The Kingsway

The Kingsway
Neighbourhood
Entrance to the Kingsway on Bloor Street West
Vicinity of The Kingsway
Location within Toronto
Coordinates: 43°38′51″N 79°30′41″W / 43.64750°N 79.51139°W / 43.64750; -79.51139Coordinates: 43°38′51″N 79°30′41″W / 43.64750°N 79.51139°W / 43.64750; -79.51139
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Toronto
Community	Etobicoke-York
Established	1912 (Subdivision)
Changed Municipality	1998 Toronto from Etobicoke
Government
• MP	James Maloney (Etobicoke—Lakeshore)
• MPP	Peter Milczyn (Etobicoke—Lakeshore)
• Councillor	Justin Di Ciano (Ward 5 Etobicoke—Lakeshore)

The Kingsway is an affluent residential neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the former City of Etobicoke, an area that became the west end of Toronto upon amalgamation in 1998. It is bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Dundas Street to the north, the Mimico Creek to the west and the Humber River to the east. While the area was first known as "Kingsway Park", popular usage drifted to "The Kingsway", that being the name of the main road which winds through the heart of the area. "The Kingsway" is also the name of the Business Improvement Association business district along Bloor Street. The Kingsway is one of the most affluent areas in Toronto and homes are characterized by large stone mansions of English style. The 2012 average price of a detached house was $2,931,065. The mandatory 2006 long form Census found that 535 homes are owned (Source: Statistics Canada, 2006) and the 2011 voluntary National Household Survey returned similar results as it was determined 520 homes are owned within the tract (Source: Statistics Canada, 2011). The number of homes that are owned drastically outnumbers the amount of homes being rented. In 2006 it was found that eighty-five homes were being rented in Census tract 0227.00. 2011 saw a small rise in this number and the National Household Survey determined that ninety-five homes were being rented.

For planning purposes the neighbourhood is known officially by the City of Toronto as "Kingsway South" to differentiate it from a more recent extension of The Kingsway north of Dundas Street. "Kingsway South" does not enjoy popular usage owing to confusion with the South Kingsway, a busy street located east of the Humber River and extending south from Bloor Street.

The area now known as 'The Kingsway' is a combination of three distinct areas:

The neighbourhood was first developed by Etobicoke lawyer Robert Home Smith who purchased the old King's Mill (which was renamed the Old Mill, reopening as a high-end Inn) and began developing land in the early 1900s. The Kingsway emerged from Home Smith's vision of the ideal community and was mostly inspired by the Garden City principles, which were originally conceived in parts of England and the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Indeed, Smith was a big fan of everything English, and this inclination instructed his ideas for the neighbourhood. By the 1920s, those ideas culminated into the development, which he named Kingsway Park.