in Vaughan, accounting for 44.0 percent of the population. As the presence of new immigrants significantly bolstered the population, the concentration of Italian Canadians has steadily decreased, with 94,725 Italian Canadians accounting for 31.1 percent of the population in 2016. That year, the community of Woodbridge within Vaughan is home to 55,960 of these Italian Canadians, accounting for 53.5 percent of the population—the largest in Canada. The concentration of Italian Canadians has started increasing further north and westward, with concentrations of Italian Canadians in King and Caledon as compared to 2001 and 2016 were 22.6 percent vs 34.5 percent, and 22.3 percent vs 27.3 percent, respectively.

Demographics

Ethnicity

Census divisionPopulation % of ethnic population Population % of ethnic population
Toronto177,0656.9%182,4956.8%
York159,95015.6%159,46514.5%
Peel89,6657.0%88,1106.4%
Halton40,4958.2%44,6958.3%
Durham33,4155.6%36,9155.8%
Greater Toronto Area 500,5908.4%511,6808.1%
Toronto CMA475,0908.6%484,3608.3%

Census subdivisionPopulation % of ethnic population Population % of ethnic population Population % of ethnic population Population % of ethnic population
Vaughan51,60546.3%60,12545.4%79,83544.0%91,32538.4%
Mississauga42,6309.2%47,3658.7%48,0357.9%49,0257.4%
Brampton20,6108.8%24,3459.1%25,7758.0%28,8506.7%
Oshawa CMA9,7704.1%11,6754.4%13,9904.8%18,2255.6%
Richmond Hill12,70515.9%15,76515.5%16,36012.4%20,83012.9%
Caledon4,34512.4%7,05517.7%11,21522.3%15,33027.0%
Oakville7,7756.8%10,6158.3%12,2808.6%15,1959.2%
Burlington6,3254.9%7,7155.6%9,5206.4%11,4307.0%
Markham11,3957.4%12,1607.0%11,8305.7%14,1105.4%
King3,32018.3%3,88021.3%4,17522.6%5,10526.3%
Milton2,0856.5%2,4707.7%2,3557.6%4,7308.9%
Newmarket2,5055.5%4,2507.4%5,8259.0%6,7059.1%
Aurora1,9156.5%3,60510.3%4,03010.1%5,45511.6%
Pickering3,6155.3%4,9706.3%5,8206.7%6,1007.0%
Ajax2,3804.2%3,3705.2%3,9905.4%4,8055.4%
Whitchurch-Stouffville1,3207.2%1,4407.3%1,5006.9%2,88012.0%
Halton Hills1,2553.4%2,0954.9%2,1954.6%4,1657.5%
Georgina1,0753.6%1,6104.6%2,1055.4%2,2005.3%
East Gwillimbury8754.8%1,0905.5%1,0855.4%1,6057.8%
Uxbridge4052.9%5253.3%6603.8%1,1005.8%
Scugog3602.0%5102.7%6303.2%6753.2%
Brock700.63%3002.6%1551.3%3002.6%

Census subdivisionPopulation % of ethnic population Population % of ethnic population
Vaughan94,97033.2%94,72531.1%
Mississauga46,1016.5%44,8406.3%
Brampton27,7805.3%25,1854.3%
Oshawa CMA20,2655.8%22,8706.1%
Richmond Hill21,57011.7%19,2109.9%
Caledon15,87526.9%18,09527.3%
Oakville16,9709.4%16,9008.8%
Burlington12,7557.4%14,2357.9%
Markham13,1304.4%12,0603.7%
King6,34032.1%8,40534.5%
Milton6,5307.8%8,3457.7%
Newmarket7,88010.0%8,0459.7%
Aurora6,79513.0%6,83512.5%
Pickering6,0656.9%5,9406.5%
Ajax5,4055.0%5,3904.5%
Whitchurch-Stouffville4,68012.6%5,32511.7%
Halton Hills4,2457.3%5,2158.7%
Georgina2,8806.7%2,8156.3%
East Gwillimbury1,6957.7%2,0458.7%
Uxbridge8454.1%1,2055.7%
Scugog6202.9%1,0354.9%
Brock2151.9%4704.1%

RidingPopulation% of ethnic population
Vaughan—Woodbridge55,96053.5%
King—Vaughan40,95531.2%
Dufferin—Caledon22,02017.3%
Etobicoke Centre17,54515.1%
York Centre13,88013.4%
Humber River—Black Creek13,80012.8%
York South—Weston14,71012.8%
Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill14,16012.4%
Davenport11,87511.1%
Newmarket—Aurora11,95510.3%

Language and immigration

Census divisionPopulation % of non-official language
mother tongue speakers 		Population % of non-official language
mother tongue speakers
Toronto71,7256.2%62,6405.3%
York58,30512.6%54,68510.3%
Peel27,0154.7%24,4203.9%
Halton7,2156.9%7,0605.2%
Durham6,2658.2%6,1406.2%
Greater Toronto Area 183,2007.7%154,9456.2%
Toronto CMA166,4157.2%151,4156.0%

Census divisionPopulation % of immigrants Population % of immigrants
Toronto53,4854.3%45,5153.6%
York38,1008.2%36,0407.0%
Peel17,7802.7%16,5752.3%
Halton3,7802.9%3,7852.4%
Durham3,9552.6%3,8602.6%
Greater Toronto Area 117,1004.5%105,7753.8%
Toronto CMA115,0604.5%103,6203.8%

Media

Italian newspapers, television, and radio have existed throughout Toronto's history. Son to Italian immigrants, Johnny Lombardi was born in The Ward in 1915, and went on to found one of the first multilingual radio stations in Canada, CHIN in 1966, in Palmerston–Little Italy.

Notable residents

The Italian Walk of Fame acknowledges ethnic Italians. It is located in Little Italy.