Toronto wants residents to call on Ottawa to fill $235M city funding gap

The City of Toronto is urging residents to call on the federal government to provide $235 million to help cover a massive pandemic-related budget shortfall.

In a written statement today, the city says the federal government had committed to match provincial funding to cover expenses largely related to reduced transit revenues and increased shelter costs during the pandemic.

Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie says the city is now asking residents to contact their local MPs – by sending an email the city has provided a template for – to demand Ottawa support Toronto.

The city email template that residents are being encouraged to use states that without the federal funding, “future frontline services will be affected.”

“The City of Toronto does not have the resources or revenue tools to address the unprecedented financial pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said McKelvie.

“Beyond the immediate support of $235 million required for the 2022 Budget shortfall, a new fiscal framework for Toronto is absolutely required, one that recognizes our city’s complexity, diversity and significant contribution to the success of the region, province and country.”

Coun. Gary Crawford, who is also the chair of the budget committee, says the city and its residents have done what they can and its now up to the federal government to step up and provide the necessary funding.

“Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have identified more than $2.5 billion in City-led savings, offsets and mitigation efforts. This year, we introduced the largest residential property tax increase since amalgamation, and we have increased other taxes and fees such as the Municipal Accommodation Tax and TTC fares,” said Crawford.

McKelvie has previously said that the city’s next mayor will have to oversee cuts to services if help from other levels of government isn’t secured.

The city said it recently received $235 million in funding from the provincial government and noted Ontario has committed to providing $37 million in additional transit funding. Toronto said it has asked Ottawa to provide “at minimum” a matching $235 million to help with the budget shortfall.

Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in late March that Toronto had received “massive support” from Ottawa throughout the pandemic, including $1 billion as part of a program to help municipalities recover lost revenue.