East York

Around the Neighbourhood

Cultural landmarks: The East York Civic Centre and the adjacent Memorial Gardens at Coxwell and Mortimer remain the civic heart of the former borough. Stan Wadlow Park off Cedarvale is the other anchor, home to the long-running East York Canada Day parade and festival, ball diamonds, the East York Memorial Arena and the splash pad.

Hot local spots: Pape Village does the heavy lifting. Goat Coffee Co. (893 Pape) is the local coffee anchor, Serano Bakery (830 Pape) covers the Greek baking, and the strip is dotted with family-run Greek diners and grocers. On Donlands, Fresh From The Farm (350 Donlands) sells Amish and Mennonite-grown organic meat and produce and has a loyal following.

Parks & green space: Beyond Stan Wadlow, the Don Valley ravine system runs the length of the western edge with trails and the East Don. Taylor Creek Park threads up toward O’Connor, and the smaller neighbourhood parks and community gardens scattered through Old East York get steady use.

Your Typical Neighbour

The nearest official City of Toronto profile for this area is Old East York (Neighbourhood 58), the dense southern core between Cosburn, Woodbine, O’Connor and Pape… we have anchored the numbers there, while the BREL East York area covers a broader stretch of the former borough. In the City’s profile the neighbourhood is home to roughly 9,200 people, with an age mix that skews a little older than the city average: a solid working-age core, a meaningful share of seniors who have been here for decades, and young families moving in behind them. The housing is overwhelmingly low-rise, owner-occupied houses with a layer of rental, and household incomes run a touch above the city average, in keeping with the area’s blue-collar and public-sector roots.

Source: City of Toronto, Old East York Neighbourhood Profile (2021 Census of Population)

What We Love

You get a genuine house with a yard and a driveway for meaningfully less than you would pay one neighbourhood south. The streets are quiet, the community is real rather than marketed, and the Danforth subway is right there for the south end. It is one of the last parts of the east end where a family can buy a starter home and trade up without leaving the area, and where the schools, arenas and parks are all within a short walk or drive. Pape Village is the kind of low-key main street that you actually use rather than just visit.

What We Don’t Love

The northern half is car-dependent. Once you are off Pape or Donlands and up toward O’Connor and the Civic Centre, you are relying on buses to reach the subway, and that adds up on a daily commute. The housing stock is old, which means many homes still need the kitchens, bathrooms and basements brought into this century, and renovated turn-key houses get bid up fast. And then there is the Ontario Line: the new Cosburn and Pape stations will be a real upgrade when they open, but construction is a years-long disruption around Pape and Cosburn in the meantime, with completion not expected until the early 2030s.

Real Estate

This is house country. The market is dominated by detached and semi-detached homes from the 1920s through the 1950s, a lot of them bungalows and two-storey brick semis on deep lots, with newer infill and second-storey additions filling in over time. Condos and lofts are a small share, concentrated along the Danforth edge and O’Connor. Buyers tend to be families and trade-up owners rather than investors, and the strongest demand is for renovated detached homes on the quieter interior streets. For live numbers, see the TRREB statistics block on this page and the current listings below. If you are weighing East York against its neighbours, it is worth comparing with the pricier blocks just south and west: Riverdale, Playter Estates-Danforth and Broadview North. Browse current East York listings here. First-time buyer? Start with our complete First-time buyer guide.

Transit

The south end is well served by the Bloor-Danforth subway, with Pape, Donlands, Greenwood and Coxwell stations along the Danforth. North of there it is bus territory feeding the subway, including routes along Pape, Donlands, Coxwell and O’Connor. The big change on the horizon is the Ontario Line, which will run north under Pape with new stations at Pape and Cosburn. Construction is underway on the Cosburn station and guideway; the line is not expected to open until the early 2030s, so for now it means disruption with the payoff still some years out. Drivers get quick access to the Don Valley Parkway via Don Mills and O’Connor.

Schools

There are a LOT of schools in East York, commensurate with the influx of younger families over the last number of years.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

É Élém La Mosaïque
É Élém Jeanne-Lajoie
Cosburn Middle School
D A Morrison Middle School
Diefenbaker Elementary School
William Burgess Elementary School
Westwood Middle School
Parkside Elementary School

SENIOR SCHOOLS

Collège français secondaire
East York Collegiate Institute

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

ÉÉC Georges-Étienne-Cartier
Canadian Martyrs Catholic School
ÉÉC du Bon-Berger
ÉSC Saint-Frère-André
Holy Cross Catholic School

For school rankings and Fraser Institute scores, see our interactive Toronto school map.