Steeles is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
an
neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural are ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Steeles is located in the north-eastern part of Toronto in the former suburb of
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
. To the north is bordered by
Steeles Avenue
Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of Regional Municipality of York, York Region in Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area from ...
East, to the east by
Kennedy Road, to the south by a hydro-electric transmission line (just south of
McNicoll Avenue) and to the west by
Victoria Park Avenue
Victoria Park Avenue is a major north-south route in eastern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the western border of Scarborough, separating it from Old Toronto, East York, and North York. The common nickname for it is VP or Vic Park.
History
Vi ...
.
The area is over the
watershed of
West Highland Creek
West Highland Creek is a river in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a tributary of Highland Creek in the Lake Ontario drainage basin. The creek and its tributaries are entirely within the old City of Scarborough, and it provides the watershed for the nor ...
, the source for which is L'Amoreaux North Park Pond, which is also within the neighbourhood.
History
![Townhomes in Steeles, Toronto jul162014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Townhomes_in_Steeles%2C_Toronto_jul162014.jpg)
Archeologist Ron Williamson led a team that excavated the remains of a
Huron-Wendat village near L'Amoreaux North Park Pond, which is the source of
West Highland Creek
West Highland Creek is a river in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a tributary of Highland Creek in the Lake Ontario drainage basin. The creek and its tributaries are entirely within the old City of Scarborough, and it provides the watershed for the nor ...
. Nearly 20,000 archaeological artifacts were found in the excavation area, which was called the Alexandra site. The village is estimated to have had 1,000 inhabitants in 1400
CE.
In the 17th century, the
Six Nations, also known as the Iroquois, began besieging the Huron-Wendat. No longer able to resist the attacks of the Six Nations, the Huron-Wendat in the area left Southern Ontario for Quebec City in 1650. European settlers settled the area following the
Toronto Purchase
The Toronto Purchase was the sale of lands in the Toronto area from the Mississaugas of New Credit to the British crown. An initial, disputed, agreement was made in 1787, in exchange for various items. The agreement was revisited in 1805, intend ...
, who converted the area into farmland which, in turn, was developed into residential, commercial, and public buildings complemented by small lots of parkland. Before the neighbourhood was developed, much of the land was covered by hardwood forests with great stands of white and red pines. However, during the 19th century, land clearing and lumbering removed most of the original forest cover.
By the early 1980s, most residential development had been completed. Shepton Way was developed over the last farm in the neighbourhood in 2001.
Development is mostly complete in the neighbourhood, save for some new homes and businesses that continue to be built.
Demographics
Ethnic minorities represent 91% of the population of Steeles, compared to 51% in Toronto. 80% of the population in Steeles have a native language other than English. Of that population, 39.3% speak Cantonese and 34.5% speak Mandarin.
Economy and politics
Small and medium-sized businesses bookend the east and west sides of the community; most commercial outlets are concentrated in the west between Victoria Park and Pharmacy. Within this commercial area, the
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company.
The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...
(BMO) has a major Institute for Learning facility. Bamburgh Gardens Shopping Plaza is the largest shopping centre in the neighbourhood of Steeles. It can be found in the middle of the neighbourhood at 375 Bamburgh Circle, one block south of Steeles off Warden (east side). Other small and medium-sized business centres include Passmore Shoppers, and Victoria Park Business Centre.
Steeles is also part of the
Chinatown of Scarborough, which extends into the neighbouring districts of
Agincourt and
Milliken.
The neighbourhood of Steeles is part of the federal and provincial electoral district of
Scarborough—Agincourt
Scarborough—Agincourt is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. It covers the area of the City of Toronto bounded by Steeles Avenue East to the nort ...
. Municipally, the neighbourhood is part of Ward 39.
Education
![Dr Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Dr_Norman_Bethune_Collegiate_Institute.JPG)
Two
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
school board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
s operate schools in Steeles, the
separate Toronto Catholic District School Board
The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. I ...
(TCDSB), and the
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
Toronto District School Board
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...
(TDSB).
Both TCDSB and TDSB operate one secondary school in the neighbourhood. TCDSB operates
Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School
Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School (abbreviated Mary Ward C.S.S., MWCSS, MW, Mary Ward, or simply Ward) is a Catholic secondary school in Toronto Ontario, Canada. It is administered by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, formerly the Me ...
, whereas TDSB operates
Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute
Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute (also known as Bethune, BCI, or Dr. Norman Bethune CI) is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Steeles neighbourhood of the former suburb of Scarborough. It was founded in 1979 ...
. In addition to secondary schools, both school boards also operate several public schools in the neighbourhood. They include:
* Kennedy Public School (TDSB)
* Saint Maximilian Kolbe Catholic School (TCDSB)
* Sir Ernest MacMillan Senior Public School (TDSB)
* Sir Samuel B. Steele Junior Public School (TDSB)
* St. Henry Catholic School (TCDSB)
* David Lewis Public School (TDSB)
* Terry Fox Public School. (TDSB)
Public library system
The Steeles branch of the
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...
is located in the Bamburgh Gardens Shopping Plaza, in Steeles.
It was opened in 1987 by the Scarborough Public Library Board, and incorporated into the Toronto Public Library system in 1998 after the
amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto.
Recreation
![L'Amoreaux Park, May 2018 (3)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/L%27Amoreaux_Park%2C_May_2018_%283%29.jpg)
Steeles is home to several municipal parks that feature
playground
A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...
s,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
diamonds,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
courts, fitness centres,
gym
A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...
nasia, and playing fields for
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, and
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
. Municipal parks are managed by the
Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division
Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation (PFR) is the division of Toronto's municipal government responsible for maintaining the municipal park system and natural spaces, regulation of and provision of urban forestry services, and the delivery of rec ...
. In addition to municipal parks, the division also manages L'Amoreaux Community Centre, located in the southeast of the neighbourhood.
Municipal parks in Steeles include:
*Bamburgh Park
*Fundy Bay Park
*Huntsmill Park
*L'Amoreaux Park
*Sanwood Park
*Shepton Way Park
*Terry Fox Park
*Warden Park
Steeles is the home of Toronto's Guyana Independence Day Festival. Held annually at the L'Amoreaux Community Center.
Transportation
![Steeles Avenue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Steeles_Avenue.JPG)
Roads are used by automobiles and serviced by
public transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
, particularly
Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...
's (TTC)
bus system.
York Region Transit
York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road.
YRT operates 65 full-time, rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, and six Viva bus ...
buses also pass through the area.
Major roadways in Steeles include
Victoria Park Avenue
Victoria Park Avenue is a major north-south route in eastern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the western border of Scarborough, separating it from Old Toronto, East York, and North York. The common nickname for it is VP or Vic Park.
History
Vi ...
, a north-south road that acts as the neighbourhood's western boundary,
Steeles Avenue
Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of Regional Municipality of York, York Region in Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area from ...
, which acts as Steeles' northern boundary,
Warden Avenue
A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint.
''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...
, a north-south road that passes through the middle of the neighbourhood, and
Kennedy Road, a north-south road that acts as the neighbourhood's eastern boundary. The nearest highways are the
Don Valley Parkway (404) to the west, the
Express Toll Route (407) to the north, and the
Macdonald-Cartier Freeway (401) to the south.
Although there are no designated bike lanes in the neighbourhood,
cyclists
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...
often share the roads in addition to using the sidewalks along them and bicycle paths in parks. Such paths are also commonly used for
walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...
and
inline skating
Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...
.
Notable residents
*
Wesley Williams, Canadian rapper and
hip hop artist known as Maestro (formerly Maestro Fresh Wes).
*
Jay Manuel
Jay Manuel (born August 14, 1972) is a Canadian TV host, Creative Director, make-up artist, and author. He is most recognizable as the Creative Director on the popular reality television show ''America's Next Top Model'' for the first eighteen sea ...
, make-up artist, fashion photographer, host of ''
Canada's Next Top Model
''Canada's Next Top Model'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''CNTM'') is a Canadian reality show in which female contestants compete for the title "Canada's Next Top Model" and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry. The winner recei ...
''.
*
Craig Kielburger
Craig Kielburger (born December 17, 1982) is a Canadian human rights activist and social entrepreneur. He is the co-founder, with his brother Marc Kielburger, of the WE Charity, as well as We Day and the independent, social enterprise Me ...
, child rights advocate and author, (co-founder of
Free The Children
WE Charity (french: Organisme UNIS), formerly known as Free the Children (French: ''Enfants Entraide''), is an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger ...
)
*
Pat Mastroianni
Pasquale "Pat" Mastroianni (born December 22, 1971) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Joey Jeremiah in the ''Degrassi'' franchise, for which he received a Gemini Award in 1988.
Biography
Mastroianni grew up in Toronto, th ...
and
Cassie Steele
Cassandra Rae Steele (born December 2, 1989) is a Canadian actress and singer known for portraying Manny Santos on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and Abby Vargas on ''The L.A. Complex''. In 2014, she played Sarah in the MTV horror televisio ...
, actors (''
Degrassi: The Next Generation'' TV series)
*Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine, singers of the band
Dala
Dala may refer to:
Places
*Dala Airport, Dalarna province, Sweden
*Dala, Angola
* Dala, Bhutan
* Dala, Kano, Nigeria
**Dalla Hill, a hill in Kano, Nigeria
*Đala, Serbia
* Dalas, Khuzestan Province, Iran
*Dala Township, Yangon, Myanmar
People
* ...
References
External links
Steeles neighbourhood profile (City of Toronto)
{{authority control
Neighbourhoods in Toronto
Scarborough, Toronto