News Release
June 12, 2020

The city of Toronto is the fastest growing city and the Toronto CMA is the fastest growing metropolitan area in all of Canada and U.S. in terms of population growth, according to the latest research from the Centre for Urban Research and Land Development at Ryerson University.

As one of the most livable and diverse cities in the world, the city of Toronto grew by close to 46,000 people in 2019.

The research shows Toronto’s strong position before the global COVID-19 pandemic and will motivate the City to continue that success through the restart and recovery period.

Construction, a key indicator of economic vitality, is booming in Toronto. The city is also benefiting from a surge of investment in public infrastructure and transit to meet the needs of this rapidly expanding region.

Union Station, Canada’s busiest, most important multi-modal passenger transportation hub has undergone a major redevelopment. Toronto’s waterfront revitalization is the largest urban renewal project currently underway in North America. The ground-breaking Regent Park Revitalization project is transforming the former 69-acre social-housing development into a self-sufficient mixed income, multi-use community.

In the past 40 years, Toronto’s downtown population more than doubled and in excess of one-third of all jobs in the city are now within the core.

Toronto region is home to more than 6.47 million people with a diverse population where nearly 50 per cent of people are born outside of Canada. Toronto’s globally-connected residents are the driving force behind its economic prosperity and innovation. As the fourth-largest city in North America, Toronto is Canada’s business and financial capital, with the second-largest financial centre and the third-largest tech sector in North America.

Toronto is competitive in almost every major business sector from technology and life sciences to green energy; from fashion and design to food and beverage; from film and television production to music and digital media. Toronto’s rich industrial diversity drives growth, innovation and cross-sectoral synergies. Knowledge spillovers have produced new leading-edge hybrid sectors including med-tech, green-tech and food-tech.

The City of Toronto continues to work with communities to create a green, liveable city that fosters creativity and opportunity.

For more information on Toronto’s economy, visit toronto.ca/business-economy/.

Quote:

“I’m incredibly proud of the growth we saw in the City of Toronto again last year, as one of the most livable and diverse cities around the world. Toronto is Canada’s economic engine – home to residents with incredible talent and innovative businesses. The steady increase in population helps fuel the economy and will be an important part of our recovery efforts as we emerge from this pandemic absolutely determined for our city to come back stronger than ever.”
– Toronto Mayor John Tory

“Toronto’s success relies on the strength and growth of its people whose diversity, experiences and resilience make this great city a dynamic, progressive and welcoming place to live and work.”
– City Manager Chris Murray

Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at facebook.com/cityofto.

Media Relations