Little Italy, College Street

Toronto's first concentrated Italian settlement was not College Street but St. John's Ward, the dense immigrant quarter roughly bounded by Queen, College, Yonge and University, where Toronto City Hall now stands. Italian immigration accelerated sharply between 1885 and 1924, driven partly by the padrone system, a network of Italian labour agents who recruited workers for North American railways and construction firms.

The move to College Street

In the 1920s, as the Ward grew overcrowded, Italian families began moving west along College Street, generally treated as the founding of College Street's "Little Italy." Canada and Italy resumed diplomatic relations in 1947, and a federal family-reunification policy followed; from 1947 to 1971 roughly 20,000 Italians immigrated to Canada annually, and Toronto absorbed a large share, becoming home to one of the largest Italian populations outside Italy.

A shifting community, a lasting identity

Starting in the 1960s, many Italian Torontonians began relocating further north and west to the St. Clair Avenue West strip that became known as Corso Italia — a distinct, later enclave. In 1970, about 48% of College Street businesses were Italian-identified, a share that fell substantially by 2000 as the residential population moved to the suburbs. Despite the demographic outflow, College Street has retained its branding, restaurants and cultural identity as "Little Italy," sustained now more as a commercial and symbolic district than a residential Italian neighbourhood.

Sources

• Heritage Toronto — Little Italy on College Street
• University of Toronto Libraries — A Century and More of Italians in Toronto