‘Erased from history’: A century on from Canada’s anti-Greek riots

Toronto, Canada – The mobs marched down Yonge Street in the heart of what is now Canada’s largest city in August 1918. Tens of thousands of people, angry over perceived social injustices, spent hours rampaging through the streets. Their target? The Greek-owned restaurants and shops that had come to symbolise their grievances. Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list “That night, crowds of 20-25,000 people destroyed almost every Greek business in the city, crying out, ‘Tonight’s the night we hunt Greeks’,” says historian Thomas Gallant. “One restaurant was so badly damaged that a [local newspaper] reporter said it could not be more damaged if a bomb had gone off in it.” Now, more than a century after “the single largest anti-Greek riot anywhere in the world in history” shook Toronto, experts such as Gallant say the events of that summer should serve as a cautionary tale. Amid the ongoing, intensified rise in anti-immigrant views and policies around the world, including in Canada , they argue the riot demonstrates just how dangerous unchecked xenophobia can be. ‘Conditions ripe for an explosion’ Toronto was in the throes of a heatwave in early August 1918 as it prepared to host a national congress of the Great War Veterans Association, a group advocating for the needs of soldiers returning to Canada after World War I. …