About-us - St James Town

About The Neighbourhood

St. James Town is the largest high-rise community in Canada and is the most densely populated neighbourhood in Canada.It is bound by Sherbourne Street to the west, Bloor Street East to the north, Parliament Street to the east and Wellesley Street East to the south.

St. James Town is a high turnover community, where newcomers to Canada make up a large portion of the population. St. James Town is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic neighbourhood. It has been identified as one of 13 economically deprived neighborhoods within the city

Slide 1

Why St James Town

Landing Pad for Immigrants

High turnover community

Access to Green Spaces

Accessibility to Transit Hub

Several School Systems

Diverse Community

Slide 2

Fun Facts

One of the tallest mural in the world
After the fire broke out at 200 Wellesley street in St James Town in 2010, a group of artists along with some local youth came out with a mural design for the building called "The Phoenix", a mythical bird associated with the sun.

Jarvis Collegiate is the oldest school in Ontario
The high school was founded in 1807 making it the second oldest high school in Canada after Saint John High School in New Brunswick.

St James Cemetery is the oldest in Toronto
It was founded in 1844.

About the neighbourhood

Slide 1

Why St James Town

Landing Pad for Immigrants

High turnover community

Access to Green Spaces

Accessibility to Transit Hub

Several School Systems

Diverse Community

Slide 2

Fun Facts

Jarvis Collegiate is the oldest school in Ontario
The high school was founded in 1807 making it the second oldest high school in Canada after Saint John High School in New Brunswick.

St James Cemetery is the oldest in Toronto
It was founded in 1844.

History of St. James Town

Originally a semi-suburban neighbourhood home to the city’s middle class in the 19th century, this neighbourhood of Victorian housing stock was rezoned in the 1950s when the City of Toronto announced major zoning amendments for the downtown core.

During this period, the nineteenth-century homes were levelled, and apartment towers were erected. Each tower accommodated thousands of residents surrounded by green spaces. Each of the buildings is named after a major Canadian city.

However, the neighbourhood spun into greater decline, and rather than the government changing tack, more towers continued to pop up, creating the current most densely populated community in all of Canada, as well as one of the poorest.

In September of 1997 the former City of Toronto council approved St. James Town 2000: A Community Action Plan which aims to revitalize St. James Town through initiatives such as the building of a multi-service community centre, improvements to parks, and the maintenance and repair of St. James Town buildings.

In 2001, the City of Toronto launched a major initiative to improve the area, including the construction of a new Toronto Public Library branch and community centre, which opened in 2004 at the corner of Sherbourne and Wellesley. In 2013, St. James Town became the host of the World’s Tallest Mural, as approved by Guinness. Today, the towers are mostly home to newly arrived immigrant, and low-income families.