LGBTQ+ Facts
Etobicoke is one of six municipalities in the city of Toronto. Toronto itself is known as one of the best LGBTQ+ destinations in the country. This city has a lot of diversity with many incredible cultures and communities, including a prominent queer community. According to a survey conducted by Nestpick, Toronto is the third most LGBTQ+-Friendly city globally, ranked just behind Madrid and Amsterdam.
To find LGBTQ+ groups in the Etobicoke area, you can find different things to do in a safe environment on Meetup. In addition, Toronto Central Healthline has a list of community resources for the queer community.
If you are looking for nightlife or navigating LGBTQ+ gaybourhoods, Toronto is a short trip away, only an hour or so by transit and a half-hour drive.
Mental Health in Etobicoke, Ontario
New research about the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that it has had a significant impact on young people’s mental health in Ontario.
Researchers at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children determined that many children and teenagers had their mental health decline when the pandemic’s second wave was happening. This report also concludes that more than half of 758 kids ages eight to twelve experienced significant symptoms of depression from February to March.
Mental health was the worst for teenagers, with 70 percent of 520 adolescents ages 13 to 18 saying that they had been experiencing major depressive symptoms. In addition, the findings surveyed responses of about 1,500 parents and children in Ontario in a series of periodic surveys that monitor youth mental health during the pandemic.
If you know a child or youth struggling with mental health effects from the pandemic, or mental health conditions in general, much help is available in the Etobicoke area. Be sure to visit our Psychologists for Kids page on LGBTQ and ALL to find treatment in your area.
Top Features For Etobicoke, Ontario
Etobicoke is where you can find various lakefront parks and golf courses. Centennial Park features a conservatory with tropical plants. In addition, the 1830s Montgomery’s Inn contains a museum, tea room, pub and hosts weekly farmers’ market.
Islington – City Centre West area is where you can find a bustling commercial hub, with shopping complexes and casual chain restaurants. There are also history-themed murals all along Dundas Street West.
Other top attractions include:
- Humber Bay Park East
- Marie Curtis Park
- Humber Arboretum
- Colonel Samuel Smith Park
Facts
- The Etobicoke name comes from the Ojibwe word “wadoopikaang,” meaning a place where alder trees grow.
- In 1954, Hurricane Hazel killed 35 people on a street in Etobicoke.
- On Highway 427/401 interchange, there’s a hidden pioneer cemetery.
- Northwest Etobicoke contains its own ghost town.
- A stunning Hindu temple is located on industrial Claireville Drive.
History
The area now known as Etobicoke came under British rule after the defeat of the French and when the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763.
In the Toronto and Etobicoke area, the land belongs to the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee communities, including the following groups: Anishinaabe, Seneca, and Mohawk Haudenosaunee, Iroquois, and Huron-Wendat.
Currently, the population of Etobicoke is approximately 347,948 residents.