Bathurst Manor is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in northern Toronto in the former suburb of North York. It sits on a plateau bounded on the north by Finch Avenue West, on the west by Dufferin Street, on the east by the Don River (west branch), and on the south by Sheppard Avenue West. The area is also regarded as part of the Downsview postal area as designated by Canada Post. It is part of the former city of North York, which merged with five other municipalities and a regional government to form the new "City of Toronto" in 1998. It is part of the federal and provincial electoral district York Centre, and Toronto electoral ward 10: York Centre (East). In 2006, it had a population of 14,615.

History

Bathurst Manor is one of several Jewish-populated neighbourhoods on Bathurst Street. It is a suburban community built between 1954 and the early 1960s. While most of the population was originally Jewish, and several synagogue congregations are located in the neighbourhood, there are also significant Italian, Russian and Filipino populations.

In 1996, the Toronto Transit Commission extended subway service to the area with the opening of the Sheppard West station, at Allen Road and Sheppard Avenue, allowing a thirty-minute train ride to Union Station at the southern cusp of downtown Toronto.

Demographics

The community is home to the Canadian headquarters of B'nai Brith at 15 Hove St, the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre (BJCC), the Lipa Green Building at 4588 Bathurst St is for Jewish Community Services. Bathurst Manor's Top ten ethnic and cultural groups (by ancestry) in 2016:

  • 13% - Filipino
  • 13% - Russian
  • 11% - Italian
  • 11% - Polish
  • 9% - Canadian
  • 6% - Jews
  • 6% - Chinese
  • 5% - English
  • 5% - Ukrainian
  • 4% - Greek

The percentage of population below the poverty line dropped from 22% (in 1996) to 18% (in 2001). Bezmozgis's narrator refers to the plaza as "Sunnybrook Plaza", after its anchor store at the time. Author Stuart Ross, who grew up in Bathurst Manor, set most of his 2011 novel, Snowball, Dragonfly, Jew (ECW Press), in Bathurst Manor. The book centres on the fictional assassination of a neo-Nazi in Bathurst Manor Plaza. References are made to many streets in Bathurst Manor, as well as stores in the plaza.

Retail

The major strip mall, Sheppard Plaza, is located at the intersection of Sheppard Avenue and Bathurst Street.

There was also a smaller Bathurst Manor Plaza shopping centre at the intersection of Wilmington and Overbrook.

Notable people

  • Howie Mandel - comedian, actor, game show host
  • Herbert L. Becker - author, magician, entertainer, TV producer
  • Jeanne Beker - fashion industry broadcaster
  • Alice Panikian - Miss Universe Canada 2006
  • Michael Wex - author
  • Yank Azman - actor
  • Avery Saltzman - Canadian actor and theater director
  • Martin Dobkin - first Mayor, City of Mississauga
  • Mark S. Fox - Distinguished Professor, University of Toronto

References

  • Bathurst Manor neighbourhood profile at the City of Toronto website
  • Jewish Information Service Bathurst Manor Neighbourhood Profile