The Toronto we must build

Toronto was never finished. It’s still being built—by people who arrive with ambition, raise families with hope, and believe things can keep getting better. This city isn’t a museum piece. It’s a living project. And its best days are still ahead.

But right now, we’re getting in our own way. Housing is scarce. Transit is incomplete. Infrastructure lags behind. City Hall still treats growth like a problem—and too often, we cheer for mediocrity and call it progress. The result? A world-class city stuck in neutral—one that’s harder to move through, harder to afford, and harder to build in than it should be.

We believe Toronto can be something greater: a magnet for talent, a home for young families, a global hub of culture, capital, and connection. A city that runs well, welcomes newcomers, and makes room for people to build lives and businesses they’re proud of.

We’re not here to manage decline. We’re here to build again—with a clear set of principles to guide Toronto’s future:

• Toronto is Canada’s launchpad. Toronto should be where the country pilots its boldest ideas. To lead nationally, we need more than plans—we need serious people willing to stand behind them. That’s why Build Toronto is equipping the city’s civic and economic leaders to take ownership of reforms that won’t wait for Ottawa or Queen’s Park.
  
• Growth drives opportunity. Cities don’t succeed by saying no. Growth brings energy, investment, and the scale needed to support jobs, housing, and infrastructure. Affordability isn’t guaranteed—but without growth, it’s off the table. Scarcity is stagnation. Growth is how we move forward.
  
• Toronto’s future is urban. We are a city—not a suburb—and we should plan, build, and govern like it. Density, transit, walkability, and public life aren’t niche preferences—they are the foundation of a productive, globally competitive city.
• Talent belongs here. Toronto should keep its best—and attract the world’s best. Talent follows opportunity, culture, and quality of life. A city that works well earns its talent and keeps it.
  
• Cities are for people. Toronto is the daily interface for millions of lives. It should feel like it was designed with them in mind—clean streets, beautiful buildings, reliable transit, and public spaces that work. When we treat residents as users, not obstacles, the whole city performs better.
  
• Courage over caution. Toronto has been governed too cautiously for too long—risk-averse, slow-moving, and captured by the status quo. That’s starting to change. People are ready to build. Now we need leadership that’s ready to say yes—and mean it.
  
• Make every dollar count. Toronto has the resources to build a world-class city—but we waste too much on process and too little on results. We need to tax more efficiently and spend more effectively, focusing on outcomes that actually improve daily life. When we invest wisely, we can deliver more with what we already have.
  

Build Toronto is a civic movement for those who want to see this city lead again.

Not just in ambition. Not just in size. But in what a great city can be. Let’s build the Toronto we know is possible – the greatest and freest city on earth.