Data-led initiatives in Toronto, Canada

This city profile is part of a series of ten, exploring how cities around the world are addressing health inequalities. Read the full report and sign up to receive more insights from us.

About Toronto

While only a third the size of London, Toronto is the most populous city in Canada. Despite its smaller size, it resembles London in that it is highly multicultural, with 51.5% of residents belonging to a minority ethnic group. The 2016 census found that 47% of Toronto residents were immigrants.

Spread across 630 square kilometres, Toronto has a central downtown district of dense skyscrapers ringed by medium density neighbourhoods featuring extensive green space and local commercial corridors. Toronto has the largest public transport system in the country and third largest in North America, but it does not provide consistent coverage across the city, leaving many lower income and minority communities with poor access to transport.

Canada uses a national system of universal healthcare, which overall has produced positive health outcomes for Canadian people, particularly in comparison to the United States. Studies have demonstrated that Canadians are more likely to have a regular doctor and less likely to have unmet health needs or forgo necessary medication in contrast to their American counterparts.

While Canadian healthcare provision is shown to reduce many health disparities, significant gaps still exist in urban centres such as Toronto. Studies by Toronto Public Health found that in an assessment of 34 health status indicators, 20 are significantly inequitable, with low-income groups demonstrating worse health outcomes. Notably, these inequities are not improving over time. Over a ten-year period, health inequities persisted for 16 indicators and worsened for four indicators. Only one indicator showed any improvement in equity during the same period.