Bermondsey is an industrial area in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It covers a rough triangle with the Don Valley to the west, Eglinton Avenue

Eglinton Avenue

Eglinton Avenue, originally known as the Richview Sideroad within Etobicoke, is an east-west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Within Toronto, Eglinton Avenue is the only road which crosses through all six former boroughs...

 to the northeast and O'Connor Drive to the southeast. It straddles the border of the former cities of North York and East York

East York

East York can refer to:*East York, Pennsylvania, United States*East York, Ontario, Canada...

. The area is named after Bermondsey Drive that runs through the centre of the district.

As trucks replaced trains and ships as the main method for transporting goods, industries in Toronto no longer needed to be placed near to rail lines or the harbour. As a result a number of industrial areas developed in the Toronto suburbs during the 1950s and 1960s. Bermondsey was one these, as was the Golden Mile located a short distance to the east.

In recent decades the area has steadily lost businesses. While manufacturing has declined in general in Ontario, the smaller, older, buildings and infrastructure of the area are also less attractive to industry than newer industrial areas in areas such as Vaughan

Vaughan, Ontario

Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...

.

The area today is home to some 200 firms employing a total of some 7,000 people. About half work in manufacturing, with the others in offices, retail, warehouses and non-profit. The largest employer in the area is the Peek Freans

Peek Freans

Peek Frean is a brand of biscuits and related confectionery. The brand is owned in the UK by United Biscuits, although the Peek Frean name is no longer used in the UK. In the US and Canada the brand is owned by Kraft Foods.-History:...

 cookie factory. Other major employers in the area are Habitat for Humanity Toronto and its Habitat Toronto ReStore, Epitome Pictures

Epitome Pictures

Epitome Pictures Inc. is a television production company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Epitome currently produces two television drama series aimed primarily at the youth and young-adult market...

, Bell Canada

Bell Canada

Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...

 and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation

Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation is a trade union which represents 60,000 members across Ontario, Canada.Founded in 1919, its membership includes public high school teachers, occasional teachers, teaching assistants, psychoeducational consultants, social workers, child and youth...

. There are also a number of clothing and electronics companies in the area.