Home away from home: The untold story of Canada’s ‘Little Tibet’

Tucked away within Toronto’s inner city is a small enclave known as “Little Tibet”.

Located in the Parkdale neighbourhood, the restaurants here are famous for delicious Tibetan dumplings known as momos.

Parkdale is also home to one of the largest concentrations of Tibetans outside Asia, stemming from the 1970s when Tibetan refugees flocked to Canada. The community has thrived here, establishing Little Tibet’s reputation as a food mecca and setting up a cultural centre.

But today, rapid gentrification and Toronto’s sky-high rents threaten the area’s unique social fabric. Amid China’s increasing global influence, the Tibetan community is striving to hold on to its past and maintain its traditions in an adopted land.

Explore Little Tibet and meet an immigrant community working to preserve its identity in this episode of A Sense of Community, a four-part series about unique neighbourhoods around the world and the challenges they face.