Toronto’s 1918 Anti-Greek Riots: A Violent Clash in a Divided City

Toronto’s 1918 Anti-Greek Riots: A Violent Clash in a Divided City

A crowd in Toronto watching a WW1 tank in 1918. Credit: Public Domain On August 2, 1918, as World War I neared its end and Canadian soldiers returned home to uncertain futures, tensions in Toronto erupted into a wave of violence that would leave dozens injured, businesses destroyed, and an entire immigrant community deeply scarred—this was the 1918 anti-Greek riot. Largely forgotten for decades, the anti-Greek riot stands as a striking example o…