September 16, 2025
The Empire Club of Canada Presents
Toronto the Better: Jordan Bitove Presents the 2025 City Report Card
Chairman: Saurabh Popat, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada
Moderator
Giles Gherson, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade
Distinguished Guest Speakers
Jordan Bitove, Publisher, Toronto Star; CEO, NordStar Capital
Heather McDonald, President & CEO, United Way Greater Toronto
Ana Serrano, President & Vice-Chancellor, OCAD University
Head Table Guests
Karen Sargent, Ontario Managing Partner, Fasken
Welcome Address by Saurabh Popat, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada
Thank you so much, Kent. Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Saurabh Popat, the new chair of the board of the Empire Club of Canada. It is my great privilege to serve in this role and welcome you to today’s event, marking the start of our 122nd season.
To formally begin, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathering on the Traditional and Treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the homelands of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples. I encourage you all to learn more about the Traditional Territory on which you work and live.
Now, today’s event would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. The Empire Club of Canada is a non-profit organization, and our sponsors generously support the club, and make these events possible, and complimentary for our online viewers to attend. So, please join me in welcoming and thanking our Lead Sponsor, Fasken. Thank you to our VIP Reception Sponsors, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and McKinsey & Company. And to our Supporting Sponsor, Labatt Breweries of Canada. Thank you. We’re also deeply appreciative of the ongoing support of our Lead Season Sponsors, Bruce Power, Hydro One, and National Bank Financial Markets. And our VIP Reception Season Sponsors, Ellis Don, McKinsey & Company, the Ontario Road Builders Association, and Waste Connections of Canada. And finally, a big thank you to our Media Partner, the Toronto Star. And our AV Partner again for this year, Bespoke Audio Visual.
Now, if you have a question for our speakers, please scan the QR code found on your program, or through the Q&A function, if you’re online. For those of you online, if you require technical assistance, use the chat feature.
It means a lot to me to see so many of you here, as we open the Empire Club’s 2025-26 season. As I step into my new role as chair, I have to tell you that I’ve been really looking forward to this day, and I’m so glad you’re here to share it with us. I’ve been part of the Empire Club for over three years. But as a Canadian, a business and healthcare leader, and someone who cares deeply about our country, I feel like I’ve been engaged with the Empire Club for a lot longer than that. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the leadership and commitment of our board of directors at the Empire Club, many of whom are here today, and the outstanding dedication and hard work of our staff at the Empire Club, thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, for more than 120 years, the Empire Club has been a stage for conversations that matter to most Canadians. Every season, we come back to the same purpose that has inspired us for more than a century, creating a place where leaders from every corner of Canadian society, and sometimes beyond, can debate ideas, share insights, and challenge us to see the future in new ways. This year, I’m very proud to announce that our North Star, or our theme, is Building One Canada, and everything that you see and hear this season will reflect that. Because in the time of rapid economic, social, and global change, we choose to focus on the essential conversations that bring us together, rather than the differences that sometimes drive us apart. And what better place to start than right here, in our great city of Toronto?
I’ve been very fortunate to be living and working in Toronto all my professional life, although, like so many others, I came here from somewhere else—in my case, from New Brunswick. But I always fondly remember being introduced to the city’s amazing culture and energy, through iconic platforms such as Much Music and Electric Circus—and I certainly still love a good BPM beat. Toronto definitely has a different energy and vibe than it once did. And in my opinion, while we have our challenges, we’ve gone from Toronto the good to Toronto the great. And the decisions that we make here and discuss here can and do ripple across our entire country.
Today’s program sets that stage perfectly. This is the second year of a valued partnership with the Toronto Star and Jordan Bitove. Thank you for your leadership, Jordan. Today, we’ll hear the Toronto Star’s 2025 City Report Card, followed by a conversation with some of the city’s leading voices. The Star has always been synonymous with Toronto itself. It’s an institution that’s wrapped up in Toronto’s triumphs, that digs into its challenges, and helps us to shape civic debate. Together, we’ve made the annual City Report Card a platform for candid reflection on where Toronto stands, and where it needs to go.
And the timing matters. Toronto is still dealing with the scars of the pandemic, that seems like it was yesterday. We’re living through trade wars, and shifting global dynamics today. And in the years to come, with a municipal election on the horizon, we are considering new challenges, how to grow stronger, develop more inclusive communities, while also protecting our quality of life for more than three million Torontonians, and over seven million across the GTHA. Today, we hope that we will spark a dialogue that will last all season long, and we welcome you all here today, and online, to join in.
Now, the Empire Club doesn’t do this work alone. We rely on our partners who share our values and our vision. Fasken is one of those partners. As one of Canada’s leading law firms, they believe in the power of dialogue, in developing talent, in building inclusive communities, and in holding themselves to the highest standards of excellence. Those values line up perfectly with what the Empire Club is all about. So, it feels right to have Fasken help us open up today’s event. Their Ontario managing partner, Karen Sargent, leads the Toronto and Ottawa offices with vision and integrity. She’s built a career as one of Canada’s foremost labour and employment lawyers, known for her innovation, her problem solving, and above all, her commitment to people. Please join me, in welcoming Karen Sargent to the podium.
Opening Remarks by Karen Sargent, Ontario Managing Partner, Fasken
Thanks so much, for those lovely comments. I’m delighted to be here today, on behalf of Fasken, to introduce Jordan Bitove. Particularly, as he presents this report card about the city. I have practiced law in the city of Toronto for almost 30 years, but I am not from Toronto. In fact, the first day I spent in Toronto was the Saturday of the Labour Day long weekend in September of 1992, when I arrived here for law school at the University of Toronto. I arrived by overnight flight by myself from Vancouver, and I remember sitting on the bed of my apartment all alone thinking, what on earth have I done? But within a few short days, I began to fall in love with the city—it probably didn’t hurt that the Jays won the World Series a month later. The city exploded with an energy I had never experienced before. My love of the city continued, and didn’t end with me; it passed on to my sons. And about eight years ago, I was meeting my older son, as he returned from Queen’s at Union Station for the Thanksgiving long weekend. He got out onto Front Street, he stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, and then exclaimed, “I just love the smell of this city.”
So, my first experience with this city was 33 years ago, and eight years have passed since my son commented on the smell of the city. And a lot has changed in both those periods of time. Condos have exploded, the skyline has changed significantly, traffic has intensified, subway expansion occurred, and stalled, the Billy Bishop Airport became a significant airport, the office towers emptied with COVID, and have filled right back up again, particularly since this past Labour Day. We now have banks and other employers clamouring to find office space. The population has exploded, particularly among our immigrant communities, and with that, the city has embraced its diversity. Toronto has become a hub for political activism.
So, what do Torontonians think of those changes? What do our journalists, the ones who report on these changes every day, think of those changes? That’s what Jordan is here to share with us today. The Toronto Star did a poll of over 1,000 respondents, and got their views on a number of topics, including things like city politics, the cost of living, housing, safety, transportation, among others, and we’re gonna hear about those findings today. I’m really looking forward to that not only as a Torontonian, but also, as managing partner of Fasken’s Toronto office, where we have 300 lawyers, and 300 business professionals, who work and live in or around this city. That’s 600 diverse families, who are impacted by this city every single day. And I’m also interested from a perspective of our law practices where we have large real estate, infrastructure, and other practices that are highly impacted by what’s happening in this city every day. And no one is more qualified to bring this report to us than Jordan.
As you know, Jordan is publisher of the Toronto Star, making him intimately familiar with all that his journalists report on this city every day. He is the owner of Torstar Corporation, and CEO of NordStar Capital, and has significant investment in businesses relating to things like technology, real estate, hospitality, all of which are critical to this city. He is a leader in our sports industry, strong understanding of political dynamics, heavily involved in our community, serving on the boards and of organizations such as the Sick Kids Foundation and TIFF, and has made extraordinary contributions, philanthropic and otherwise. So, I can’t think of anyone more positioned to be bringing this report card to us than Jordan. So, please join me, in welcoming him to the stage.
[VIDEO IS PLAYED]
Jordan Bitove, Publisher, Toronto Star; CEO, NordStar Capital
Thank you, Saurabh and Karen, for hosting us again, and for the opportunity to have this conversation. I’m gonna go a little bit off the script, here, and just say, I wanna thank everybody for your presence today. This is a very critical moment in our city’s history. And for generations to come, we need to fix the issues that we all live with day in and day out, and we’re gonna talk about them. But your presence today shows that you care. The sponsors that sponsored today, thank you, for enabling us to be able to have this conversation. And my only ask is that, when you leave here today, reflect on what was discussed, and think about how you can impact the city for the better.
So, with that, you saw, our reporters spoke to residents of the city day in and day out, as they do. And as you’ve seen, we went out for our 2025 City Hall Report Card, and asked, what do you think of Toronto? While there are mixed grades we’ll talk about today, overall, people want the city to be better—and to be very clear, we do too. The Toronto Star has fought for a better city for over 133 years, and that’s why it’s a huge privilege for me to be the caretaker and publisher. I love this city, it’s in my DNA. My grandparents and parents came to Canada as immigrants seeking a better life, and the freedom to contribute and be part of something better, and bigger. They found it all here, and the Toronto Star was the connection to this new world, their guide to their community, and how to be part of it.
Now to me, owning The Star is not just a business, it’s a public trust, it’s a promise to use journalism to serve and empower the city that raised my family. And for the millions of people who call it home today, I’m proud to say the Toronto Star is strong. 11 million people read our publications daily, across all platforms, for our coverage. We listen, we ask questions, and we tell their stories. They trust us to report on their lives, to investigate, and to hold the power to account. Our City Hall Bureau, who is represented by many of our team members today, is the city’s largest. So, we can be your eyes and ears at City Hall.
So, what makes a great city? It’s not just about a skyline, or its size; it’s the promise it holds for people who call it home. Toronto’s greatness has always been about more than buildings and borders. It’s the chance for a newcomer to build a future, for a family to put down roots, for ideas to spark into global innovation. If we measure greatness by opportunities we create and the connections we nurture, then the real question isn’t whether Toronto has been great; it’s whether we’re willing to do the hard work, to shape its next generation to be even greater.
It is with this in mind that our newsroom launched an initiative called Toronto the Better. It started with our editor-in-chief, Nicole MacIntyre—who’s right over here—and when she confessed she was falling out of love with our city. Now, we thought we’d get backlash. Instead, what did we find? We found widespread agreement, but also a desire to fight for the city that we all love. Toronto the Good, with all its challenges, can become Toronto the Better.
Now, through our Toronto the Better series, we are celebrating the positive stories of people making a difference. Like the TTC worker, who found a boy with special needs wandering the streets late one night, reuniting him with his parents safe and sound. Or the designers and technologists who meet weekly at hackathon nights, to use technology for public good. And the thousands of volunteers who make our city better every day, who deserve celebration. At its core, Toronto the Better is a call to action that brings us to why we’re here today.
Now, last year, I came to the Empire Club with a report card for the city that was guided by our editorial board. This year, we wanted to take a little bit of a different approach, to go beyond our own opinions. Because a Star, at its best, reflects our city. With that in mind, we tapped into our networks, sent our reporters out on the street, as you saw, and partnered with Ipsos, one of the most respected polling firms in the country, to ask residents to score what’s working and what is not. And a shout out to Darryl Bricker from Ipsos, who is here today, he’s in the room. Darryl, thank you for all of your—over there. Thank you very much, for all your work on this. We’ve convened this amazing group of leaders here today to talk about the results and concrete solutions. I’ve had an exclusive preview of what we heard from residents for you today. You can dig into the full report this Saturday in The Star, with reporting analysis from across the city.
Now, you won’t be shocked to know that our city faces major problems. My parents taught me, it’s up to us to get involved, to make things better. So, let’s dive in. We found a city caught in a paradox. Most Torontonians, 59% of them to be exact, say they’re optimistic about the future. But in the very same poll, they agree that Toronto’s best days may be behind it. Optimism for the future, but a belief that the best is behind us.
To understand that disconnect, let’s look at the scorecard, and let’s first start with the support for arts and culture, and sport. The median grade was a C, but it’s important to note that 40% gave an A or a B. And 81%, which is a big majority, say we’re holding our own, or getting better. What we think, when we think back to the past year, we welcomed the world at the 50th anniversary of TIFF, we caught Swifty fever with Taylor Swift, and some amazing act at the Rogers Centre, and at Downsview, and we are a very proud sports city. The Jays are on this amazing win streak, the Leafs and the Raptors season holds a lot of promise, and we’re hosting the World Cup next year, which is going to be a remarkable moment in our history. Still, festivals and arts had a rough post-pandemic stretch. The city helped save money, but some, like Taste of Danforth, sadly, are still struggling. And while too many artists and creative workers are getting squeezed by rising costs and new economic pressures, the city and the communities rallied to save vital cultural infrastructure provided by organizations like Artscape and Hot Docs.
Now, to be a truly great city, we must sustain our cultural organizations, professional and amateur sports. Why? Because they bring us together in fraction time, which brings me to our next point, social and community connection. Now, despite an average grade of C, and a quarter giving a D or an F, 60 to 70% of the people agree that Toronto is a good place to work and raise a family. Some feel we’re getting better, and more than half say we’re holding steady. Working with people with a modest income under $60,000 reported lower scores. Our younger population says they’re feeling positive about social and community connections, while older generations feel the toll of isolation. We need to be fostering lifelong connections, and building a strong social fabric, to help people lead fuller lives, regardless of age, income, or where they live. And this year, The Star launched Better Love, a new personal ad series. It’s led to two matches, so we’re pretty proud of that.
Public transport, hot topic. Another C, but a third of the respondents gave us an A or a B, and more people say it is steady, or getting better than worse. Now, that is a really good trajectory. Commuters waited a long wait for the Crosstown, our commuting wait for the Crosstown—there’s a lot of C’s in there—may be over, while work on the Ontario Line continues at pace. Now, credit to Mayor Chow, for freezing transit fares, increasing service, and securing funding to replace subway cars on Line 2. Millions of transit riders are crying out for a better service, as are many more drivers looking to get out of traffic. The Star’s Andy Takagi is learning about their experiences firsthand, as he reports from his search for the city’s worst commute—it’s been a great series, you gotta read it. As she seeks re-election, Mayor Chow would have a crowning achievement in securing operating funding from the province that reflects the importance of public transport to Toronto and the region.
Crime and safety. Most Torontonians rank crime and safety as a top issue in the city, and said that it is getting worse. Nearly one in five Torontonians do not feel safe in their neighbourhoods, and one in three do not feel safe overall in the city. Even more people feel unsafe on the TTC. Women and residents with modest incomes feel especially unsafe. Now, this is a really disturbing, there’s a really disturbing rise also, right now, in youth crime, and The Star is committed to covering this issue. On Saturday, we published the story of Mia Martin-Brooks, who lost her father to gun violence, and whose North York neighborhood has been reeling since eight-year-old Jah Vai Roy was killed by stray bullet in August. Mia says there’s a lot of resources for people dealing with street violence, and that guns are far too readily available. Tragic. These tragedies demand action. No one should feel unsafe in the city. We have more to do, to deal with the impacts of crime—I don’t know why I’m getting emotional, but apologies. But we have to tackle the root causes of why it’s happening.
Cost of living. Torontonians say this is their most important issue, and nearly three-quarters say it’s getting worse. The number one reason that four in ten residents say they are likely to leave Toronto: it’s too expensive. Rising prices and stagnant incomes are creating enormous strains, especially for middle-class working and low-income residents. Young people face one of the worst job markets in recent years. The most fortunate among us must ask ourselves, do we want to live in a city only for the rich? Far from a settled issue, rising inequality is eroding our civil society. Everyone in this room and all orders of government have a role to play in creating broad and inclusive prosperity, so that all can afford to live dignified, healthy, and happy lives. It’s the right thing to do. And in the long term, it’s the smart thing to do.
Traffic and congestion. Another tough grade. Statistics Canada says Torontonians spend 70 minutes a day commuting. That’s unacceptable. We’ve got the longest commutes in the country, and it’s the number two reason people say they’re thinking of leaving. Most say it’s getting worse. The city is working on it, along with improvements to transit. The mayor appointed a congestion czar, sped up repairs to the Gardiner, and deployed traffic agents to key intersections. Now, we’re seeing action, but to really cut down commutes across the region, it will take much more.
A big factor is where people can afford to live. So, let’s talk about the last category, which is housing and the affordability of it, which we gave a D to, or our respondents gave a D to. Three in four people who don’t own homes think they’ll never be able to afford one. That’s sad. Ninety percent of the respondents feel that owning a home in Toronto is only for the rich. Half say that blame rests equally on the city, the province, the federal government, the developers, and the landlords. Remarkably, 60% of homeowners said they’re okay if making housing more affordable means their house is worth less than today. That finding should help politicians find some courage to take bold action, cutting red tape, and getting creative.
So, what does this report card tell us? It tells us that, just like The Star, Torontonians want Toronto the better. You can see it throughout the poll’s results, and we heard it in the interviews across every part of the city. People are struggling, but they want to love the city, and they’re hopeful things can get better, and they’re looking for results. We need their feedback, as we head into the election year. Our scorecard is not an indictment. It’s a call to action to build a better city, a provocation to those who lead, and those who seek to lead.
Now, The Star will continue to shine a light on these issues, to ask the tough questions, and champion the bold ones. We will advocate for progress. I want nothing more than to come back a year from now, on the stage, and tell you that things have improved significantly. Shared problems demand shared solutions. They require the collective will of everyone in this room. That is why we are so grateful to our panellists, the Toronto Region Board of Trade, OCAD University, and The United Way, for joining this important conversation, and helping us figure out what’s next. I want to invite us all to work together to build Toronto the better.
Now, before I say my thank you, I want to just, for those that work at the Toronto Star, and for our friends that also work at other news organizations, I just want you to raise your hand—and folks, take a look around. I say it day in and day out. That’s probably why I get a little emotional, because these people go to work every day. And in light of what went on in the US last week, they put their lives at risk, they do everything that they possibly can to make the city better, the province better, and the country better. And the beauty of—thank you, they deserve that—and the beauty of what they do is that we live in this amazing country where we actually will listen to both sides, and we’ll tolerate it, and then we’ll take action on it. And we’re very, very, very fortunate to have a very strong core of journalists in this country, during very difficult economic times, who have stayed with it to protect an critically important industry. So thank you for that.
Finally, thank you. There’s a QR code that’s on the screen right now, and this will give you three months’ access to the Toronto Star. If you don’t, I strongly encourage you to take it, read, and see the incredible journalism that is being produced day in and day out. And with that, thank you.
Saurabh Popat
Thank you so much, Jordan, for your insightful keynote, and sharing the findings of the Toronto Star’s 2025 City Report Card. I know, as a Torontonian, and many of us here in this room, we share in your passion for making Toronto the better, sharing your passion, our collective passion, to work collectively together, and we appreciate that passion. Thank you, Jordan.
Now, this is exactly the kind of table we love to set, at the Empire Club, a place where the important conversations of the day happen, where ideas are tested, and where different perspectives come together. To guide that conversation, we’re very fortunate to be joined by Giles Gherson, President and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, who will be our moderator. Alongside Jordan, the panel features Heather McDonald, President and CEO of United Way Greater Toronto, and Ana Serrano, President and Vice-Chancellor of OCAD University. Together, these leaders bring expertise from business, community, and education, perspectives that matter a great deal, as we think about the future of Toronto, and making Toronto better. Please join me in welcoming Giles, Anna, and Heather to the stage with Jordan.
Giles Gherson, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade
Well.
Jordan Bitove
I lost it.
Giles Gherson
No, no, Jordan. That was stirring, those were stirring remarks.
Heather McDonald, President & CEO, United Way Greater Toronto
Yeah.
Giles Gherson
And you know, as Saurabh said, you feel passionate about the city. That’s how it should be. So, thank you for that. So, let’s dig into the report card. I want to just, a bit of a preamble, thinking a bit about what you said last year, what you said this year; not too different. But you made the point last year that, you know, our brand was really Toronto the good, for a long time—and maybe it still is—or maybe, it’ll be Toronto the better. But that we’ve been straying a little bit off the path, right, in the last maybe couple of decades. And you know, and there are some things that we all need to think about, in terms of making improvements, and that’s what the report card’s really all about. The thing I keep thinking about is the huge amount of growth we’ve had—and Karen mentioned that, but the huge amount of growth we’ve had over the last couple of decades, you know, we’ve had maybe two million people arrive in the GTA. Growth we wanted, growth we needed, but maybe, we didn’t plan for it as well as we might have. And so, we have these growing pains, let’s call it that. And I think, and when I think about the stresses and strains of the city, as we see it today, I think of them as growing pains. And, you know, and then the question becomes, where do we need to focus to get back to being Toronto the good?
So, let’s look at the report card. We’ve seen some slippage from last year. You know, last year we had, I think, a bunch of A and B grades, we had—in some cases, those A and Bs have dropped to Cs, and D in one case. But I would say last year, decent grades. The student came home, decent grades. We were proud, you know, hopeful and proud. This year, the student comes home, and we’ve got a bunch of Cs, and some Ds. And so, more of a middling report card, I would say, this year. And the question, I guess, is, you know, to the panel, do we agree with the grading? Like, you sent the Toronto Star reporters out, and you see how vigorously they were questioning people. But is that, how fair was that? Let’s start with Ana.
Ana Serrano, President & Vice-Chancellor, OCAD University
Sure.
Giles Gherson
So, do you think the grades, as you saw them, were what you would grade them as, or do you see, what stood out for you?
Ana Serrano
I think what stood out for me is just the general, sort of negative trend line that you just spoke about. So, I would have expected more of a mixed grade. The fact that everything went down suggests to me that we have to also look at the sentiment of the citizenry themselves. You know, we are in a—so there’s the growing pains issue with the city. But then there’s also the, just much larger context. And this is why I, you know, felt for you, when you were up here speaking. Because we’re living in an environment that is a lot more chaotic, a lot more negative, I would say, and a lot more scary for many people. And so, that type of lens, I think, may have impacted the way one viewed, you know, how they’re experiencing the city day-to-day.
Giles Gherson
So, Ana, you’re saying there’s facts on the ground, and then there’s the way the public perceive these things, right?
Ana Serrano
Yeah, I think there’s a….
Giles Gherson
The discourse has changed over the last couple of decades, as well, I guess we could say.
Ana Serrano
Yes. Yeah.
Giles Gherson
Heather, let’s go to you next. What are your thoughts?
Heather Mcdonald
What really stood out for me was that home ownership is for the rich, for the wealthy. That really stood out for me. Because I think we, looking at a division and polarization within the city, of the feeling, hey, those folks have something that’s never within my reach. Seeing a group of key people that are key to the economy and our community for the future saying, I’m not seeing opportunity here, I may leave. If we ran an organization where we knew that percentage of folks were thinking—of our staff, were thinking about leaving, we would do everything we could to keep them, and recognize that those folks are not necessarily having the energy or intention to give to the community where they are, if their foot is halfway somewhere else. That really concerned me, in terms of what our communities need moving forward.
The other is when you look at, just we have core needs as people, we need a home, we need a job, and we need a friend. And I think how we interpret that within our city, what does having a home mean? Does that need to be home ownership? Does that mean building that deeply affordable housing? 300,000 Torontonians would say they don’t have a friend. You know, how do we make sure that we’re doing those basic building blocks for all people, including these new people, to our communities that probably need it most?
Giles Gherson
So, I’m sensing you’re not really disagreeing with the grades I mean, it’s certainly on home ownership and affordability, I think you’re agreeing with the grades.
Heather McDonald
I’m agreeing with where Ana was going around the sentiment behind it. And that’s what I, really stood out for me, is this sense of I don’t have access to that, I cannot have that thing. And I think more Torontonians are feeling that, that’s what I picked up across a lot of the grades.
Giles Gherson
Maybe this is another issue. Maybe a smaller middle class, a declining middle class…
Heather McDonald
Absolutely.
Giles Gherson
…and more on the poles, right? So, but Jordan, you’ve been sort of thinking about this for a couple weeks now.
Jordan Bitove
Yeah, it’s mind boggling, because when you really dig into the data, and to the, you know, the comments of that we were A’s or B’s last year, well, I think we’ve gotten a little bit better, and we brought in our partner, Ipsos, to help us out, and really parse the data. But the thing that strikes me is young people are disillusioned right now. And I think that they’re, between trying to find a house, trying to find a job—culture, we were known, our transportation was known as the best transportation network in North America, our cultural scene here was incredible. And the fact that they’re rating them C’s and D’s, that doesn’t bode well for us. So, there’s the obvious ones of crime, and things like that. But when we start losing the base on these other areas, we should all be concerned.
And I think that the, you know, the thing about it is, if your kid brought home a report card, and they were getting B’s and A’s last year, and now they can show up with C’s and D’s and F’s, what would you do? You’d take action on it. Do I need to hire a tutor, do I need to spend more time, are they, is it the right school for them, all these things. And I think that’s the moment that we’re in right now, where we really have to reflect on our city, what’s working, what’s not working. It’s all right to say we’re going to improve commuter times, and we’re all sort of living it day in and day out. It’s not going to happen overnight. So, what’s the realistic timeline that things are going, that 70-minute commute’s going to go down to 50, going down to 40, whatever realistically it should be. We should understand, and where, the final thing I’ll just say on this is, what is the measure, what is the bar that we’re struggling? Is it to be mediocre, or is it to be the best? Is it to be Toronto the better? And I think that that’s part of it is, that you go to other cities in the world, and countries, or whatever, and they don’t measure themselves on what we think is good for just—they’re measuring themselves economically, housing, everything, on international standards. And that’s the goal that we should have, as a city. To just be better from where we are today is not going to—we’re going to fall into this trap again.
Giles Gherson
I mean, so it’s interesting, because you’ve got some, less screen time for the student, I guess, for next year, pick up those grades. But really, you’ve got a situation where people are still ambitious. So, to your point, they wouldn’t have graded the city this way, if they weren’t ambitious for better, right? They’re not settling, I see, from these scores, right? I think that’s a good thing. People are ambitious for this city, to make it better. So, I think that’s what I got out of those grades.
Jordan Bitove
M’hm (affirmative).
Giles Gherson
But let’s talk a little bit about perception, and with Ana, we talked a bit about perception, and maybe the reality on the ground. And the question, I guess, is how fair is the public being, when they grade the city in this way? On congestion, the Toronto Region Board of Trade, we delivered a comprehensive five-point action plan to the city in February, City Hall and the mayor have accepted all five, and they’re working on, you know, on all five pieces, we’re glad to see. Hiring a congestion commissioner is about to happen, they’re taking, they’re working to take lanes that have been taken out of service, bring them back through different pricing mechanism for construction projects, 100 new traffic agents. So, stuff’s really happening there, from what we can see. You’ve got, on transit, you’ve got the largest build in North America taking place right now, with the Ontario Line, the Finch, Finch West LRT, GO Express Rail, transformational stuff is happening, right? We don’t see it yet, but transformational stuff is happening.
On the crime front, Mayor Chow would argue that she’s hired more police officers. You know, the crime is actually, the major crimes are actually, it’s actually down. And on affordable housing, she’s put a lot of effort into that. So, you know, so, you know, you look at the report card, I’m not sure, from my perspective, that it really is as fair as it might be. But I’d just like to get your reaction to that. Ana….
Ana Serrano
So, I think….
Jordan Bitove
Go ahead.
Ana Serrano
Oh.
Jordan Bitove
Go ahead. I’m sorry. I’m ready to go on this one.
Giles Gherson
You’re ready to go.
Ana Serrano
So, I think it’s less a question of fair, but more a question of what weight do you give it? Among all the things that you could be doing to, to your point, fix the city, or turn the city into an internationally relevant space, home for many people, the kind of opinion polling can have a role. But I really think where, what this all points to, and all the stuff that you spoke about, is we need to really focus on the accountability that you talked about earlier in your speech. Which is, how do we create the conditions for citizens to feel a better sense of agency, a better sense of understanding of the complexity of what it means to shape a city together, and that it actually takes a multi-stakeholder approach to getting these things right, transit, housing, et cetera. And in fact, in the data that you showed, almost all, over 50% of those surveyed understood that housing was not just a municipal issue, and that it was an issue that was federal, provincial, municipal. And yet, they still graded it in the way that it did. So, you know, what share of the deed does the city take on, versus the province, versus the feds?
So, it’s really about creating new design models. You pointed, you showed my opinion piece in The Star around how we have to design with intention. We need to have better design models that are multi-stakeholder, that involve citizens in the way we solve the problems of the city. And I think that’s what we need to move forward on, as we try to shape the next version of Toronto.
Giles Gherson
So, we could perfect our democracy, no question about that.
Ana Serrano
Yeah.
Giles Gherson
But Jordan, what I was trying to get at was really the fact that things are—I mean, notwithstanding the imperfections in our process, things are happening on the ground that maybe weren’t reflected in the numbers. I’m just putting that forward as a question.
Jordan Bitove
Yeah, I think it’s really simple, Giles. I think that the reality is—back to those, you’re in your car and you’re spending a lot of time, you’re getting on the subway, it breaks down, you hear about a poor individual getting shot, a home invasion, and I think all of that goes on in your mind, and I think that that, where’s the progress? So, I think there’s a short-term sort of, this is what’s going on around me, and I’m not relating it to that in five years or ten years, yeah, our public transportation should be substantially better, that we have hired more police officers, and that that will. But I think right now, selfishly, we’re all looking at it like this is the reality of what’s going on in our day-to-day lives.
Giles Gherson
Fair enough. Heather?
Heather McDonald
Well, I think there’s an opportunity to look at the report card, and then just say, why? What are we learning from that, versus questioning kind of what we’re seeing, in terms of the grades. And I think it all comes down to really understanding all Torontonians’ experiences, and learning from that. That can’t be captured in all those categories. I think about once, I slept over at one of our shelters, supportive housing site. What I learned from that, I met a staff, and went to bed at 11; I woke up, the staff’s there again. I said, were you here all night? I saw you there from 3 to 11. She had gone home, and come back for her next shift, eight hours—she had an 18-month-old at home. So, her issue wasn’t commuting time. She had pretty good commuting time going at night, and coming in the very early morning. But the issue is, she’s balancing two, three jobs. Couldn’t, needing to pay for that home, no friend, or connection to the community, and working really hard to keep a job, and pull it together.
So I think we can keep looking at the scores, is that fair, and looking all that’s done, or just kind of say, okay, what are we learning from this? Be curious, and then be grounded in all Torontonians’ experiences, in terms of not everyone’s, the challenge is actually the commute; it’s actually how work is showing up with their balance of their work and family lives. So, I’d say, what are we learning from this, and what more questions is this making us want to ask and get answers to. And we need to be curious, and be hearing across. We know across Toronto, very different communities impacted would answer very differently to that survey than other parts of our communities. Having led in healthcare response during COVID, you know that our city lit up heat map around where there was, COVID response was just desperately short, like we needed to step up more.
I think there’s an opportunity to say so what, and start looking at where those communities, where there’s inequity, need for more connection, needing for support, so we’re lifting all Torontonians. So, I’d say really interesting, and what does that mean for our communities, and start looking at those that are disproportionately, have unequal opportunity.
Giles Gherson
Fair enough.
Heather McDonald
Yeah.
Giles Gherson
Before we get to, we got a number of questions coming in from the floor, which is great. One last thing I wanted to talk about it, which was I think one of the more jarring pieces of the poll, one of the questions in the poll was, you know, are you thinking of leaving the city.
Heather McDonald
M’hm (affirmative).
Giles Gherson
And pretty high number—I was pretty struck—40% of people say they’re somewhat likely to consider leaving Toronto in the next five years. That’s a worrying statistic, it seems to me. But even more concerning was when you look at the demographics of those who are, you know, most likely, and they were 18 to 34-year-olds, and 35 to 54-year-olds, so those two, with kids. So, that’s today’s workforce, tomorrow’s workforce. And worth noting that between 60 and 80,000 people a year have already been leaving the city, over the last number of years, so—for other parts of Canada, and elsewhere. So, the main driver, cost of living. Traffic is next, but cost of living. Do you think the city even has the tools to address that question? Because it’s clearly a matter of great concern. Ana.
Ana Serrano
Should I, should I raise the five letter word, which is taxes? You know, I think part of the issue that we need to grapple with, and this is why these kinds of surveys are actually important, our opinion polls are important, not to kind of over-index on their importance, but they are data inputs that we can use. And you know, when you think about, let’s say, arts and culture, and the fact that we got a lower grade, how much of that has to do with the fact that cost of living is so high, for example? So, at the Cultural Policy Hub which we run at OCAD University, precarity is a big issue that we deal with, in the arts and culture sector. And it’s not just artists and designers having homes, the ability to rent or have homes, but also the cultural spaces that are available for them to work in, for small organizations, as well as for startups, cultural startups. So, these things are all interrelated. Meaning, a bad grade in culture might actually really point to a bad grade in cost of living, or housing affordability.
So, at some point, we just need to figure out how are we actually going to share? What, you know, when you say we have to share, you know, we have to share the problems and share the solutions together, part of that is also share the resources that answer the, you know, that are part of the solution to answer the problems. And I think we haven’t had a significant enough conversation around distribution of income in the city, that I think could lend to a more comprehensive understanding about how we resource some of these issues that we’re finding with the cost of living increases.
Giles Gherson
That’s interesting. By the way, a couple of other, we got a couple of questions here on the subject of could, you know, could taxes be a solution? I’d certainly say from the Board of Trade perspective, we’re a little bit concerned about the state of the economy in the city. And actually, according to the poll, some concern about the state of the economy in the city has been running slower than population growth. Which is, you know, you’re starting to see the impacts of that. So, we think we need to see more investment, more growth, to solve this problem. But Jordan, on taxes.
Jordan Bitove
Yeah, I’m, I’m not, I don’t think increasing taxes is going to solve the problem. I think we have a fundamental issue. And that is, the fact—and I say it, I mean, we are the economic engine of this country. And we should be working with Ottawa, with Queen’s Park, and the city should be working together, to have solutions on transportation, on affordable housing. And very pleased to see Ana Bailão in the crowd, in her new role. I applaud you for that. [Applause]
Giles Gherson
Absolutely.
Heather McDonald
Yeah
Giles Gherson
Please.
Jordan Bitove
That is critical to have someone from Toronto at the table, to have that conversation. And the reality is, the solutions are out there. We just need to have these conversations, and then cut red tape. We need to work with developers, we need to take advantage of lands that we’re not using in the city, and how do we build more housing on them? And we need to embrace our strengths. We are very good in FinTech, and other areas. And so, what are—AI, we see the movement to AI right now. We should be all in on how we leverage AI, and what we do to be able to support what we need to do. So, I’m just saying, there needs to be a longer-term approach to the city. And I think right now, for political reasons and other reasons, it’s always band-aid and fix it, as opposed to long-term vision that says, in 10 years, we are going to be here, and this is it, and our transportation, our housing issues solved, or whatever is realistic about it. But we don’t have any sort of guide. And it’s back to that other question of, why are people giving it a C or D? Because they don’t know any better. We haven’t done a very good job at communicating to them. We try and do it through our publications day in, day out. But the political leaders, and in particular, the prime minister, the premier, and the mayor, have to get better and accorded in how they do it.
Heather McDonald
If I can tell you two things.
Giles Gherson
Yes. The light’s flashing, but you get the last word.
Heather McDonald
I would say, one, is if everyone could leave this room saying that the health of Toronto is my responsibility, is a lesson that my dad taught me when he walked into the grocery store, and found me not working behind the counter, and he said, how would you show up differently, if you owned this store? When I was 15 years old. And I carry that forward, thinking about how would you show up. And the only other thing, Jordan, I would think about the partners is not to underestimate our corporate partners, our philanthropic partners, and I think about inclusive local economic opportunities we’ve had, where there’s development to make sure we’re not leaving behind the people that work there, creating jobs there with our corporate partners, we’ve had so much success, so that’s the other partner I really wanna highlight.
Giles Gherson
That’s an uplifting note to end on. I think this conversation could have gone on for an hour or more, but we don’t have the time. So, thank you everyone for listening to us. And I think we’ll hand back the podium.
Note of Appreciation and Concluding Remarks by Saurabh Popat
Wow, that was fantastic, I love that comment about shared responsibility. So, so very true in our personal lives, our citizen lives here, as Torontonians, and our professional lives. So, thank you to all the panellists, for a fantastic session. I wanna thank, again, our keynote speaker, Jordan Bitove. Jordan, your presentation—[Applause] that’s right—Jordan, your presentation of the Toronto Star’s 2025 City Report Card, I think gave us a very clear, unvarnished look at the challenges and opportunity facing the city. Thank you to our panellists, beginning with our moderator, Giles Gherson, Ana Serrano, and Heather McDonald. Each one of you, as leaders in this city, brought sharp insights from business, community, and education. Together, you showed what happens when different perspectives tackle the same big questions. Now, Toronto’s challenges are very real, from housing, to transit, to inequality and sustainability. And today’s discussion also highlighted the opportunities that we can build on, and the leadership that’s already stepping up.
Finally, I just want to thank all of you for joining us in our first event of our very ambitious new season. I’d also like to take the opportunity to recognize the students and young leaders in the room, from TMU, and the University of Toronto. Thank you. Many of you will be our city builders, and we thank you all. And thank you again to our panellists, our sponsors, and of course, to all of you for joining us here today, and online. I hope you’ll continue the conversation, as we move into networking, and I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.
Now, to stay connected, please subscribe to our newsletter by scanning the QR code on your tables, and we also have a very exciting membership program, so please talk and see our staff at the registration desk for more information about that.
I also hope you’ll join us for two exciting upcoming events. On Wednesday, October the 1st, we are honoured to host the Honorable Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of the great state of Michigan, for an overview and a discussion on the Canada-Michigan relationship. That’ll be very interesting, given the times that we’re in. And on October 14th, we are pleased to welcome, once again, the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, for his keynote on delivering our plan to protect Ontario. This will be taking place just a few weeks after the legislature has returned, and this fireside chat will be moderated by Ben Mulroney. Tickets for both events are on sale now.
As always, and as a club of record, the Empire Club events are available to watch and listen to on our website. A recording of today’s event will be available shortly. Thank you all for being a part of this important conversation today. Enjoy the networking time together. We look forward to seeing you at future events. This meeting is now adjourned. Thank you.
