Chinese immigrants began to settle in Toronto in significant numbers during the second half of the 19th century. In spite of racist legislation that restricted their passage to Canada this number continued to grow in the 20th century. Many of these people settled downtown in Toronto's then Chinatown, which was near what is now city hall. Many of these early residents, however, were pushed out through redevelopment projects between the 1950 and 1970 and while some settled directly to the west in the Chinatown near Spadina and Dundas other moved east of the Don River in what would later be known as East Chinatown.

Centred near Broadview and Gerrard Street, Chinatown East became the home to a rapidly expanding Chinese population during the 1960s and 1970s. Many of these new residents opened local businesses along these corridors and made a significant mark on the neighbourhood. In the 1980s local businesses founded the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for East Chinatown which has advocated for local businesses and contributed to the local Chinese heritage infrastructure.

Arlene Chan, The Chinese in Toronto from 1878: From Outside to Inside the Circle (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2011).

Elizabeth Gillan Muir, Riverdale: East of the Don (Toronto: Dundurn, 2014).