It’s time to “get a grip” on growth.
Toronto’s population has undoubtedly surged in a short amount of time.
Big changes can prompt big feelings, so we’re starting with a reality check.
Population growth alone does not reflect the state of the city.
This year’s data reveals an overlooked growth story—one that’s been building for decades.
More Torontonians are vulnerable and their support system needs us.
The time to be an active citizen is now.
The Issue Areas
More Torontonians are being made vulnerable because of economic precarity that is impacting their physical and mental wellbeing. Community organizations are stepping in, but facing increasing limitations to fully respond to demand.
STATE OF THE SECTOR
As Torontonians become increasingly vulnerable, nonprofits are once again trying to fill gaps in the social safety net. While more residents seem open to volunteering to support those efforts, fewer people are donating to charities.
INCOME & WEALTH
HEALTH
WORK
HOUSING
SAFETY
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
LEARNING
GETTING AROUND
ARTS, CULTURE & RECREATION
ENVIRONMENT
CONTEXT: POPULATION GROWTH
Population growth has been concentrated in some neighbourhoods and means the city’s age demographics look different than predicted. While focusing on population growth alone does not reflect the state of the city, this section provides context for some of the trends across the 10 issue areas.
Summary & Call to Action
THE GROWTH THAT MATTERS MOST
Toronto grew by 125,000 people last year (222,000 for metropolitan Toronto). That’s five times more than the average over the previous decade. Yes, that’s a lot of change, in a short amount of time, and it’s mostly due to immigration, which is always what we’ve relied on and benefited from for generations. There’s been a lot of heat around this topic, which is why we decided to dig into the data to get to the heart of the story.
A number of measures of economic growth have soared, wages have increased, and job vacancies are down, all suggesting that increased population numbers are a positive contributor. But when we looked across all 10 issue areas we track in Toronto’s Vital Signs, an overlooked growth story emerged, one that points to long-standing issues that are only getting worse. This is the growth that matters most.
Our first-ever Roundup is a short-form look at the state of the city. The reality check? What requires our full attention now is the massive increase in vulnerability. More than 2.7 million people in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) say they are struggling to get by. That’s an increase of close to 700,000 residents from 2023. Poverty is no longer “the other,” it’s us, with half the population earning below the living wage.
What’s more, the local organizations that exist to support vulnerable Torontonians are at the breaking point. Service demands keep going up as donations fall. Yet this is the fundamental support system and the engine of community power. It’s time to get a grip on growth. We have to face up to the facts and step up to the challenge.
We are a city of neighbours. Together we can and must do better for one another.
Better understand the complex issues that compound vulnerability. Start by reading Toronto’s Vital Signs Roundup on Growth.
Reflect on your assumptions. So that you can contribute differently to civic conversations
Donate what you can. Our collective financial support can have a huge impact.
Volunteer. Giving your time to local organizations is a demonstration of our shared values and concern for our neighbours.
Take the time to ask more from your elected officials.
Core funding for community organizations is essential. Flag Torontonians’ vulnerability and push for systems change to address the endemic income inequality that divides us and costs us all. (publicly funded programming)
Yours in solidarity.
Sharon Avery,
CEO and President, Toronto Foundation
What's Different: Our First Ever short-form Toronto’s Vital Signs Report
For the past two decades, Toronto's Vital Signs Report has provided an in-depth assessment of our city's quality of life across a set of standard issue areas. This comprehensive analysis typically analyzes hundreds of secondary research sources combined with interviews with dozens of community leaders. This year, we’ve introduced something different. Our Roundup on Growth provides a first-ever snapshot of the city through a limited set of indicators and community voices while highlighting the theme of this year--our growing population and vulnerability. This new series of Roundups will feature a unique theme each time and serve as a complement to our full report which will be released again in 2026. While the Roundups provide only a glimpse into the trends we're observing in the city, we hope it spurs further exploration from our readers.
Acknowledgements
Roundup on Growth involved the work of many people from both within and outside of Toronto Foundation. We sincerely thank all who contributed and hope we have not missed anyone in this list. All opinions and interpretations in this report are the opinions, interpretation, or perspectives of the author and editorial team and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any organizations or people we acknowledge here.
LEAD RESEARCHER AND AUTHOR
Steven Ayer
RESEARCH ADVISOR
Paul Anderson
QUALITATIVE RESEARCHER
Jo-Anne Liburd
PROOFREADER
Jennifer D. Foster
EXECUTIVE EDITOR AND PRODUCER
Toronto Foundation staff
DESIGN
GravityInc.ca
WEB DEVELOPMENT
JIG Technologies
Consulted for this Report
Namarig Ahmed
Wanasah: Mental Health Services
for Black Youth
Fatemeh Alhosseini
Impakt Foundation
Guled Arale
Scarborough Civic Action Network
Nicola Bangham
Breakaway Community Services
Monty Bhatia
City of Toronto
Ohemaa Boateng
Black Creek Community Farm
Cheryll Case
CP Planning
Nation Cheong
United Way Greater Toronto
Michael Cooper
Mental Health Research Canada
Lesley Davidson
YMCA of Greater Toronto
Natasha Francis
Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre
Tina Garnett and Carrie Burd
Jean Augustine Centre for Young Women's Empowerment
Geoff Keittel
Federation of North Toronto Residents' Associations (FONTRA)
Mat Krepicz
City of Toronto
Stacy Landau
SPRINT Senior Care
Emmay Mah
Toronto Environmental Alliance
Nancy Martin
Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment & Training
Mariana Mota
City of Toronto
Chiara Padovani
York South Weston Tenants’ Union
Andrew Parkin
Environics Institute
Shelagh Pizey-Allen
TTCriders
Louise Smith
Eva's Initiative for Homeless Youth
Quentin VerCetty
AstroSankofa Arts Initiatives
Les Veszlenyi
Mimico Lakeshore Community Network
We are also grateful to the founders of Toronto’s Vital Signs Report, Maytree and Laidlaw Foundation, and in particular, Alan Broadbent and Nathan Gilbert, who created the model in 2001 to monitor quality of life in Toronto. The report found its home at Toronto Foundation in 2003 to allow for long-term stewardship and to catalyze the findings.
Since 2006, Community Foundations of Canada has coordinated the national and international replication of Vital Signs, which is now being used by 32 Canadian communities and 80 globally.
We acknowledge we are on the traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. While Indigenous communities in Toronto remain strong, vibrant, and resilient, they need support to address and overcome the impact of colonialism and systemic inequalities. Furthering Indigenous reconciliation and sovereignty are integral to achieving a more fair and just society where everyone can thrive.
We aim to be an ally and to fund local Indigenous organizations.