Toronto - The 2023 Canadian City Parks Report

We’ve switched to biennial data gathering for the city profiles — The data available here was collected in early 2022 and originally published in last year’s Canadian City Parks Report.

City Profile

Toronto

2022

Ontario

Population: 2,794,356

Toronto is one of 20% of cities with a biodiversity strategy.
Toronto is above average for percentage of parkland that is natural area for cities over 500,000 residents at 46%.
Toronto is one of 53% of cities with a park system master plan updated within the last 10 years.

The city is developing the High Park Movement Strategy to improve mobility to and within one of the city’s most visited large urban parks. Through ongoing community and stakeholder engagement, the strategy will prioritize safety, accessibility and ecological integrity while improving the park’s travel network.
The city is moving forward with Indigenous naming and re-naming of facilities and parks, including the Ethennonnhawahstihnen' Community Recreation Centre and Library, and Wonscotonach Parklands.
Project ambassadors, who are paid and trained to engage members of their own communities, are being employed for park projects in equity-deserving neighbourhoods. This approach was used in the redesign of St. James Town West Park and is planned to be used in upcoming community recreation centre design processes.

2.9

ha of parks & green space / 1000 people

Total parks and green space

Total hectares of parkland and green space that is publicly accessible and owned, leased, or under a management agreement by the municipality. This number should capture all parks and green spaces that are perceived/used by residents similarly to parkland.

Specifically, it should include:

Actively managed parkland
Natural parkland/areas
Other municipally owned, managed, or leased open spaces that are used as public green space

Excludes:

Golf courses
School yards, if owned/maintained by the municipality
Active (open) cemeteries
Sports stadia
Parking lots
Institutional and other publicly owned green space
Other parks/green spaces that are not owned, managed or leased by the municipality (e.g. privately owned public spaces)

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8,086 ha total

46%

of parkland is natural area

Natural parkland

A natural area is a green space which receives a relatively low level of maintenance and supports natural or naturalizing vegetation. Natural areas may be publicly accessible (e.g. via trail networks) or areas with limited/little public access.

Natural areas may include:

trails or walkways
washrooms
environmentally sensitive/protected areas
stormwater ponds/water bodies located within natural areas

Excludes:

parking lots
actively managed parkland

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3,693 ha total

54 %

of parkland is actively managed

Actively managed parkland

Total hectares of parkland that is actively maintained by the municipality for community use. These parks often contain built and natural amenities such as: park furniture, planted trees/beds, sports fields, playgrounds, and mown grass.

Includes:

plazas and “grey” spaces used for public recreation, when maintained by the parks department
small ponds/water bodies located within actively managed park spaces

Excludes:

natural areas
hazard lands
school yards
active (open) cemeteries
golf courses
sports stadia
parking lots

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4,393 ha total

13%

of total city land is parkland

63,406 ha of total city area

Dog parks

Off-leash dog areas

Includes both standalone dog parks and off-leash dog areas within parks.

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Community gardens/urban farms

Community gardens/urban farms are food-growing gardens available for the public to use that may require membership. This includes community orchards.

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876

Playgrounds

A playground refers to an area with purpose-built children’s playground equipment present, and may have just one single item of equipment or several items located together.

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178

Public washrooms

Total number of permanent public washrooms in parks that are open year-round or seasonally. Excludes portable toilets.

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45 winterized public washrooms

Parkland Map

View Toronto’s parkland map

$58

Parks operating expenditures / person

Operating expenditures (actuals)

Direct operating expenditures (not including revenues) for 2021 for maintaining parks and natural areas. This number will be used with your current year population to understand operating budget spent per person.

Includes:

planting and maintenance of trees in park/natural areas
graffiti & vandalism repair
management, administration & operational staff salaries
consultant/contractor costs
parks horticultural plantings
maintenance of closed cemeteries if carried out from the parks operating budget
parks litter pickup & waste disposal
inspection and maintenance of splash pads, playgrounds & outdoor fitness equipment
maintenance & replacement of park furniture
public toilets where maintained from parks budget
sports field maintenance
snow clearing and ice control for parks & natural areas
any other parks/green space maintenance costs except cemetery costs where the cemetery is "active"

Excludes: golf courses, swimming pools, indoor recreation facilities/halls, forestry, and zoos.

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$162,681,565 total

$75,120,541

Parks capital expenditures

Capital expenditures (actuals)

Capital expenditure for all capital items related to land improvement works completed during the 2021 financial year.

It includes:

Both new and renewal work
Capital items carried forward from previous years
Salaries and wages for all staff involved in the design, planning and delivery of capital projects.

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