Chinatown in Toronto and Elizabeth Sts

Elizabeth Sts: Yet Spadinas Chinatown is changing as new, hip places move in among more traditional businesses. Traditional being relative Chinatown only established itself on Spadina Ave. in the late 1950s, after moving from Dundas and Elizabeth Sts , according to The Star. Many of Torontos family associations can trace their history to the 19th century when the first major wave of Chinese immigrants arrived in Canada, many to work on the railway. Arriving in a land that needed their labour but resented their presence, the newcomers were able to escape racism in these family associations, which fulfilled a role now taken over by settlement agencies and The idea of Chinatown in Toronto can mean a few things. Theres the well-known area around Spadina Ave. and Dundas St. W., of course, but Chinatown can also refer to Broadview Ave. and Gerrard St. E., the Agincourt neighbourhood in Scarborough, or the Pacific Mall on the Markham-Toronto border. Spadina has the biggest and arguably most familiar Chinatown, closer to other tourist draws and on a busy streetcar line that has great views of the restaurants, colourful signage, and pieces of public art that tell people this is Chinatown. Those other Chinatowns around the region also compete for business, drawing visitors away from Spadina. Yet there are deep roots here in the form of Chinese family associations that are largely invisible to casual visitors, but represent a permanence that might ensure Chinatowns staying power. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.