The Chinese Canadian community in the Greater Toronto Area was first established around 1877, with an initial population of two laundry owners.

While the Chinese Canadian population was initially small in size, it dramatically grew beginning in the late 1960s due to changes in immigration law and political issues in Hong Kong.

The Chinese established many large shopping centres in suburban areas catering to their ethnic group.

[2][3] In 1877 the first Chinese persons had been recorded in the Toronto city directory; Sam Ching and Wo Kee were laundry business owners.

[11] By the 1950s and 1960s ethnic Chinese who could speak English fluently have moved out to the suburbs but continued to shop in Chinatown.

[20] Retired Senator Vivienne Poy wrote that there were fears of ethnic Chinese expressed in Toronto area media by 1990.

[28] In the 1950s, before large scale Mandarin-speaker immigration occurred, the Toronto Chinese community used Mandarin on an occasional basis.

[29] Many Canadian-born Chinese who grew up in Toronto prior to the 1970s are monolingual English-speakers because they were discouraged from learning their parents' native languages.

[31] The 1996 Canadian census stated that the second largest language group in the Toronto area was people who spoke Chinese.

[25] As of the 1997 Chinese Consumer Directory of Toronto there were 97 computer and software businesses, 20 interpreters and translators, 19 sign makers, and eight paging services.

[31] In addition, many for-profit companies, churches, and voluntary organizations operate their own Saturday supplementary Chinese language programs and use textbooks from Hong Kong and/or Taiwan.

Reza Hasmath, author of A Comparative Study of Minority Development in China and Canada, stated in 2010 that "most confessed their immediate social network comprised mainly of those of Chinese descent.

[14] In Toronto ethnic Chinese who immigrated from Vietnam formed community organizations separate from those of the Kinh people.

It was established on May 20, 1989, as the Toronto Committee of Concerned Chinese Canadians Supporting the Democracy Movement in China, and in April 1990 was incorporated in Ontario as a nonprofit organization.

The Toronto political establishment referred to a "Mayor of Chinatown," an informal office that served as a liaison between the city's power structure and the Chinese hierarchy.

[41] As of 2000 there are several businesses that provide services tailored to Chinese customers, including banks, restaurants, shopping malls, and supermarkets and grocery stores.

Ethnic Chinese commercial activity in the Toronto districts of North York and Scarborough became prominent in the 1990s.

In the late 1990s the suburbs of Markham and Richmond Hill in the York Region gained ethnic Chinese commerce.

[18] Other styles of cuisine available include Beijing, Chaozhou (Chiu Chow), Shanghai, Sichuan,[45] and "Nouvelle Cantonese.

Fatima Lee wrote that the actual number of restaurants may be larger because the directory listing is "by no means exhaustive".

[18] During the late 20th century, the influx of people previously resident in Hong Kong, many of whom were originally transplants from mainland China, caused an increase in variety of Chinese cuisine available in Toronto.

[26] The Modern Times Weekly (時代周報, P: Shídài Zhōubào[55]), a Chinese newspaper with English summaries, was published in Toronto.

[56] As of 2000 there are three major Chinese-language newspapers published in the Toronto area giving news related to Greater China, Canada, and the world; they have issues with 80 pages each.

[14] The World Journal, written in Taiwan-style Traditional Chinese and read by people from Taiwan and northern parts of mainland China.

Contestants must be of at least partial Chinese descent and have resided in Canada for continuous period of 6 months or a total of one year on the day the application form is signed.

[60] The master of ceremonies of the pageant are Dominic Lam (1995–2012) and Leo Shiu (2013–present) 1 Age at the time of the Miss Chinese International pageant Other print media serving the Toronto Chinese community include community group publications, magazines, and newsletters.

[16] Toronto-area Buddhist and Taoist organizations were established by different subgroups, including Hongkongers, Southeast Asians, and Taiwanese.

[22] As of 1994 year the Metropolitan Toronto communities of Scarborough and Willowdale, as well as Markham and Thornhill, had concentrations of Chinese churches.

The Archdiocese of Toronto gave permission for the opening of the area's third Chinese church in Richmond Hill in 1992.

Vancouver previously introduced the Hong Kong style teak wooden boat races to North America at Expo 86.