The Russian Orthodox parish of Christ the Savior in Toronto was founded by Russian emigrants in 1915, and they were only able to build their own church in 1930. Since then, the church has become the center of Russian life in the city and a meeting place for emigrants. Among its visitors was Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, uncle of Nicholas II. In 1947, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, sister of Nicholas II, arrived in Toronto. She and her family became active parishioners of the church. Olga Alexandrovna created icons for the second tier of the iconostasis and an image of the Mother of God. For a long time, the parishioner of the church was Count Georgy Pavlovich Ignatiev, Canada’s representative at the UN and the father of the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Michael Ignatieff.

The parish strives to support and spread true Orthodox spirituality in Toronto and preserve Russian Orthodox culture. The church hosts the Church-Parish School named after Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, where children are taught the Law of God, Russian language, history of Russia, Russian literature, theatrical skills, and, if desired, mathematics and drawing. Classes are held on Saturdays, and the school has a preparatory class for preschoolers.