The Welcome Policy web application will be temporarily unavailable on Wednesday February 25 from 8 a.m. to noon for scheduled maintenance.
Welcome Policy is a recreation fee subsidy to support Toronto residents access City-operated recreation programs. Eligible individuals and families will receive a financial credit for the year from the date an application is approved. The credit can be used towards the cost of all registered recreation programs including any instructional swim and sports programs, camps, after-school care programs, as well as all memberships and multi-use passes (including Junior Golf and Ski memberships).
An applicant (and their family) must meet the following criteria:
To apply, you must provide required documents for each family member.
If you have already completed an application and have been instructed to submit or re-submit documents, use your Confirmation Number and Upload Token after clicking on “Upload Additional Documents” below.
If you are submitting proof of documentation, you can submit a digital file, scan or photo, as long as it is saved as a jpeg, png, jpg, gif or pdf. The maximum size per file is 10 MB.
Upload Additional Documents
Welcome Policy is a recreation fee subsidy to support Toronto residents access City-operated recreation programs.
Eligible individuals and families will receive a financial credit, valid for 12 months, from the date an application is approved. Financial credits do not carry over into the next year and require eligible individuals and families to re-apply and submit required documents each year.
Amounts are non-transferable between family members.
Welcome Policy is administered by the Social Development Division, Human Services Integration Office (HSIO) within the City of Toronto. HSIO processes all Welcome Policy recreation fee subsidy applications, renewals and file updates.
To apply you must:
Provide one of the following as proof of income:
| *Total combined annual net income will only be calculated for family members aged 18+. Statistics Canada determines the Low Income Measure After Tax (LIM-AT) threshold by family size, per the Census Family definition. LIM-AT changes annually based on the latest available data provided by Statistics Canada.
The Low Income Measure thresholds chart above was last updated February 25, 2026 to reflect LIM-AT 2023 data. |
|
| Family Size* | Total Annual Income for Family |
|---|---|
| 1 person | $30,255 |
| 2 people | $42,787 |
| 3 people | $52,403 |
| 4 people | $60,510 |
| 5 people | $67,652 |
| 6 people | $74,109 |
| 7 people | $80,047 |
If you are already receiving Welcome Policy and wish to update your account with new family members or new children in your temporary care, contact the Human Service Integration Office at 416-338-8888.
You do not need to provide any proof of documents if you are receiving financial support from the following programs:
If you are not actively receiving services from the programs above, proof of income is required for all household family members.
If your first name, last name and address is also displayed in your income document and matches your application; no additional documents are required to verify identity and address.
Acceptable proof of income documents:
Dependent Adults: If you are 18 years of age or older, considered a dependent adult, have no income, have not filed an income tax return and are attending school full-time, a confirmation of your full time school timetable may be submitted instead of income documentation.
If your first name and last name displayed in your income document (or letter of support) matches the name you provide in your application, no additional documents are required.
If your first name and last name are not displayed in your income document, each family member over the age of 18 in your household must submit an acceptable proof of identification document.
Provide one document per family member 18+ (if required):
Acceptable proof of identification documents with your legal name as declared on the application (if required) includes:
You must live in the City of Toronto to be eligible for Welcome Policy. For individuals who have no fixed residential address or cannot safely disclose their address (see Access TO), you may provide a letter of support with an alternative Toronto address such as where you access services (e.g. a local shelter, community space, hospital, or government office).
If the address displayed in your income document (or letter of support) matches the address you provide in your application, no additional documents are required.
If your income document does not include your address, one proof of address document for the household is required. You do not need to provide proof of address documents for every family member.
Acceptable proof of address documents (if required):
*City staff will assess whether submitted documentation is sufficient for verification to determine eligibility. You may be notified by email requesting for additional document verification if it is deemed insufficient.
You are encouraged to apply online for Welcome Policy. The Human Services Integration Office also supports applications by phone for Social Assistance recipients, access to language interpretation, and paper applications upon request by calling 416-338-8888.
If your first name, last name and address is displayed in your income document and matches your application; no additional documents are required to verify identity and address.
If your application has incorrect or missing documents, you will receive an email with a unique upload token to re-submit documents within 30 days. Please note that any missing documentation will increase the processing time of your application.
If you require assistance or have questions about the application, please call the Human Services Integration Office at 416-338-8888.
If you are unable to apply online or by phone, you can book an in-person appointment at one of the following City locations between 9:00 – 4:00 pm. Please book an appointment as space is limited.
Available to Social Assistance recipients ONLY (Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program, Emergency Assistance & Temporary Care Assistance)
If you are currently in receipt of Social Assistance and cannot complete an online application, call 416-338-8888 for application support.
If you are unable to complete the Welcome Policy application online, you can download a paper application form or request one to be printed for you at a Toronto Community Recreation Centre. Effective immediately, we will not be processing any old versions of the paper application. Only the current application form will be accepted (Form number: 21-0185 2024-11 on the bottom left corner).
Processing times for paper applications can take up to 8 weeks and any missing documents will increase the processing time of your application.
Photocopy and attach all required documents.
Mail your completed application to:
City of Toronto – Welcome Policy Application
55 John Street – Mail Room
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 3C6
Paper applications and required documents can also be dropped off to your local Community Recreation Centre or Civic Centre.
Welcome Policy recreation fee subsidy can be used towards the cost of all registered recreation programs including all instructional swim and sports programs, camps, after-school care programs, as well as all memberships and multi-use passes (including Junior Golf and Ski memberships).
Programming is offered at all City of Toronto Community Recreation Centres.
The City of Toronto has a new system for recreation and cultural activities registration, facility bookings and memberships.
Visit Online Registration and Booking to learn more about the new system and how to register for programs.
To learn more, visit How to Register for Recreation Programs.
If you are approved for the Welcome Policy, you will receive an email confirmation containing subsidy amounts and the subsidy end date.
You can view family members currently approved for Welcome Policy, if your Welcome Policy is Active or Expired, the effective dates, amount issued, amount used and the balance remaining for each approved family member.
If you didn’t provide an email on your Welcome Policy application, or do not have an email address, please speak with staff at your local community centre, civic centre or call the Recreation Client Services Call Centre at 416-396-7378 Option 1. Staff can help you to add an email to your account, if possible, or let you know the balance of your Welcome Policy.
Registering online is the fastest and easiest way to register for programs. Log in to your account (see steps above under ‘view your welcome policy online’)
If at anytime during the transaction you see the label incomplete on an item in the cart, you may no longer be able to apply subsidy. To reactivate subsidy, select the edit button (pencil and paper) to open the item. Once the item is open, select Save without making any changes. The option to use subsidy will display.
If you withdraw or transfer from an activity that subsidy was used for, the amount of subsidy used will be returned.
View an online tutorial of this process at Online Registration and Booking.
If you didn’t provide an email on your Welcome Policy application, or do not have an email address, please speak with staff at your local community centre, civic centre or call the Recreation Client Services Call Centre at 416-396-7378 Option 1. Staff can help you to add an email to your account, if possible, or to process a registration or buy a membership.
City of Toronto staff will review each application and required documents to determine eligibility for Welcome Policy.
You must re-apply each year with updated documents.