Ontario Construction News staff writer
The city of Toronto is the fastest growing city and the Toronto CMA is the fastest growing metropolitan area in all of North America.
A recent report by Ryerson University’s Centre for Urban Research and Land Development revealed that Toronto overtook Dallas-Fort With Arlington for the top spot.
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.
“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 Mayor John Tory said in the release.
“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.”
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, the report concludes.
Toronto (45,742 persons) and Montreal (31,565 persons) represented the two fastest growing cities in all of the U.S. and Canada in the 12 months ending July 1, 2019. Overall, Canadian cities represented 11 of the top 20 central cities in the U.S. and Canada in population growth, the report showed.
The growth in the city of Toronto’s exceeded the combined gains of the two fastest growing central cities in the United States. The two fastest growing central cities in the U.S. were the city of Phoenix and the city of San Antonio, which grew by 26,317 and 17,237 persons, respectively.
Interestingly, Toronto gained almost as much population as New York City lost. While the City of Toronto’s population grew by 45,742 persons, New York City’s population decreased by 53,264.
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 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.
According to a press release from the city, 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.
The report shows 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.