Author: Stephen Kamlasaran
On May 28, 2025, the City of Toronto marked its 11th annual Toronto Newcomer Day at Nathan Phillips Square, celebrating the contributions of newcomers and providing resources to help them settle into the city. The event, first established in 2015 with 2,000 attendees, has grown exponentially, drawing more than 10,000 attendees this year. A highlight of the day was a Canadian Citizenship Ceremony held in the Council Chamber at 2:30 p.m., where 53 individuals took their oath of citizenship. Among the festivities celebrating Toronto’s newest residents, there were:
- Cultural performances, including Indigenous hoop dancing by Lisa Odjig, Afro-Caribbean beats by Afronto, and Brazilian rhythms by Samba Heat.
- Over 125 information booths offering settlement services, employment support, and community resources.
- Plus, family-friendly activities plus food vendors showcasing global cuisines.
With support from Canadian businesses and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Toronto Newcomer Day highlighted the city’s most defining quality: being a welcoming home for all who are seeking a new beginning. Like most homes in the increasingly globalized world, Toronto thrives on the contributions of newcomers, driving innovation in technology, finance, arts, and climate action. Mayor Olivia Chow officially proclaimed May 28 as Newcomer Day, reinforcing the city’s dedication to fostering an inclusive community.
“Toronto Newcomer Day showcases how deep and vibrant our newcomer community is. This welcoming and celebrat[ing] of the day aims to strengthen connections with services and resources that newcomers need to support their successful settlement in Toronto” Mayor Olivia Chow announced amidst the numerous events happening.
As the child of immigrants, born and raised in Toronto, I’ve never experienced life as a newcomer, unlike many clients I work with at TNO. The closest I’ve come to understanding that feeling is traveling across the city—from Jane and Finch, a Caribbean immigrant hub, to Thorncliffe Park, home to many Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants—connecting through shared status. As a Sanctuary City, Toronto offers refuge to undocumented immigrants fleeing persecution and instability. One way the city supports newcomers is through Toronto Newcomer Day, an event dedicated to welcoming, celebrating, and informing our newest residents.
Thorncliffe Park as an Arrival City
Speaking of TNO- The Neighborhood Organization, I want to narrow our attention down to Thorncliffe Park – an arrival community for many newcomers that call North America’s 4th largest city home.
Thorncliffe Park, a Toronto neighbourhood designed under Le Corbusier’s “towers in the park” modernist vision, faces both the challenges and opportunities of being a dense, immigrant-rich urban enclave. While originally intended to solve overcrowding by situating residential towers amidst green space (Badger, 2012), this design inadvertently fostered physical and social isolation. Surrounded by the Don Valley and major roads, Thorncliffe remains relatively disconnected from the broader city infrastructure (Fishman, 1977).
However, Thorncliffe’s role as an “arrival city” offers powerful counterpoints to this narrative of marginalization. The neighbourhood has become home primarily to newcomers from South Asia, with many residents speaking languages other than English or French (City of Toronto, 2016). As Saunders (2011) argues, arrival cities are essential spaces where immigrants can build community, develop economic resilience, and create pathways to integration. Despite economic hardship—by 2006, 40% of high-rise families were living in poverty, up from 25% in 1981 (United Way, 2011)—Thorncliffe demonstrates grassroots resilience and civic engagement.
Community-led initiatives like the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee empower residents through local advocacy and public space renewal, showcasing how residents are “inspiring change themselves” (Toronto Community Housing, 2024). Additionally, projects like the community garden and civic action campaigns have improved food access (see image below), increased recreational opportunities, and strengthened social ties (CBC News, 2024; Metcalf Foundation, 2022).
Though sometimes described as a “concentration of vertical poverty,” Thorncliffe Park is a dynamic, self-organizing community—demonstrating how arrival cities can nurture empowerment and collective action in the face of structural adversity.
Works Cited
Badger, E. (2012). Le Corbusier’s dream. The Atlantic Cities.
https://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2012/07/le-corbusiers-dream/2681/
CBC News. (2024, February 14). A bylaw meant to transform Thorncliffe Park is failing, say residents. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/a-bylaw-meant-to-transform-thorncliffe-park-is-failing-1.7169567
CBC News. (2024, January 24). Thorncliffe Park residents cultivate connection through community garden.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/thorncliffe-park-community-garden-1.7141191
City of Toronto. (2025, May 23). City of Toronto celebrates Newcomer Day at Nathan Phillips Square. https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-of-toronto-celebrates-newcomer-day-at-nathan-phillips-square/
Udoh-Orok, E. (2021). Tower renewal & community development in Toronto’s apartment neighbourhood of Thorncliffe Park (Master’s thesis, Toronto Metropolitan University).
https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/thesis/Tower_renewal_community_development_in_Toronto_s_apartment_neighbourhood_of_Thorncliffe_Park/14668953?file=28158993
Metcalf Foundation. (2022). The power of civic action: Lessons from Thorncliffe Park.
https://metcalffoundation.com/publication/the-power-of-civic-action/
Toronto Community Housing. (2024). Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee: Inspiring change themselves and their community.
Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee: Inspiring change for themselves and their communities | Toronto Community Housing
United Way Toronto. (2011). Vertical poverty: Measuring the changing face of poverty in Toronto’s high-rise communities. https://www.unitedwaygt.org/file/Vertical_Poverty_FullReport.pdf
GTA Weekly. (2025, May 23). Toronto Newcomer Day 2025 Celebration. https://www.gtaweekly.ca/toronto-newcomer-day-2025-celebration/
