Canada’s largest cities are growing faster than ever, and no place illustrates this better than Toronto. Third-quarter data for 2024 show the city added 268,911 residents in just one year (July 31 2022 – July 31 2023).
As of July 1 2024, Toronto’s census metropolitan area tops 7 million people—remarkable when you consider Canada’s nationwide population gains averaged roughly 400,000 per year from 2010 to 2019.
For any property management company, such explosive growth signals rising demand for well-run rentals and new opportunities in the housing market.
Key Takeaways:
- Toronto’s census metropolitan area population surpassed 7 million in mid-2024.
- The city’s population growth surged by 3.9% in a single year.
- Population growth is outpacing Canadian and U.S. counterparts.
- Continued public and private investment is driving strong economic activity.
- Demand for housing continues to drive up property prices across much of Canada.
Much like Canada, Toronto has become a magnet for international residents moving here due to progressive immigration policies, favorable laws, fair taxes, and better access to public services, including schools, universities, and a colorful community of entrepreneurs taking advantage of the near endless economic opportunities the city has to offer.
The arrival of new residents, both domestic and international, has been on an upward trend before the pandemic. Data shows that between 2019 – 2022 Toronto’s population increased from 6.4 million to approximately 6.5 million.
Based on the most recent data, Toronto’s population is rapidly outpacing other major Canadian and U.S. cities. The metropolitan’s population boom of 221,588 over the 12 months (July 31, 2022 – July 31, 2023) was much faster compared to places such as Dallas and Houston, Texas. Both these areas noted an increase in new residents of 152,598 and 139,789, respectively.
Zooming in, Toronto’s central city population, which includes neighborhoods such as Bloor-Yorkville, Discovery District, Downtown, and Harbourfront, among others had a population increase of 125,756 compared to 21,970 people in the central district of San Antonio, Texas.
Toronto has become a magnet for residents alike, as the city boasts an upscale standard of living and wider access to public services. Growing communities of non-residents continue to be a strong driver of net population growth due to favorable immigration policies, fair provisional taxes, and economic opportunities.
The city has quickly climbed the ranks as being one of the biggest, and fastest growing urban areas in North America. Boasting an array of multi-cultural attractions, and a dynamic and inclusive economy, Toronto is fast-tracking its reputation as one of the best places to live and work in North America.
Figure 1: Projected population Growth of Toronto 2006-2016 & 2020-2030.
Source: City of Toronto.
Toronto’s Unstoppable Rise: From Port Village to Major City
Since its founding in 1793, Toronto, known back then as the Town of York and the capital of Upper Canada served as an important and valuable link between greater North America, Britain, Europe, and the 13 original colonies of the United States of America.
While the history of Toronto is nothing short of complicated, throughout the centuries the then-small port village had undergone tremendous industrial and urban expansion during various technological and economic revolutionary periods.
By the early 1800s, the extension of the Oswego helped to connect southern Ontario to New York City, helping to transform Toronto into a major point of imports and exports for local merchants and further cultivating an everlasting relationship between Canada and the U.S.
The connection not only helped to transfer goods across the water faster, but improved communication between the two countries, and boosted agricultural expansion across the city.
Only after the Second World War, and well into the 1960s Toronto’s economy began to move away from traditional industrial activities, and started diversifying economic opportunities for residents.
By 1976, Toronto surpassed Montreal as Canada’s largest and fastest-growing city following the amalgamation of 13 adjacent boroughs, and an additional five boroughs by late 1998. By the turn of the century, the City of Toronto limits were set, and development quickly began to sprawl outwards and upwards to keep up with rising demand.
In 2015 Toronto’s skyline was beginning to change dramatically. More than 40 skyscrapers, rising above 500 feet had already been built, and the city quickly became known as one of the most diverse metropolitans in North America.
Nearly a decade later, census data revealed that 51 percent, more than half of the city’s residents, were born outside of Canada. Development in and around the metropolitan area continues to expand at an accelerated pace, becoming a nexus of trade, commercial activity, and cultural center.
Toronto’s Tech Renaissance
The technology sector remains a strong driving force in generating new revenue streams for the city. The local tech scene has undergone tremendous transformation in recent years and currently ranks 4th in CBRE’s Scoring Tech Talent ranking.
Between 2018 and 2023 Toronto tech-based companies and startups added more than 95,000 new technology jobs, representing a 44% increase. Improvements follow a series of various economic challenges that created major hurdles for the tech industry, including major layoffs during the pandemic, brutal traffic congestion, and rising demand for affordable housing.
Traditionally speaking, the technology sector has largely been focused on delivering high-end digital solutions to supercharge human productivity and corporate output. The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) has meant that tech-focused enterprises are turning their attention towards these developments to remain competitive in a saturated market.
Nonetheless, opportunities in artificial intelligence have helped create a high demand for a new generation of tech workers. Cities including Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal account for 60% of Canada’s 41,374 AI workers, according to the CBRE report.
Canada is close on the heels of leading AI markets, including the United States. The local tech industry employed roughly 46% of total AI-speciality talent compared to 48% in the U.S. Neighboring New York Metro, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle currently hold the largest volume of AI workers by market share.
Finance, Manufacturing, Transportation, and Administration
Technology isn’t the only sector that helps to keep Toronto a world-class city. Toronto is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and has the privilege of having five of the six largest national banks located in the city. Though smaller in comparison to other stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the TSX is considered to be one of the largest in North America in terms of value trading.
Manufacturing, construction, and railway further diversify the city’s local economy, and the province of Ontario produces more than half of Canada’s manufactured goods, including the majority of manufactured exports. The industry continues to change, with local manufacturers creating more specialized production lines.
Administration, including corporate and business, has among the largest number of workforce occupants in the city. In 2020, around 299,871 residents were employed in the administration sector. Out of the total 42,070 firms operating in the city, 11,958 firms have employees.
Strong relationships between the public and private sectors have helped drive the city’s economy, allowing residents access to a better quality of living, improved job opportunities, better public services, and progressive development action plans to revitalize local and indigenous communities.
Toronto: A Model of Multicultural Integration
Toronto’s approach to building a highly culturally diverse community of residents has largely been possible through dynamic immigration targets. During the last couple of years, the city and broader Canada have introduced new immigration policies that seek to attract highly skilled foreign workers and minimize the burden on domestic industries and the labor market.
Currently, immigrant communities and individuals born outside of Canada make up the majority of residents in Toronto. Census data collected in 2021 showed that 1,286,145 people were foreign-born residents, in Canada accounting for 46.6% of the country’s residents.
Between 2016 and 2021, Toronto welcomed 198,040 new immigrants, which accounts for 15.4% of the immigrant population. New foreign-born residents arrive from all corners of the world, but the top three places of birth among immigrants in Toronto include the Philippines, China, and India.
The ability to carefully blend both Canadian and international cultures has made Toronto not only an immigrant-friendly place to live, work, and study, but the ability to cater to the needs of people and help them build a sustainable life here has made Toronto one of the best places to live when moving to Canada.
Figure 2: Projected growth of immigrants as share of Canadian population from 1871 – 2041.
Source: New Canadian Media
Preparing For Modern Challenges
Being a city that attracts thousands of new residents each year has been the subject of contention, as local developers, community members, city planners, and residents are becoming increasingly concerned regarding land zoning regulations for higher-density development to sustain the growing population.
Despite the property and development boom, continued concern regarding architectural integrity, quality of construction, and sustainability remain at the top of priorities city officials are looking to achieve more effectively.
Fortunately, residential and commercial property management in Toronto has seen strong improvements over the last several years, ensuring effective real estate investment property management for investors and local buyers.
For property owners that have rental properties, rental management in Toronto is more than collecting rental income each month or overseeing several important duties. Property management services can help source the right tenants, assist with marketing a property, and lighten the legal burden of having a rental property.
Property management companies in Toronto help oversee the maintenance and upkeep of rental units and buildings. Using professional property management service providers, developers, along with rental property owners can preserve the architectural integrity of local communities.
Furthermore, affordability has become another lingering concern for many people, not only new permanent residents but for residents who have largely been priced out of the local real estate market due to rising costs, higher interest rates, and stronger demand.
To counter rising property prices across the country, the federal government passed the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act in 2022. The new law would prohibit non-Canadian residents and foreign property investors from buying residential property in Canada.
Figure 3: Average House Price In Canada January 2016 – January 2025
Source: Trading Economics
The ban on foreign ownership of Canadian housing and real estate is currently set to expire by the start of 2025, however, recent legislation changes have now extended that ban until 2027.
The law was designed to help ease the burden of property management fees, home rental management, and skyrocketing housing prices many would-be buyers and renters experienced across the country. However, it’s still not clear how successful the prohibition has been, and whether it’s made a significant impact on local real estate prices.
Due to the influx of new residents moving to the city, many would-be buyers and current property owners are partnering with commercial and residential property management companies in Toronto to help lessen the burden, and provide more convenient service to tenants.
The long-term impact remains to be seen, however, local governments are trying to push forward with providing more affordable housing developments and introducing several new laws that could limit domestic and international investors from buying up property, and causing further disruptions in the supply chain.
Changing Narratives on Immigration
Federal immigration policies are beginning to take a more conservative approach as the government seeks to introduce more stringent immigration cutbacks in the coming years. The government aims to reduce the number of new permanent residents accepted by 21% in 2025.
In 2024, the government announced plans to reduce the number of international students by 35% to 360,000 by 2026. Changes to these visa programs would make it harder for international students to legally live and work following post-graduate studies from Canadian institutions. The plans included discontinuing work permits for international students.
At the beginning of 2025, plans were announced to further cap the number of foreign students allowed to enter the country for a second year in a row. Canada plans on issuing only 437,000 study permits in 2025, representing a 10% reduction from 2024.
Changing political and social narratives regarding immigration have seen Canadian officials take more measured actions against rising immigration numbers, and to ease the pressure on housing, healthcare, and other public services.
The new laws would reduce the intake of international students by 35% to 360,000 by 2026. These changes would make it harder for international students to legally live and work in Canada post-graduation, and would further discontinue work permits for some students.
Changes to immigration policies come as a way to help ease the burden of the housing shortage, something that has been witnessed across the country, including in cities such as Toronto.
This would not only have an impact on the country’s economy but could potentially lower Canada’s reputation for being an open, inclusive, and diverse nation that has largely been built through the knowledge and skills of immigrants.
Toronto In The Spotlight
Comparing Toronto against other cities in North America isn’t an easy task, considering the amount of cultural, social, and economic elements you will need to factor into the equation.
However, based on the economic and cost of living, Toronto seems to stand out against its nearest contender, Vancouver. While renting and buying property in both these cities remain historically high, Toronto is seemingly more affordable in terms of cost of living, offering residents a more attractive real estate market.
Similarly, income and wages are roughly the same in Toronto compared to Vancouver, with the average livable wage in Toronto being $25.05 per hour, while being slightly higher at $25.68 in Vancouver.
Additionally, the city is acclaimed as being one of the most welcoming places for new residents, including international workers and immigrants. Some data shows that non-Canadian citizens account for 17.2% of the city’s total population in 2021. More than this, immigration in the city has been moving upward over the last several decades, growing from 123,000 new permanent residents in 2001 to roughly 160,000 in 2021.
The ability to carefully blend both Canadian and international cultures has made Toronto not only an immigrant-friendly place to live, work, and study, but the ability to cater to the needs of people and help them build a sustainable life here has made Toronto one of the best places to live when moving to Canada.
Despite being a welcoming city, problems regarding the high cost of living, interest rates, and unaffordable housing remain among the biggest problems many current and new residents are having to face.
To counter rising property prices across the country, the federal government passed the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act in 2022. The new law would prohibit non-Canadian residents and foreign property investors from buying residential property in Canada.
The ban on foreign ownership of Canadian housing and real estate is currently set to expire by the start of 2025, however, recent legislation changes have now extended that ban until 2027.
The law was designed to help ease the burden of property management fees, home rental management, and skyrocketing housing prices many would-be buyers and renters experienced across the country. However, it’s still not clear how successful the prohibition has been, and whether it’s made a significant impact on local real estate prices.
Elsewhere in the beginning of 2024, the Canadian federal government has approved new legislation that would impose a two-year cap on new international student permits.
The new laws would reduce the intake of international students by 35% to 360,000 by 2026. These changes would make it harder for international students to legally live and work in Canada post-graduation, and would further discontinue work permits for some students.
Changes to these immigration policies come as a way to help ease the burden of the housing shortage, something that has been witnessed across the country, including in cities such as Toronto.
New requirements could mean that many of the country’s largest institutions could see a sudden decline in international students, a vital source of skills for many colleges, universities, and other top Canadian institutes.
This would not only have an impact on the country’s economy but could potentially deteriorate Canada’s reputation for being an open, inclusive, and diverse nation that has largely been built through the knowledge and skills of immigrants.
Toronto’s Future: A City Designed for the Next Generation
Much to the imagination, Toronto is a city that continues to surpass everyone’s expectations, helping to bridge the divide among its residents, and creating a surplus of new opportunities for residents and internationals.
While not everything is without its challenges, Toronto is a city that carefully blends both the rich cultural history of Canada and the local region, while keeping its eyes on the future and enabling residents to create a modern city that leads as a global capital of progressive innovation.
Toronto is a place that helps to inspire other cities, acting as an example of the amount of planning and meticulous consideration needed to build a modern city that is not only as diverse as its residents and those that came before it, but acting as a precedent of what the city of tomorrow can become with the right leadership and people’s willingness to adapt to change.
Figure 3: Average property sale price in Greater Toronto Area 1996 – 2023.
Source: Move Smartly
