Bedford Park is a neighbourhood in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. It borders Lawrence Park (to the southeast) which was ranked Canada's wealthiest neighbourhood in 2011. The City of Toronto's neighbourhood definitions places most of Bedford Park, including Bedford Park Avenue in the Lawrence Park North Planning Neighbourood and the remaining western and northern portions of Bedford Park within a larger neighbourhood, called Bedford Park-Nortown. The border of this larger area extend to Bathurst Street on the west, Highway 401 to the north, Hillhurst Boulevard (just north of

Eglinton Avenue Eglinton Avenue is a major east–west Arterial road, arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. The street begins at Ontario Highway 407, Highway 407 (but does not interchange with the tollway) at the w ...

) to the south, and zigzags from northeast to southwest along

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

and

Avenue Road Avenue Road may refer to: * Avenue Road, Bangalore, busy shopping and commercial street in Bangalore * Avenue Road, London, street in the Swiss Cottage and St John's Wood districts of London * Avenue Road tram stop, tram stop in the London Borough ...

. There are three census tracts created by Statistics Canada in Bedford Park: 0141.01, 0141.02, 0142.00.

History

The area began as a hamlet that was a popular stopover for farmers making their way to market in the city. The neighbourhood was likely named after the Bedford Park Hotel, which opened in 1873 at the southwest corner of

and Fairlawn Avenue, just north of Lawrence Avenue. The corner now houses Sebastien patisserie. YongeLawrence1922

In 1890 Bedford Park was amalgamated with the hamlets of Davisville and Eglinton to the south, and incorporated as the Town of

North Toronto North Toronto is a former town and informal district located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Town of North Toronto was incorporated in 1890 by consolidating the villages of Bedford Park, Eglinton and Davisville. The town was annexed by Toronto ...

. In the same year, the Metropolitan Street Railway of Toronto began service to the area, encouraging residential development. Bedford Park is bisected by Yonge Street, lying north of Lawrence Avenue and east of Avenue Road. The northern boundary is Brooke Avenue on the West side of Yonge, and Snowdon Avenue to the east of Yonge. The eastern boundary is Ronan Avenue. There is also a school north east of Yonge and Lawrence called Bedford Park Public School. The original homes in the area were constructed between 1890 and 1940. Bedford Park was conceived as a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

housing development on the northern boundary of the city, with mid-sized detached and semi-detached homes. The relocation of the Rosedale Golf Club in 1909 to the section of the Don Valley northeast of Bedford Park brought about development of the (more moneyed) bordering neighbourhoods of Lawrence Park and Teddington Park. This has skyrocketed the property values of Bedford Park homes. Bedford Park's quiet streets, mature trees, good schools and parks, and proximity to

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...

and Lawrence subway station attract young professionals and their families to the neighbourhood. Many of the original homes still stand, with a number having undergone extensive renovations. A portion of the original homes in the neighbourhood have been torn down and replaced with larger, more modern homes.

Demographics

In 2011, there were 4599 people living in Bedford Park, 2260 male and 2375 female. 53% were third or higher generation Canadian, meaning the resident and both parents were born in Canada. 26.2% were second generation and 20.7% were first generation (immigrants). In 2006, there were 4360 residents, 2105 male and 2220 female. 50% were third or higher generation. 28.8% were second generation and 21.2% were first generation. The city is Census Tract 0141.02. (Census/NHS 2011, Census 2006)

Income

Bedford Park has been a neighbourhood for middle class individuals. In 2006, the median individual income was $46,894 and in 2011 the median individual income increased to $58,658. The household median income in 2006 was $110,818 and in 2011 the median increased to $147,212. (Census/NHS 2011, Census 2006)

Education

In Bedford Park,

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

English-oriented

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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

schools are operated by the

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 ...

. Publicly funded English-oriented

Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

s are operated by the

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. ...

. In the City of Toronto, secular French-oriented public schools are provided by '' Conseil scolaire Viamonde'', whereas French-oriented public Catholic schools are provided by ''

Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (also referred to as Csc MonAvenir) is a French-language Catholic school board that manages elementary and secondary French schools in South-Central Ontario. The school board operates 47 elementary schools, 12 ...

'', although neither French school boards operate a school in Bedford Park. The following public schools are located in the Bedford Park: * John Wanless Public School - an elementary school located at Fairlawn Avenue established in 1926. * Blessed Sacrament Catholic School - an elementary school located at Bedford Park Avenue established in 1927. * Bedford Park Public School - an elementary school located at Ranleigh Avenue established in 1911.

External links

Bedford Park
neighbourhood profile at the City of Toronto website

as Toronto Neighbourhoods
Bedford Park early historyHistoric photos from around Bedford Park
{{authority control Neighbourhoods in Toronto