Woodbridge, ON is the new Assyria Town!
By: Ashur Sada. Oct. 15, 2007
It used to be 'Jane and Steeles' and 'Kipling'. But these are now the old
Assyrian spots in Toronto. Welcome to Woodbridge, the beautiful town, part of
the bigger municipality of Vaughan: welcome to the new 'Assyria Town' Yes, this is where a
big wave of the Assyrian population has been relocating to, since the year 2000.
That is the year where a large urban sprawl started taking place here. If you go
back just 10 years in the past, this land was nothing more than a big empty
space, with a few houses here and there, and lots of farms. Forward to the
future, about 10 years later, and you will be amazed to find that Woodbridge and
the city of Vaughan in general is undergoing some major construction and
development, making it one of the fastest growing cities in all of Canada.
Woodbridge (as well as Maple, which are both part of Vaughan) have got some of
the biggest theaters, theme parks and malls in all of Canada. This includes the
VaughanMills, Canada's Wonderland, Colossus Theaters and much more. So it is no
wonder that a lot of Assyrians have been relocating to the North, and settling
in this great developing city.
Business and Retail Presence
This city doesn't deserve the title of 'Assyria Town' just due to it having a
big Assyrian population. That alone is not enough. It also got to do with all
the Assyrian businesses that have been opening in the area, commercial and
retail. In addition to that, Woodbridge has got some of the most popular
Assyrian hang-out places, mainly Tim Horton's Coffee spots and restaurants. The
main one of course is on Weston and Rutherford, followed by the one on Weston
and 407, and many others. There are also all the new Assyrian stores and retail
businesses opening in the area. Baghdad Food Market was the first, opening in
Vaughanmills Mall in 2005. It was followed by Sam's Food Market in Woodbridge. And just this year alone, 3 other stores opened in Vaughanmills, including
Kristine Hair Salon, Alexandria Boutique and Gril4U Shawerma Restaurant.
Social Presence
It is not just about the business and retail presence in this city, that would
make it the obvious 'Assyria Town' of choice. There is more to it. The social
side of it. When Iraq won the Asia Cup in the summer of this year, most of the
celebrations for the Iraqi Assyro-Chaldo-Syriac community was centered in and
around
Vaughan. More precisely, at the Tim Horton's on Weston and 407 and on Weston and
Rutherford for the rest of the night. You had people coming from other parts of
Toronto, to celebrate here. These celebrations clearly stamped the city as the
new Assyrian front and their major new hub. The Assyrian Church has also taken
some interest in the city of Woodbridge, holding their summer picnics in the
'Polish Army Park', located in a beautiful spot in Woodbridge.
Woodbridge is the Future and the Future is Now!
Given all this interest and visible presence by the Assyrian community in this
city, it will be natural that more and more Assyrian businesses and even
organizations will relocate to it. Consensus and urban trends in the GTA point to
the fact that people keep moving to the North, and more 416ers are turning into
905ers. So the time has come for Assyrians elsewhere to follow up and take a
look at relocating to this city, and be close to the community. Be it for
business or living. Of course, this is not to suggest that Assyrian
communities elsewhere in the GTA, such as in Toronto itself, Mississauga etc.
are becoming a thing of the past, as they are very established and rooted in
their areas for decades. But Vaughan and its daughter towns including Woodbridge
and Maple, remain the
hottest new destinations for Assyrians in the city at this moment. Looking
forward to getting a franchise Assyrian Society social club here in Woodbridge!
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