Smithfield | |
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Neighbourhood | |
![]() View of Smithfield from Kipling Avenue | |
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Coordinates: 43°44′23″N79°34′49″W / 43.73972°N 79.58028°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
City | Toronto |
Established | 1870 Postal village 'Etobicoke' |
Changed municipality | 1998 Toronto from Etobicoke |
Government | |
• MP | Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke North) |
• MPP | Doug Ford (Etobicoke North) |
• Councillor | Vincent Crisanti (Ward 1 Etobicoke North) |
Smithfield is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Some new residents of Toronto and new immigrants to Canada are attracted to this neighbourhood, mainly because there is a large amount of affordable public housing. It is named after the former village of Smithfield located at the intersection of Albion Road and Martin Grove Road. [1] The neighbourhood is located north of the west branch of the Humber River and west of Kipling Avenue.
Smithfield was established as a postal village in 1870 to serve the then-agricultural district. It started becoming urbanized after World War II as part of the development of the Rexdale district. Today, the area is fully urbanized. Originally part of Etobicoke Township, which later became the City of Etobicoke, it has been part of Toronto since 1998.
Primarily residential, the west and north of the neighbourhood are small industrial areas. For social purposes, the city identifies the neighbourhood as Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown, named for three streets in the area. Mount Olive is the name given to the area north of Albion Road between Kipling and Martin Grove. Jamestown is the part of the community south of Albion between Kipling and Martin Grove. Silverstone covers the area west of Martin Grove and north of Finch. The northernmost section of the neighbourhood, above the hydro right of way, is known as South Steeles. The western projection of the area running along the south side of Finch is known as Woodbine Downs.
Smithfield has experienced a large influx of citizens from Eastern Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. The large expanses of rowhouse developments dating to the 1930s located on Mount Olive Drive just off Kipling Ave has been home to the first newcomers especially from Somalia and the West Indies. North Albion Collegiate Institute, opened in 1962 and located on Kipling and Mount Olive, has for years held showcases for the Asian and South East Asian Communities, attracting audiences from far and wide. Directly across the street, the St. Andrews School and Father Henry Carr Secondary School reflect the Catholic tradition and culture that many resident Filipinos, and Assyrians share.
The Albion Centre (formerly known as "Shoppers World Albion") Is the main shopping mall in the area. Containing a variety of small boutiques and stores, the Albion Centre also contains such franchises as Pizza Pizza, Canadian Tire, and Shoppers Drug Mart. The Albion Cinemas have been operating since before 1970 and are still in operation. The cinemas, well known for their broadcasts of modern Bollywood/Indian/Asian films, have attracted many to this location.
Over the past few decades, multiple attempts have been made to crackdown on gang violence in Rexdale. In May 2006, Toronto Police apprehended 106 members of the "Jamestown Crips" in the largest gang sweep in Toronto's history. In total, there were over 1,000 charges laid in the anti-gang offensive called Project XXX. [2] Sometimes known by the nickname Doomstown because of its reputation as a poor neighbourhood ridden with gang violence, the neighbourhood was the setting of the 2006 Canadian television movie Doomstown .
On June 04, 2015, more than 700 police officers participated in the series of raids, part of a multi-year investigation dubbed Project Pharaoh, which targeted a faction of the Mount Olive Crips known as "The Monstarz", who police alleged were involved in a series of deadly gunplay including 8 homicides & were known rivals to the nearby Jamestown Crips. [3]
Two public school boards operate elementary schools and secondary schools in the neighbourhood, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). Two secondary schools are located in the neighbourhood, West Humber Collegiate Institute (operated by TDSB), Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School (operated by TCDSB). Father Henry Carr Secondary School was relocated to Smithfield in 2007, taking the space of the former Marian Academy. [7]
Elementary schools in the neighbourhood include:
The North Campus of Humber College, a post-secondary institution, is also in the neighbourhood. The University of Guelph's satellite campus, the University of Guelph-Humber, is on the same campus as Humber College's North Campus.
One of the area's most high-profile roads is John Garland Boulevard. The street was named for Nipissing MP and Minister of National Revenue John Richard 'Jack' Garland and fought to create housing development like Thistletown. Garland died of a heart attack in 1964 and the street was named in his honour in 1965. [8]
Etobicoke is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River, on the west by Etobicoke Creek, the cities of Brampton, and Mississauga, the Toronto Pearson International Airport, and on the north by the city of Vaughan at Steeles Avenue West.
The Kingsway is a residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Dundas Street to the north, the Mimico Creek to the west and the Humber River to the east. The neighbourhood was officially known as Kingsway Park, which later became replaced by its nickname the Kingsway. In this neighbourhood, the Kingsway specifically refers to a two-lane road beginning in the south-east corner of the neighbourhood extending northerly in a north-west direction past Dundas Street.
Humber River—Black Creek is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904 and since 1917. Prior to the 2015 election, the riding was known as York West. The former name reflects the riding is in the former Township of York which is within the City of Toronto.
Rexdale is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located north-west of the central core, in the district of Etobicoke. Rexdale defines an area of several official neighbourhoods north of Highway 401 and east of Highway 427. Rexdale was originally a post World War II residential development within Etobicoke, and today is applied to a general area from Malton and Toronto Pearson International Airport in the City of Mississauga to the west, Highway 401 to the south, Steeles Avenue to the north, and the Humber River to the east. It is centred on Rexdale Boulevard and Islington Avenue.
Finch Avenue is an arterial thoroughfare that travels east–west in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The road continues west into the Regional Municipality of Peel as Regional Road 2 and east into the Regional Municipality of Durham as Regional Road 37.
Thistletown is a culturally diverse neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consists of the area surrounding the intersection of Albion Road and Islington Avenue. The borders of Thistletown are generally delineated by the Humber River: the West Branch to the south, slightly beyond the river to the east, and to the William Osler Health Centre - Etobicoke General Hospital just above the river in the north. The western border is Kipling Avenue, though the part of the neighbourhood west of Islington is sometimes considered a separate area named Beaumonde Heights.
Woodbridge is a very large suburban community in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, along the city's border with Toronto. It occupies the city's entire southwest quadrant, west of Highway 400, east of Highway 50, north of Steeles Avenue, and generally south of Major Mackenzie Drive. It was once an independent village before being amalgamated with nearby communities to form the city in 1971. Its traditional downtown core is the Woodbridge Avenue stretch between Islington Avenue and Kipling Avenue north of Highway 7.
Kipling Avenue is a street in the cities of Toronto and Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 6 concessions (12 km) west from Yonge Street, and is a major north–south arterial road. It consists of three separate sections, with total combined length of 26.4 km. (16.4 mi.).
Richview, formally known as Willowridge-Martingrove-Richview, is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the west by Highway 401 and on the north by the highway and by Dixon Road, Royal York Road on the east, and Eglinton Avenue West along the south. Richview was originally established as a postal village within the then-agricultural Etobicoke Township, which later became the suburb of Etobicoke.
The Elms is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by the Humber River to the east, Islington Avenue to the west, Thistletown to the north, and Highway 401 to the south.
Claireville is a neighbourhood and former hamlet in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northwest corner of Toronto, in the former city of Etobicoke.
Humber Valley Village is a neighbourhood located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is within the former suburb of Etobicoke and includes some of the most expensive real estate in the metropolitan west end. The boundaries are from Dundas Street on the south to Islington Avenue to the west, Eglinton Avenue to the north, and the Humber River in the east. The neighbourhood is in the political riding of Etobicoke Centre.
West Humber Collegiate Institute is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated at the corner of Martin Grove Road and John Garland Blvd., just south of Finch Avenue West in the neighbourhood of Rexdale. Opened in 1966, the institute is owned and operated by the Toronto District School Board. Prior to 1998, it was overseen by the Etobicoke Board of Education.
The Queensway–Humber Bay, known officially as Stonegate–Queensway, is a neighbourhood in the southwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the southeast area of the former City of Etobicoke.
Line 6 Finch West, also known as the Finch West LRT, is a light rail line under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. The 10.3-kilometre (6.4 mi), 18-stop line is to extend from Finch West station on Line 1 Yonge–University to the North Campus of Humber College in Etobicoke. The line will operate in a dedicated above-ground right-of-way, much of it within Finch Avenue, segregated from street traffic. The line will use transit signal priority and standard gauge rather than the broad Toronto gauge. The line is forecast to carry about 14.6 million rides a year or 40,000 a day by 2031 and will replace the 36B Finch West bus route, which is one of the three busiest bus routes in Toronto. Line 6 was originally expected to open within the first half of 2024, with an estimated cost of CA$2.5 billion. For budget purposes, the TTC made the assumption that Line 6 would open no earlier than September 2024. However, the builder, Mosaic Transit Group, expects the line to open by the end of 2024.
Princess Gardens is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the western area of Toronto that was formerly the City of Etobicoke. Its boundaries are Eglinton Avenue to the north, Martin Grove to the west, Islington to the east, and Rathburn Road to the south. The southeastern part of this area is the separate neighbourhood of Thorncrest Village. The neighbourhood is divided into two areas: The portion east of Kipling Road is known as Princess Anne Manor, while the portion west of Kipling is Princess Margaret Gardens. They are named after Princess Anne, Princess Royal, and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the daughter and sister of the late Queen Elizabeth II respectively. Both Princesses visited the Gardens and opened up Princess Margaret Public School during its opening ceremony. The southwestern part of the neighbourhood is also sometimes known as Glen Agar. Princess Gardens has some of the highest income Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area according to a 2016 census, at an average of $222,218 per year.
Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School is a Catholic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is administered by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, formerly the Metropolitan Separate School Board. It is named after a Basilian father and founder of the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, Henry Carr (1880–1963).
Humberwood is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located north-west of the central core in the former suburb of Etobicoke within the larger neighbourhood of Rexdale. Humberwood is named after the Humber River, which flows along its northern edge. Humberwood is bound to the north by the Humber River western branch from Highway 427 east to Highway 27, Highway 27 south to Rexdale Boulevard, east on Rexdale Boulevard to Islington Avenue, south on Islington to Highway 401, and west along the 401 to Highway 427. It is the southern part of the official City of Toronto "West Humber-Clairville" neighbourhood.
Monsignor Percy Johnson Catholic Secondary School is a Roman Catholic high school in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board. It is located in the neighbourhood of Rexdale, in the former suburb of Etobicoke.