
- Toronto is one of 19% of cities with a standalone biodiversity strategy and one of 63% with a citywide park system master plan updated within the last 10 years.
- Toronto is one of 52% of cities with a policy to waive park permit fees for financial need.
- At 2.7 hectares of parkland per 1,000 people, Toronto sits in line with other dense cities such as Montreal and Vancouver.
- In 2019, Toronto released its new Parkland Strategy—a 20-year master plan to guide park development and improve access to parks in the city.
- Toronto is conducting a citywide study on how to improve off-leash dog areas to accommodate population growth.
- Toronto approved an implementation plan for its Ravine Strategy that includes extra funding towards conservation, clean-up measures, and community stewardship.
2.7
ha parkland per 1000 people
8096 ha total parkland
46%
of total parkland is natural area
3693 total ha
23%
of parkland is environmentally significant/protected
1892 total ha
13%
of total city land is parkland
63020 ha of total city area
75
Dog parks
81
Community gardens/urban farms
2
volunteers per 1000 people
6,000 total
80
community park groups
Yes
Policy to waive permit fees for groups with financial need?
Community Natural Ice Rink Program
Community Stewardship Program
Community park group program
Community grant program
$54
Parks operating budget per person
$160,115,185 total¹
$100,729,608
Total parks capital budget
$8,100,000
Total philanthropy/sponsorships
Yes
Provincially legislated tools available for parkland development
Community Benefits Charge²
¹This year's budgets include only the portion for Parks, whereas the numbers reported for 2019 included the entire Parks, Forestry and Recreation budget. ²This tool was introduced in 2019 and is still under review. Previous Provincial legislation allowed 5% of development site or cash-in-lieu.
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