By John B. MacIntyre, Chair, and Rahul K. Bhardwaj, President & CEO
October 4, 2011

When the world looks at Toronto, what does it see?

The internationally respected Economist magazine says we are the fourth most liveable city in the world – a top 5 city on the planet! We’re recognized for offering a quality of life where residents can live, breathe, work and prosper together in harmony.

The global management consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers ranks Toronto second among 26 globally competitive cities surveyed in intellectual capital and innovation, as well as health, safety and security. The conclusion drawn by the researchers is that the world’s most competitive cities are not necessarily those with the biggest economic clout, but those where the city’s creators and innovators are able to live safe and healthy lives.

Our financial indicators are also strong. The Toronto Region took first place on the CIBC economic activity index of 25 major Canadian metropolitan regions.

International visitors pick Toronto second after only New York as their preferred destination in North America.  We had almost 10 million overnight visitors last year, generating $4.3 million in direct municipal taxes. Culture – where we express ourselves and what we value – was a major tourism driver attracting four times as many visitors as sports attractions.

As the world continues to migrate, Canada is recognized for exemplary newcomer integration policies, ranking third among 31 countries.  As the top Canadian destination for immigrants, Toronto’s immigration levels grew by 11.5% in 2010 after three years of declining numbers.

There’s something special happening here.

Crime rates dropped again for the fourth year in a row in 2010.  Eighty-three percent of Canadians report not being worried about being alone in our homes at night.  Even the majority of high-rise apartment dwellers in Toronto’s inner suburbs generally feel safe.

We’ve assembled the hearts and minds of people from all over the world making us among the most diverse cities on the planet. We’ve established neighbourhoods where we can live peacefully. We’ve grown businesses that provide jobs for many and prosperity for most. We’ve worked hard to balance economic and social agendas for shared results rather than pitting one against the other and tipping the scales.

Despite our differences and because of our commonalities, together we’ve created a city that largely works and inspires others. We are a city of builders and a model for the world.

But with the passage of time and the relentlessness of change, no structure is permanent. Fractures can form that with neglect will spread.

When we look around the world, what do we see?

Not so long ago in a suburb of Paris, immigrant youth were blamed for the spreading mob violence that was later found to involve 2nd and 3rd generation residents disconnected from their community.

More recently the riots in London, seemingly nonsensical acts of excessive adolescent rebellion, underlie a youth disconnected from community, aimless and hopeless in the face of limited opportunity.

And when the recent mass killings devastated Oslo, and the rest of Norway, Islamic extremism was first to be blamed for the horrors that were ultimately attributed to one, native Norwegian sociopath.

Paris, London, Oslo.  All three are cities just like Toronto where people from all over the world have come together to make a living and build a life. They are cities with long, proud histories and places where change is the only constant.

Cities just like ours but whose social and economic systems are eroding. These cities are now face to face with massive change, at times leading to civil strife with serious and lasting consequences.

Will this be our fate too? Will we end up on the same path? Or will we be viewed as a beacon of hope for a positive future for global cities? We have the chance to lead and the choice is ours.

And when we cast our sights even closer to home, we witness how the American motto “E Pluribus Unum,” out of many, one, is now reduced to “What’s in it for me?” Financial crises have transformed valued citizens into transactional taxpayers and simple consumers of public services, and along the way diminished the stature of government through partisan posturing.

But before we get too smug, there are cracks appearing in our social and economic structures too. Toronto’s Vital Signs tells us this. Our Community Foundation’s annual report measuring the state of the city’s quality of life uncovers who we are today – and where this might lead us.

Today we see not one city united but the emergence of three cities in Toronto resulting in over one million people in a city of 2.7 million, living in low and very low income neighbourhoods.  If these trends continue as predicted, by 2025 low and very low income neighbourhoods will cover 60% of our city.

We also know that shifting demographics highlight an aging population; from 2001 to 2031 people over the age of 85 will increase by 85% in Toronto. The number of people without the English literacy rates needed to thrive will reach chronic proportions, rising 64% over the next 20 years. At the same time our “hourglass” economy will likely continue to shrink the availability of middle positions, leaving workers to languish in low-wage, dead-end jobs.

Even today, we are not reaping the benefits of our current workforce. We draw young people from across Canada and around the world to our nine post-secondary institutions, yet upon graduation, their prospects are few. The youth unemployment rate in the Toronto Region was 22% above the national average in 2010. For the 80,000 highly skilled, well-educated immigrants who arrive here in search of opportunity, they are twice as likely as Canadian-born to be unemployed.

In one year, poverty in the Toronto Region rose 22% and the rate of child poverty was up by more than 43%. For those struggling, the Region offers one of the most severely unaffordable housing markets in the world, ranking 75th least affordable among 325 markets surveyed.

And transit, the underlying network that connects us, continues to rank poorly when compared to other major metropolitan centres. Chronic underinvestment in transportation has been identified as the Toronto Region’s greatest threat to global competitiveness. Our commute time is one of the longest and when compared to 14 other major international cities, we spend the least on public transit. Our skeleton is fragile.

This is not the time to dismantle the machinery of our city. Instead, we must recognize what makes our city great and build upon it. Collaboration, compassion, compromise – these are the values that build the trust that binds us and make us a magnet for the world.

Especially now, when rewarding short-term thinking and quick fixes are in vogue, we must construct a vision for our city and commit to the long-term. We need  to build the city we all want – smarter, healthier, more inclusive, more creative, more prosperous - simply put, more Toronto.

We believe what’s more important than what we stand for is what we stand up for. Now is the time to stand up for Toronto. The world needs Toronto to succeed.

More Information
Learn more in this year's Toronto's Vital Signs® Report ››