Torontonians are worried the city is losing its status as Canada’s top business hub and are blaming city hall for chasing away companies through wasteful spending and unfavourable tax policies, says a report from the Fraser Institute.
The think-tank’s study — “Is Toronto in Decline? Worrying Trends from the Census” — argues that the nation’s largest city is “failing to keep pace with other Canadian cities” as its median income lags the national average and the city hemorrhages coveted management, business and finance jobs.
The report says the study will serve as the foundation for future “urban policy” research spearheaded by former Ontario premier Mike Harris and former federal opposition leader Preston Manning.
But in conjunction with its study, the Fraser Institute also released a COMPAS opinion poll highlighting “growing” concern among Torontonians that “city hall is failing to adequately plan for the future.”
Sixty-two per cent of respondents said the city does not spend money efficiently and 63 per cent believe its tax policies are driving business away. Forty per cent worry Toronto is falling behind other cities such as Calgary or Vancouver.
