Agincourt, Toronto

Agincourt is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is found in northeast Toronto, along Sheppard Avenue between Kennedy and Markham Roads. The area sits between Highway 401 and Finch Avenue. Before the city of Toronto became one big city in 1998, Agincourt was part of Scarborough.

People often use the name Agincourt to talk about a bigger area of northwest Scarborough, not just the official neighbourhood. The area to the west, called Tam O'Shanter–Sullivan, is sometimes thought of as part of Agincourt too. The big shopping place called the Agincourt Mall is actually in Tam O'Shanter.

The part of Agincourt west of Midland Avenue is in the voting area called Scarborough—Agincourt. The part to the east belongs to Scarborough North for federal voting, and it used to be Scarborough—Rouge River until the 2018 provincial election, when it changed to Scarborough North for provincial voting.

History

In 1848, a group of Presbyterians started the Knox Church in a small rural area of Scarborough, which later became the village of Agincourt. Their first church was a wooden building at the northeast corner of Sheppard Avenue and Midland Avenue.

The name Agincourt began in June 1858 when John Hill opened a post office in his store at the corner of Brimley Road and Sheppard Avenue. The area was mostly open fields and farms at the time. As the population grew, a larger brick church was built in 1872, which is now Knox United Church. Agincourt Public School was built in 1914 and later became Agincourt Junior Public School. A secondary school, Agincourt Collegiate Institute, opened in 1915. In 1925, a public library was built on the west side of Midland Avenue, just north of Sheppard Avenue.

Two railway stations were built in Agincourt in the late 1800s. One station is still in use today as Agincourt Station on the GO Transit Stouffville line. The other station, built by Canadian Pacific Railway, stopped passenger service in 1990. During the 1980s, many people from Hong Kong and Taiwan moved to Agincourt, especially along Sheppard Avenue near Midland Avenue. This led to the growth of many shops and malls serving the Chinese community in the area.

Economy

The Agincourt Mall is a big shopping place in Toronto that started changing and growing in 2018. It is now the second biggest area in Toronto where people live and build homes.

Education

Agincourt has many schools for children to learn in. Four different groups take care of the schools. These include the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (CSCM), the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), and the Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV).

TDSB runs four high schools in Agincourt: Agincourt Collegiate Institute, Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute, Sir William Osler High School, and Delphi Alternative Secondary School. TCDSB also runs two high schools: Francis Libermann Catholic High School and Monsignor Fraser College Midland Campus.

There are also many elementary schools in Agincourt, managed by these school boards. One special school is Henry Kelsey Senior Public School, which offers extra help for students who need it and has programs in music, art, and drama. Another school is Sir Alexander Mackenzie Senior Public School, which has special programs where students can learn some of their lessons in French.

Recreation

Agincourt has many parks and recreation areas managed by the city. These include Agincourt Park, Alexmuir Park, and many others nearby. The area also has a recreation centre that includes a pool and an ice rink, though it was damaged in a fire in 2019. There are also other pools and ice rinks in the neighbourhood.