Since the late 1800s, the Kensington area of Toronto has been the centre of the dreams and struggles of successive waves of immigrants. In 1892, there were 86,415 people in the City of Toronto, with more than 80,000 residents of English, Irish or Scottish origin.

By early 1913 the total population ballooned past 200,000, of which 32,000 were Eastern European and Russian Jews. By 1931 there were 45,305 Jewish people in Toronto, with 80% living in Kensington and surrounding streets. Hungarians began to arrive in the 1920s and 1930s, and found their way into Kensington Market. At the same time there were also Italian immigrants working on city infrastructure projects. This community settled and grew west of Bathurst.