London's Argyle neighbourhood has a new nickname. Welcome to Little India!

Some businesses owners and customers are referring to London Ont.'s Argyle neighbourhood as the city's "Little India." 

Surrounding Fanshawe College, the east London community has become a one-stop shop for new immigrant families, along with international students.

"We usually visit the Argyle area because we can find many restaurants over here, I guess it's because Fanshawe College is here so many Indian restaurants are here, because the demand is high," said Londoner Khush Singh.

Singh came to Canada as an international student from Punjab, India in 2019. In the few years Singh's lived here, he's noticed a swift increase in the amount of people who are new to the city. 

"The Punjabi community has increased considerably," he said. "When I would visit the London Sikh Society before, there weren't many Punjabis there, but now you can barely find space to park your car there."

According to Statistics Canada, newcomers from India made up the largest number of recent immigrants to London over the past six years. The figure has has more than tripled from around a thousand people in 2016 to 3,810 in 2021.

Reflecting change in demographics

Argyle's demographics are significantly influenced by the Fanshawe College population, said Leah Thomas, who works with its' business improvement association (BIA). 

"We've also seen that reflected in the businesses that have opened up in our area," she said. "We have quite a few Indian restaurants or ones with an Indian aspect to it."

Thomas believes Argyle's immigrants with their own businesses have been thriving, she said. 

"Some people have called it 'Little India' which is fantastic because Argyle is a homegrown community, and everybody in the area loves to support people wo are living in the same area," she said.

Ketan Patel has owned Harry's Mini Mart on Dundas Street since 2017. In the last few years, his store has seen a recent influx in foot traffic, he said. 

"Lots of people are moving to this area, mostly students so it's been really good for business," Patel said. "Lots of people are away from their families, so mini-India' a good opportunity for them to find community." 

Argyle BIA plans to add more programs and services to reflect Argyle's changing demographics, Thomas said. 

"Adding any group to a community makes it stronger, more interesting to visit and to live in," she added.