NEIGHBOURHOOD

Victoria Park

“All I have to do is open the door to see greenery. That’s my Victoria park. There’s a beauty in it.” – Tanveer

The Victoria Park Avenue stretch is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Huron-Wendat, and several Anishinaabe nations. Upon establishment of white settler colonial rule, Victoria Park became an agricultural area for many years until the Township of Scarborough acquired large plots of land, particularly at the Victoria Park and Eglinton corridor, for industrial development during World War II. The growth of residential subdivisions and retail plazas followed, and during the post-war era residents remained largely of English and Irish origins until the 1960s.  By 1961, however,  immigrants from all over Europe began to settle in the neighbourhood. Changes to previously discriminatory Canadian immigration policies also led to more immigration from Asia, the Caribbean, Africa, Central and South America. Today, the majority of the area’s residents are racialized people, with many residents originating from the Philippines, Pakistan, India, China, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, and several African countries. Victoria Village, and the nearby neighbourhoods of Parkwoods, Wexford, Clairlea, Oakridge and Crescent Town have become hubs for immigrant arrival. However, residents do not view ‘Victoria Park’ as a cohesive neighborhood with a single story. Rather, the storytellers from each of these neighborhoods define their communities through the stories, identities, and experiences that coexist within this geography.

WATCH AND LISTEN TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS TALK ABOUT VICTORIA PARK:

Victoria Park Stories

Meet Our Victoria Park Storytellers

Click on a storyteller to read their full biography detailing their migration history.