Thousands of young people are fleeing Toronto — economists say the city will suffer because of it
Thousands of young people are fleeing Toronto — economists say the city will suffer because of it
The affordability crisis is starting to trump job prospects for new graduates, experts say, which could hinder Toronto’s economic development.
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Is that a problem?
The affordability crisis in the first half of the 20th century saw people leave their unaffordable homes for affordable places like Toronto. Their home regions unquestionably suffered for it, but Toronto was able to flourish because of it.
Maybe it's okay to see new places get their turn? After all, Toronto would just be a poduck town if such movement never happens. Did nothing good come of Toronto's massive growth?
You make a good point. With immigration, Canada's population will grow. Toronto cannot be the only city to which people move to.
But that's where most immigrants live!
It did allow Toronto to become the business capital of all of Canada. It was previously Montreal.
People didn't move to Toronto from Montreal because it's more affordable. They moved because of the language laws that make English speakers second class at best in Quebec.
It was more about the Quebec independence referendum. Before that, Montreal was the economic capital of Canada.
the language laws that make English speakers second class at best in Quebec
Weren't those passed in the 1990s? I thought businesses moved their headquarters out of Montreal in the 60s and 70s with the threat of separation (and FLQ bombings).
This is correct, it wasn't the language laws or people moving from the small town that made toronto the capital city it was the separatist movement that scared business out of Montreal.
In a lot of ways Montreal is much more if a world class city. Toronto is still just a regional hub there is nothing special or distinctive about Toronto, it has no character, its empty.
"Like New York without all the stuff."
“Like New York without all the stuff.”
This line is said exclusively by people who walk down Bay Street and think that's the whole city.
Toronto has tonnes of its own character, and calling it "empty" makes me think you've never spent any time in it.
Care to elaborate on some of this unique character that Toronto has?
Killer music scene with the Horsehoe Tavern, Cameron House, Velvet Underground, Lees Palace, and tonnes of others. Amazing restaurants of all kinds in the city, largely thanks to the MASSIVE immigrant population here. Amazing architecture, including some of the best examples of Brutalism you'll find anywhere in the world. The Toronto Islands are unlike anything I've seen in any other city. The largest streetcar network in North America that creates a very different streetscape vibe to anything else. Festivals like Taste of the Danforth and other street festivals highlight some amazing culture in the city, on top of TIFF being one of the largest film festivals in the world. And Kensington Market deserves a special shoutout for being unlike any neighbourhood I've been to yet.
You can criticize Toronto for not doing enough to support local culture, which I would agree that the Tory and Ford years really did a number on it, but it's outright wrong to say there is nothing special or distinctive about Toronto.
If New York is the City that never sleeps, Toronto is the city that has a 11pm bedtime.
I didn’t mean to claim that Toronto was more affordable than Montreal, simply that Toronto previous affordability allowed it to become what it is today.