Mayor Olivia Chow proclaims Toronto For All Day, kicks off new education campaign focused on allyship

Today, Mayor Olivia Chow proclaimed Wednesday, September 4 as Toronto For All Day and launched the newest campaign to engage residents to end all forms of discrimination and help make Toronto a more inclusive city.  

The Toronto For All message for 2024 focuses on allyship, including practical suggestions for ways Torontonians can be more inclusive in their daily lives. The public education campaign is a call out that demonstrating allyship can be simple and the work to combat discrimination requires everyone. 

Simple acts of allyship can include: 

• Amplifying unheard voices so that those with important things to say get heard.  
• Applying compassion in daily interactions.
• Committing to accessibility in the workplace or extracurricular activities.
• Learning about unconscious bias. 
• Prioritizing inclusion.
• Respecting people’s pronouns, orientation and gender.
• Speaking up when people use hateful language.
• Supporting Indigenous and Black-owned businesses.

The Toronto For All public education campaign on allyship will run from Tuesday, September 2 to Sunday, October 27 and include 100 posters in transit shelters, social media posts and 70 digital ad boards. 

Toronto For All is a series of public education campaigns intended to generate dialogue among Toronto residents to challenge biases and create a city that says no to all forms of discrimination. The goal of Toronto For All is to highlight the City’s commitment to acceptance and respect for all Toronto residents, celebrating their faiths and cultural practices. 

Previous campaigns have focused on topics including anti-Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, ageism and anti-Semitism. Since 2016, 15 campaigns have launched under Toronto For All. Learn more about Toronto For All by visiting the City’s website: www.toronto.ca/TorontoForAll. 

Quote: 

“Toronto is a city for everyone; a place where everyone belongs, regardless of what they look like, who they love or the language they speak. I want to thank the Toronto For All community advisory council for putting together this new campaign that encourages us all to speak up, support each other and strengthen our common bonds.” 

 – Mayor Olivia Chow 

Toronto is home to more than three 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, innovation and climate action, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit www.toronto.ca or follow us on X at x.com/cityoftoronto, on Instagram at www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cityofto.