Yuhong Meng

Canada is viewed as a multicultural society. Toronto is considered the most popular place to many ethnic groups. Ethnic economy becomes an important component of the diverse economic landscape of Toronto CMA. The Chinese community is the largest ethnic group in Toronto. They generate a sizable consumer market for ethnic goods and services. Therefore, the Chinese commercial activities have developed rapidly in last twenty years.

This research paper utilizes spatial analysis techniques to explore the spatial patterns and detect if the Chinese commercial activities serve the Chinese community well. Global Moran's coefficient (MC) is used for measuring the degree of spatial contiguity. Local indicator of spatial auto correlation (LISA) was used to detect the clusters of Chinese population and Chinese commercial activities.

The positive value of MC for Chinese population and Chinese commercial activities shows that they tend to cluster in study areas. LISA measure, Zi, was mapped to see how the clusters in the study area. It is revealed that Chinese enclave economy has developed in Mississauga, downtown Toronto, Scarborough, Markham, and Richmond Hill. Chinese shopping centers play an important role in the ethnic Chinese economy. Chinese shopping centers are distributed mainly in the clusters of Chinese population. They differed from main stream shopping centers in development strategies and occupancy system.