Toronto’s 10-Year Economic Action Plan Targets Housing, Transit

The plan was introduced by Mayor Olivia Chow, along with Economic Advisory Panel Co-Chairs, Councillor Shelley Carroll (Don Valley North) and Zabeen Hirji, and contributors from across multiple sectors at the University of Toronto’s Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus.

Under the plan’s microscope are pressing issues, such as housing affordability, public safety, inequality, and transit efficiency — symptoms of a city facing a number of economic headaches. The issues are divided into 29 action items the City plans to carry out over the next five years, all of which fall under the larger action categories of “Getting the Basics Right,” “Strong Main Streets,” “Quality Jobs,” and “Global Competitiveness.”

One of the report’s main objectives is achieving a new long-term intergovernmental funding deal for Toronto. “The current fiscal imbalance between governments, and the way the City must seek funding from the provincial and federal governments is inadequate to provide long-term, stable support for growth,” explains the report. The plan, according to the report, is to publicly campaign for a long-term funding agreement with Ontario and Canada in order to secure reliable and consistent funding for things like housing and infrastructure.

Just this year, Ontario invested $73 million in the Gardiner Expressway rehabilitation project, allowing the City to shave one year off the construction timeline. The investment was made possible by a historic “new deal” struck between Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Premier Doug Ford at the end of last year that will help achieve long-term financial sustainability, the second half of which still stands to be meted out next year.

As far as housing, the report acknowledges the growing wealth divide that has impeded on the ability of average Torontonians to enter the housing market. “Rising housing costs are a significant concern, with home prices soaring by 20% since 2019, while the median annual income has stagnated at a mere 0.4% growth rate,” says the report.

To combat this, one action plan includes getting more affordable housing built faster. “Too many residents are burdened by the high cost of housing and these costs are driving people to leave Toronto,” says the report. In order to remedy this, the City is pledging to advance the HousingTO Action Plan by implementing incentive programs for affordable home development and increasing densities like those near major transit station areas, with the goal being to achieve the City’s targets of 285,000 new homes by 2031 and 6,500 rent-geared-to-income (RGI) units, 41,000 affordable rental units, and 17,500 rent-controlled units.

The report also focuses on Toronto’s struggling office sector, citing that “Older office buildings are experiencing high vacancy rates, which are reducing the vibrancy of certain areas and threatening to decrease revenues to the City.” Under the “Global Competitiveness” category, the corresponding action item aims to “incentivize a more diverse mix of nonresidential uses in Downtown and the Centres” by motivating the conversion of Class B and C office spaces into adaptive, non-residential, and mixed uses. The goal is to return to a healthy vacancy rate of 7.5% by 2034 — as of Q3 2024, we’re sitting around 18%.

Outside of housing and real estate, there are a number of action items that, intrinsically, will cross-pollinate into the housing sector by helping to grow Toronto’s economy as a whole. Those include advancing economic development for Indigenous, Black, and equity-deserving communities, improving the TransformTO net zero strategy by implementing programs for green infrastructure, advocating for commercial rent control for small businesses, and championing technology and innovation, amongst other actions.

In the press release, the City highlights Toronto’s importance on the national stage. “Toronto’s economic prosperity is crucial not only for the city but also for the broader national economy as it accounts for 20% of the national output and 53% of the provincial economy,” says the release. “Taking action today to address these challenges while leveraging Toronto’s strengths can drive future economic growth and shared prosperity for the city, the region, and Canada.”

Recommendations in the staff report and Action Plan will be considered by the Economic and Community Development Committee at its meeting on October 23 and at City Council from November 13 to 15.