Clairville, Toronto

Clairville
Neighbourhood
The Hindu Mandir near the West Humber River
Coordinates:
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Toronto
Community	Etobicoke-York
Established	1849 (Subdivision)
Changed Municipality	1998 Toronto from Etobicoke
Government
• MP	Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke North)
• MPP	Shafiq Qaadri (Etobicoke North)
• Councillor	Vincent Crisanti (Ward 1 Etobicoke North)

Clairville is the northwestern most neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The neighbourhood is part of Rexdale, in north Etobicoke. Today Clairville is almost wholly industrial/commercial.

Guardhouse estate at top of Rexdale Blvd, 1878

History

The town of Clairville was established in 1850 at the intersection of Albion Road and Steeles. It was built on a land owned by Jean du Petit Pont de la Haye, a French teacher at Upper Canada College. He developed the community on his estate which he named after his daughter Claire. A private street was built diagonally across northern Etobicoke as a shortcut to Albion Township (now part of Brampton), with a toll at Clairville. The street was originally named Clairville but was also called the Albion Road (the current name for this street).

Re-development

Clairville largely disappeared after a dam was built on the West Branch of the Humber creating the Lake Clairville reservoir. In the 1970s Highway 427 was built north along the western edge of the neighbourhood and in the 1990s Highway 407 was built just to the north. This combined with the existing rail lines and proximity to Pearson Airport to make the area prime industrial land. Today all residential homes have disappeared in the Toronto section of Clairville and replaced with warehouses and factories.

Clairville was divided between municipalities, the portion west of Indian Road and Highway 427 is today in Brampton. Unlike in Toronto, Claireville, Brampton largely consists of new residential subdivisions north of Queen Street, Indian Line Campground and the Clairville Conservation Area in the south end.

The area is close to the large south Asian communities of Brampton and Rexdale. The accessible area with large cheap lots has become home to several Hindu temples, most notably the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto.

Institutions

• Skyway Industrial Park
• Glendale Memorial Gardens
• Westwood Arena
• Apotex
• HBC warehouse
• Claireville Junior School (GR. JK-05) - A public elementary school that is over 48 years old provides a space for approximately 375 students from diverse cultures, races and ethnic backgrounds to attend. Many of these young learners speak English as a second language and represent 16 different languages. Under the Toronto District School Board, this public elementary school that begins from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 5, engages also with the parents/guardians of students, as well as with the community through many partnerships such as Holiday Food Drive with the Daily Bread, Co-op Student placements from local high schools, Teacher Candidates from York University, U of T and other Faculties of Education. Claireville is also known for maintaining a strong partnership with Etobicoke Centre for Children and Families who host a Friendship Group for our students. Several parent evenings in Language, Math, Health and Wellness are hosted by this institution, as a focus is made towards supporting all families, especially ELL Learners

Notes

http://www2.tdsb.on.ca/MOSS/asp_apps/school_landing_page/pdfs/web/2067_4pageLayout.pdf http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Findyour/Schools.aspx?schno=2067

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