British life in Toronto: pubs, clubs and the footie

Toronto was a very British city for most of its history, and you can still find a decent roast, a cricket pitch and a society for almost every corner of the UK.

The short version

Pubs: a handful of proper British pubs do a Sunday roast and show the Premier League, which kicks off at breakfast time in Toronto.
Societies: the St. George's Society of Toronto dates from 1834 and the St. Andrew's Society from 1836, and both still run events.
Sport: cricket has been played at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club since 1827, and the Toronto Dragons rugby club grew out of a Welsh club founded in 1961.
Remembrance is run by the Royal Canadian Legion. We couldn't find a Royal British Legion branch or a Royal Society of St George branch in Toronto.
The calendar is half familiar: Boxing Day and Remembrance Day yes, Bonfire Night no.

Pubs, roasts and a proper chippy

Toronto's pubs are mostly Canadian or Irish in style, but a few are unmistakably British. These are ones we could verify in 2025 or 2026:

Where	What it's good for	Area
The Queen and Beaver Public House, 35 Elm Street	A British pub in a converted house with UK sport on the telly and roast beef on Sundays from noon	Downtown, near Yonge–Dundas
Scotland Yard, 56 The Esplanade	British pub near St Lawrence Market, known as the home of Toronto's Spurs supporters	Old Town
The Dorset, 457 Wellington Street West	Sunday roast (beef, lamb, chicken or prime rib) and cottage pie	King West, at The Well
The Oxley, 121 Yorkville Avenue	Sunday roast with a big Yorkshire pudding and gravy	Yorkville
Roxton, 1112 Dundas Street West	A pub from the team behind the Man of Kent, with fish pie, pie and mash, and chips with curry sauce	Little Portugal
Olde Yorke Fish & Chips, 96 Laird Drive	Family-run chippy: haddock, cod or halibut, with mushy peas	Leaside

Sources: Streets of Toronto on the Queen and Beaver and the best Sunday roasts [1][2]; Matador Network on football bars [3]; blogTO on British food [4]; Olde Yorke's own site [5].

A word of warning: a "pint" in a Toronto bar can be smaller than the 568 ml you're used to, so check the menu, and prices are shown before sales tax, with a tip of 15 to 20% expected on top. Our guide to British food, shops and pubs in Toronto covers the shops for PG Tips, Marmite and Christmas pud.

Watching the footie

The time difference is kind to football fans. Toronto is five hours behind the UK for most of the year (four hours for a couple of weeks each spring and autumn, when the clocks change on different dates). So a 3pm Saturday kick-off at home is a 10am start in Toronto, and a 12.30 early game means a 7.30am pint, or a coffee, if you're civilised about it.

The pubs above with UK sport fill up for the big games, so get there early for a North London derby or a Merseyside one. Supporters' clubs for many Premier League sides meet in Toronto pubs; ask around in the club's own supporters' network before you pick a bar.

Toronto also has its own top-flight team. Toronto FC plays in North America's MLS at BMO Field by the lake, and a match is a decent way to make Canadian friends who are also into proper football, whatever they call it.

Cricket and rugby

Cricket

Cricket in Toronto goes back further than Canada as a country. The Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club on Wilson Avenue has hosted cricket since 1827. It's a private members' club with teams in the Toronto & District Cricket Association leagues, a youth academy and social cricket [6]. Membership isn't cheap, but it's a beautiful ground.

Beyond that, the Greater Toronto Area has a huge amateur cricket scene, much of it driven by South Asian and Caribbean communities. If you can bat or bowl, the Toronto & District Cricket Association's member clubs are the place to look for a game. The season runs roughly from May to September, because nobody plays in the snow.

Rugby

The Toronto Dragons RFC was formed in 2003 from Toronto Welsh RFC, founded in 1961, and still plays in the Welsh dragon. It runs senior, junior and minis sides from Eglinton Flats in the west end [7]. Ontario club rugby is a summer sport, so you'll be playing in heat, not mud.

British and Commonwealth societies

Some of the oldest charities in Toronto were set up to help immigrants from the British Isles, and they're still going:

St. George's Society of Toronto, founded in 1834 to help immigrants from England and Wales. Today it funds culture, education and health charities in the city and runs social events, including around St George's Day [8].
St. Andrew's Society of Toronto, founded in 1836, for Scottish culture, Celtic music, Highland dance and charity, with its annual St Andrew's Charity Ball [9].
IODE Canada, a women's charity founded in 1900 as the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, with local chapters doing volunteer work for children and education.
The British Canadian Chamber of Trade and Commerce, for networking if you work in UK–Canada business.

We couldn't find a Royal Society of St George branch in Toronto; the St. George's Society of Toronto is a separate, much older local charity and the nearest thing to it. Nor could we find a Royal British Legion branch in Canada.

For worship in the Anglican tradition, St. James Cathedral at King and Church Streets is the cathedral of the Diocese of Toronto, and St. Paul's Bloor Street and St. Thomas's on Huron Street (known for its choral services) are well-known parishes.

Remembrance, the King and the British calendar

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day on 11 November is taken seriously in Canada, and it's run by the Royal Canadian Legion, which plays the role the Royal British Legion does at home. Its branches sell poppies in the run-up, and there are services at memorials across the city, with the two minutes' silence at 11am. Canadians pin their poppies on from late October, so you'll fit right in. Legion branches are also social clubs, and many welcome non-veterans as members.

The King's Birthday and Victoria Day

Canada's monarch is King Charles III, so the King's face is on the coins and his portrait hangs in official buildings. Canada marks the sovereign's official birthday on Victoria Day, the Monday before 25 May, a public holiday with fireworks that most Canadians treat as the start of summer and the May two-four long weekend.

Bonfire Night, Boxing Day and the rest

Bonfire Night isn't a thing in Canada. Toronto has strict rules on setting off fireworks at home, and 5 November isn't one of the holidays when it's allowed, so check the City of Toronto's rules before you light anything. A bowl of parkin and a sparkler-free night in it is, then.
Boxing Day is a public holiday in Ontario, and the sales are huge.
Thanksgiving comes in October, not November, and it's a good excuse for a roast.
Christmas is familiar, though crackers and mince pies take some hunting down.

Getting connected

The British Consulate-General Toronto at 777 Bay Street provides consular help for British nationals in Ontario, by appointment only. It's who you call about a lost passport or a serious emergency, not about where to watch the match.

For the social side, our community group for Brits in Canada is where people swap tips on roasts, Christmas puds and spare tickets: join here. If you're new and finding the first winter tough, our guide to the emotional side of moving abroad is worth a read too.

British life in Toronto: roasts, the footie, cricket and the old British societies