Port Union, Toronto

Port Union, also known as Centennial Scarborough is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-east corner of Toronto, within the former suburb of Scarborough. The neighbourhood is bounded by Kingston Road to the north, Port Union Road to the east, the Lake Ontario shoreline to the south, and Highland Creek to the west.

Port Union
Neighbourhood
View of Highland Creek from Old Kingston Road
Coordinates: 43°46′44″N 79°08′03″W
Country Canada
Province Ontario
City Toronto
CommunityScarborough
Changed Municipality1998 Toronto from Scarborough
Government
 • MPGary Anandasangaree (Scarborough—Rouge Park)
 • MPPVijay Thanigasalam (Scarborough—Rouge Park)
 • CouncillorJennifer McKelvie (Ward 25 Scarborough—Rouge Park)

The neighbourhood originated as the small lakefront town of Port Union in the 19th century, within the area now known as West Rouge, until 1974 part of the Township of Pickering. It was later developed as a suburban bedroom community after the Second World War. Since the 1990s, the industrial lands along the waterfront have been transformed into new subdivisions, along with a paved walkway and bike path along the shore of Lake Ontario. The neighbourhood has many mature trees, parkland and waterfront. It is an affluent neighbourhood with 93% home ownership.

History

The area was settled in Charles Annis (1793) and by Thomas Adams (1808), but a community did not emerge until the 1830s.[1]

View of Port Union Village and the Grand Trunk Railway station in Port Union.

The original village of Port Union was founded in the early to mid-1800s immediately south-east of the current-day intersection of Port Union Rd and Lawrence Avenue. While currently part of Toronto, the original area of the community was within Pickering Township. By 1865 the community had a post office.

In 1974, as part of the municipal government reforms that introduced the Regional Municipality of Durham, the West Rouge area of Pickering (bordered by Port Union Rd in the west, the Rouge River in the east, and Twyn Rivers Drive in the north) was annexed by Scarborough, which in turn was amalgamated into Toronto in 1998.

One of the census tracts within the Port Union community is census tract 5350361.01. According to 2006 census data, this portion of the Port Union community is made up mostly of individuals of third generation or more status, meaning that they and their parents are born in Canada. Approximately 38% of the population within this census tract in Port Union are of third generation status or more. In contrast, 36% of individuals within the census tract are of first generation status, meaning that they are new immigrants to Canada. The number of second generation status individuals—people who are born in Canada but have one or more parents born outside of Canada—is 26% in 2006.

To compare, 2011 National Household Survey data shows that the percentage of the population in census tract 5350361.01 changed little for third generation or more status; decreasing by just 1% to 37% in 2011. The percentage of the population of first generation or new immigrants to the area decreased in 2011 by 3% to 33% of the population. The largest increase in population change was among second generation individuals, whose population increased by 4% to 30% of the total population.

Education
Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute is a public secondary school located in Port Union.

Three public school boards operate within the neighbourhood of Port Union, the secular Toronto District School Board (TDSB), and the separate Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (CSCM), and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB).

TDSB operates three public elementary and secondary schools in the neighbourhood. Elementary schools in Port Union include Centennial Road Junior Public School and Charlottetown Junior Public School. Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute is a TDSB secondary school established in 1970.

In addition to TDSB, the neighbourhood is also home to elementary schools operated by the CSCM, and TCDSB, two separate school boards. St. Brendan Catholic School is a public elementary school operated by TCDSB, whereas École élémentaire catholique Saint-Michel is a French-language public elementary school operated by CSCM.

Recreation

Port Union is home to several municipal parks operated by the Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division. Major parks in the neighbourhood include Adams Park, which is located on Lawson road. It is a very popular park. Adams Park has a toboggan hill in the winter, a soccer field in the summer, and two playgrounds. It also includes two baseball diamonds that are regularly used by neighborhood youth.

Centennial Park, a park that contains a grassy area with a children's playground, located next to the sports fields at Centennial Road Junior Public School at 225 Centennial Road.[2] This should not be confused with the major recreational facility located in the former city of Etobicoke.

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2017-01-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Centennial Park (Scarborough), City of Toronto, Parks and Recreation
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