It was formed from part of the original riding of York Centre.

For most of its history, Downsview was a hotly contested marginal seat between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party.

Its final representative, however, was a Progressive Conservative: Annamarie Castrilli was elected as a Liberal in 1995, but crossed parties on the last sitting day of the legislature before the 1999 election.

During this period, the riding had a large Jewish community, representing about 40% of the population.

Odoardo Di Santo, elected as a New Democrat in 1975, was one of the first three Italian-Canadians to serve in the Ontario legislature.