海角社区官网

In addition to the poll, we dispatched 20 reporters across the city 鈥� on the same day 鈥斕齮o gauge the sentiment on the streets.听In doing so, we spoke with 115 different residents.

“People were telling us through the survey that they actually liked 海角社区官网a lot,” said Darrell Bricker, global CEO, public affairs at Ipsos. “It’s a desirable place to be. It’s an aspirational place to be. But right now, they’re asking questions about whether or not this works for them.”

As much as people want to love the Six, the Ipsos poll and our street surveys revealed deep听concerns with the city.听The biggest for most residents was the city’s runaway cost-of-living crisis, followed by the lack of听affordable housing and a perceived surge in crime, according to Ipsos.

On the opposite end, Torontonians were most positive about their city’s arts and culture scene, as well as the community connection, the poll revealed.

Through it all, there remains a prevailing sense of cautious optimism 鈥� especially among young newcomers and “people who seem to be struggling the most” 鈥� that things will eventually get better, Bricker said.

Take a look at Toronto’s report card. The results might surprise you.

Arts and culture on the upswing

Despite the city declaring that听“culture in 海角社区官网is in a state of crisis” last year听鈥� and subsequently embarking on a听multimillion-dollar quest to save its art scene听鈥� residents seem generally pleased with the state of arts and culture in Toronto.

Ipsos respondents gave this category one of the highest grades in the whole report card, with the bulk of Torontonians grading it between a C (43 per cent) and a B (31 per cent).

“海角社区官网is one of the best cities in the country for sports and arts and music,” Carly Stephens, 30, a waitress in the area of Bayview Leaside, told the Star. She gave the category an A: “You get all the big concerts, so it always is a massive draw. And that’s my favourite part about this place.”

Support for arts and culture also happens to be the only category where more people feel it’s improving than getting worse, according to the Ipsos report. It’s by a slim margin听鈥� but it still counts.

“It’s good, but it can be better,” said听Quentin VerCetty, 34, a sculptor and artist who grew up in Rexdale. He gave arts and culture a C, saying that while Rexdale has plenty of festivals and sporting events, there’s still a lack of funding for public art.

The cost of housing is squeezing out artists, he said: “If you make it more affordable to live, you’ll see more cultural expression.”

The people we asked were more positive than Ipsos’s cohort, with the verdict tipping toward an A 鈥� possibly because we also looped Toronto’s sports scene into this category.

Forty-two per cent of residents who spoke to the Star gave arts, culture and sports an A. Thirty-nine per cent gave it a B. Not a single person gave it an F.

“海角社区官网has an incredible听art culture,” said Genevieve Flavelle, 34, an academic, curator and artist near Spadina鈥擣ort York. Unfortunately, the art sector has听been hit hard by the affordability crisis: “As property is so expensive and rents are so high, it鈥檚 harder for galleries and cultural spaces to stay open in the downtown core.

“It鈥檚 hard for new things to open, it’s hard to have that sort of grassroots arts culture happening 鈥� but in general, we have an amazing arts scene,” said Flavelle, ultimately giving this category an A.

Housing and affordability: ‘It’s hard to get by these days’

海角社区官网has been weathering a housing crisis for years, with one recent report finding the city needs to build 32,000 houses a year over the next decade just to get back to pre-pandemic affordability. At the same time, Torontonians now need to make at least $26 an hour听鈥� nearly $9 more than the minimum wage听鈥� to make ends meet, according to a report last November.

It’s little wonder then, that Ipsos respondents named cost of living as their top concern and housing affordability a close second. The bulk of residents gave both categories a failing grade.

“Not only is it expensive to buy, it’s expensive to rent,” said Juno Award-winning rapper Shad, 43. ”There鈥檚鈥痭ot the renter protection, even though it’s a majority renter city, you know what I mean?

“It’s got to become livable, one way or the other,” Shad continued. He gave affordability a B-.

“People just need to not have stress around one of the basic necessities of life, which is shelter.”

Ipsos grouped cost of living and housing affordability into two separate categories. Of the former, 35 per cent gave it an F and 28 per cent a D. People were more negative regarding housing affordability, with 37 per cent grading it an F and 28 per听cent a D.

People with an annual income of $40,000 or less were most likely to give housing and affordability a failing grade. Meanwhile, boomers and homeowners tended to score both categories higher.

“People are just feeling like it’s very hard to get by these days ... and the people who feel this the most are the people you would hope would bring vitality to the city听鈥� younger people, people who are young parents and new Canadians,” said Ipsos’s Bricker.

It has resulted in an exodus of young workers from the GTA in recent years. Of the poll respondents who are considering leaving Toronto,听nearly 70 per cent said it was because the city is “too expensive.”

“How do young people live here? They can鈥檛 buy a house,”听said Aki Sagara, 31, a full-time mom in the Danforth, who gave housing an F.听“We鈥檙e living in a small condo, four of us. I can鈥檛 afford an upgrade.”

More than eight in 10 Torontonians agreed that “we’ve lost control of the housing situation in Toronto,” while three-quarters say owning a home is “only for the rich”听鈥� although current homeowners were less inclined to agree on both fronts.

Of the Ipsos respondents who do not own a home, more than three-quarters believe they will never be able to afford a house or apartment in Toronto.

On the street, the sentiment wasn’t much better: 43 per cent gave this category an F, while 26 per cent gave it a D. Just three people graded affordability as an A.

The issue is getting worse, said Kitty Raman Costa,听executive director of the Parkdale Community Food Bank. In 2020, her food bank was serving 1,500 people a month. Last month, she said it served more than 15,000.

“I do feel like the city, in its current state, is really failing at affordability,” Costa, who gave affordability an F+, told the Star. “In the area of housing, that’s where most of our clients are spending like 100 per cent, or close to 100 per cent of their income now, leaving nothing for them to purchase other essentials like food and clothing.”

TTC safety a problem

Torontonians were more favourable toward public transit, with the largest chunk of Ipsos respondents giving the category a C.

People who commute to work were most likely to give public transit a fail, as well as those with a household income under $40,000.

Residents generally liked the TTC, Bricker said听鈥� but many felt unsafe riding the subway. According to the poll, more than four in 10 respondents say they feel the TTC is not safe.

A spate of听stabbings, swarmings,听shovings and other attacks on the TTC in recent years have grabbed headlines, potentially contributing to riders’ unease. But Bricker said it might not be so simple听鈥� the people most likely to feel unsafe on public transit were regular users. “People are probably seeing it themselves, maybe even experiencing it,” Bricker said.

After initiating multiple interventions and programs to tamp down crime,听听in crimes against customers as of July, compared to early 2023. But crimes against TTC employees have recently spiked.

“I don鈥檛 feel safe in the TTC right now,” said Marcela Fernandes, 39, a software consultant who gave the category a D. “I鈥檝e lived in different cities and I think the buses and trains here are great. But in terms of safety right now, not good.”

Demographically, the people most likely to feel unsafe on the TTC were those with a household income between $40,000 and $60,000, women, people aged 35 to 54 and nonhomeowners. It’s a common trend among every category, Bricker said 鈥� those most inclined to feel 海角社区官网isn’t working for them are “younger, less affluent, newer Canadians struggling to get by.”

When asked by our reporters, residents had mixed reactions. The largest slice of responses听鈥� 27 per cent of people听鈥� graded public transit as a C.

Some, such as Jennifer Dallsingh, 55, in Willowdale, expressed frustration over delays: “Public transit is either breaking down ... or buses are not working and trains aren’t working,” she said, giving it an F. “You can’t use public transit and you can’t drive because you pay too much for parking. We need flying cars.”

But others, including Markirat Singh, 20, a machine operator in Scarborough, felt that hiccups were few听and far between. He gave it an A: “Public transit is good 鈥� excellent, I would say.”

Traffic: ‘We’re becoming notorious’

海角社区官网traffic has consistently been ranked among the worst in the world, earning the dubious honour of being named the very worst in all of North America in 2023. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that residents are ... less than pleased.

Traffic in the city had the second-worst grade next to housing and affordability, with the largest slice of Ipsos respondents听鈥� 34 per cent听鈥� giving it a failing F.

Generation X and people over 55 were the most incensed by far, with 45 per cent of these groups giving traffic a failing grade.

“Easy F 鈥� this one’s terrible,” said听Derwin Remedios, a 44-year-old in the Danforth who works for the province.听“I think it’s just getting worse and worse as we’re probably all experiencing.”

Sixty-two per cent of Ipsos respondents agree that traffic is getting worse. Just 12 per cent believe it’s getting better 鈥� even after the announcement of a so-called traffic czar听to de-clog the streets.

More than eight in 10 respondents agreed that 海角社区官网would be a better place to live if traffic weren’t as bad as it is. More than six in 10 residents said traffic “negatively impacts my day-to-day life,” while over half felt traffic is so bad it “makes me want to leave the city.”

All that said, some residents told us that, discounting the construction holdups, Toronto’s traffic feels reasonable for an urban metropolis. “You’re in the city of Toronto. It’s a big city,” said Port Union realtor Ross Macdonald, 59, giving traffic a B.听

Just over 40 per cent of Ipsos respondents agreed, believing the traffic to be normal for a city the size of Toronto.

But most people we spoke to weren’t so kind in their assessments. The biggest slice听鈥斕�43 per cent of residents听鈥� gave traffic an F.

“We鈥檙e鈥痓ecoming notorious for just how difficult (traffic) is,” said Daniel Henkel, 35, a West Queen West-based actor working in the service industry. He rated traffic at C-. “I work at a place where we get a lot of international people coming in and the first thing they say is like how impossible it was to get there.”

Ipsos found no clear consensus on whether the city should expand, maintain or reduce its bike lanes. That’s following Premier Doug Ford’s crusade to tear out certain bike paths in Toronto in the name of improving congestion听鈥� despite 听and his own government听suggesting their removal is unlikely to help.

“Traffic is atrocious since they added those bike lanes in,” said听Joshua Gallagher, 38, a Scarborough-based iron worker. For him, traffic is an F.

Community connection: Feeling welcome

Community connection is one area that residents feel 海角社区官网does best, second only to its support for the arts.

In the Ipsos poll, 43 per cent of respondents gave community connection a C, and 25 per cent a B. Bricker believes this category is more demographically united than the rest as well.

“I think people who are finding their way in the city, regardless of their demographic background, are probably feeling reasonably well about it,” he said.

Our reporters saw similar levels of positivity on the street, with the largest chunk of people, 42 per cent, giving this category a B.

It all ties into Toronto’s arts and culture scene, said Elizabeth Evans, 53, a restaurant owner in Willowdale. “There are a lot of opportunities for cultural events and inclusivity, and everybody feels welcome in all types of set-ups in Toronto,” she said, giving this category an A.

Actor, writer and director Jay Baruchel found Torontonians to be “incredibly kind and warm” after moving to the Beaches from Montreal a decade ago: “Especially in the east end of Toronto, the people have been incredibly kind and they say hello,” he told the Star, also giving it an A.听

“I love my home and I love my neighbourhood, but I participate in this one far more than I did back home.”

Others decried how isolated residents seemed to be. 海角社区官网was, after all, named among the loneliest places in Canada in 2023.

“People are so segregated now.听Everyone is doing their own thing. There鈥檚 not much of a sense of community,”听said Leo Casuga, 44, a fashion costume designer who moved to Little Portugal from Calgary. Casuga gave community connection a B.

Growing concerns over crime

, the major crime indicators, including assaults, thefts and homicides, are down across the board this year, dropping some 10 per cent overall compared to the same time last year. But that hasn’t stopped Torontonians from listing crime and safety amongst their foremost concerns.

Ipsos respondents even listed crime and safety as their third greatest concern, next to housing and affordability.

“We don’t usually see crime and safety as one of the top issues in the city of Toronto, but it certainly is now,” Bricker said. Compared to previous surveys, he said concerns over crime in the city have only grown in recent years.

But when it came to assigning a letter grade, people were more mixed. While a fair chunk gave it a failing F, the bulk of respondents听鈥� 34 per cent听鈥� gave crime and safety a C.听

Generation Z were more likely to score this category higher, as were those who’ve lived in 海角社区官网for less than five years and people with kids.

“Crime is so much worse since COVID,” said听Xiao Chen, 50,听behind the counter at Hong Food in Malvern Mall. She gave crime an F. “You hear ‘boom boom’ at night. It’s not like before, when it was very safe.”

Her concerns are reflected in the Ipsos poll: 56 per cent of respondents feel crime is getting worse, compared to the 14 per cent who say safety is improving.

That being said, seven-in-10 respondents agreed they generally felt safe in the city overall. More than 80 per cent said they feel safe in their own neighbourhoods.

“It鈥檚 a city. Versus other听cities, even in Canada, 海角社区官网is very safe,” said Allan Driedger, 63, who owns a house cleaning company in Leaside.听He gave this category an A, explaining: “I feel very safe. My young adult kids are safe.”

The largest chunk of residents our reporters spoke with 鈥� around 30 per cent听鈥� also gave crime and safety a C.

But while most generally felt safe living in Toronto, some said the near-constant shocking crimes on the news has them feeling uneasy.

“I love 海角社区官网but ... crime is getting worse. When you listen to the news, there’s always a killing or stabbing,” said听听Zohra Habib, 50, a听Don Valley East resident who graded crime an F.

Overall grade: ‘We’re at a flex point’

For all its flaws, people generally seemed to dig 海角社区官网鈥� although people are divided over the way it’s headed.

The Ipsos poll found 59 per cent of residents express a cautious optimism toward the city’s future.听Ironically, the people who feel most positively toward 海角社区官网also tend to have the most to lose.

“It’s the younger people. It’s younger parents, those who ride their bikes to work, those who’ve lived in 海角社区官网for less than five years,” Bricker said. “It’s听the kind of place that they want to be听鈥� but they’re being forced to reconsider living here because they can’t afford to live here.”

On the flip side, the people most likely to be pessimistic about the city are largely older, more affluent residents who’ve lived in 海角社区官网for a long time. “Their view is that it was a better city before,” Bricker continued.听

“We’re very split on whether or not we think Toronto’s best days are ahead of us or behind us听鈥斕齭o we’re at a flex point right now,” he said. “We’ve reached a point in public opinion where people are saying: ‘It’s a decisive time for Toronto. What are we going to be?’”

While Ipsos didn’t ask for an overall grade for the city, we did听鈥� and the results are more positive than negative. The bulk of people, around 44 per cent, gave 海角社区官网a B. Just four per cent gave it an F.

“I think the community aspects and the cultural aspects make up for all the other stuff, like crime and safety or public transit,” said Valerie Shin, 20, a student in听Highland Creek who graded 海角社区官网an overall B+.

“We鈥檙e Canadians, we try to do our best,” concluded Hector Zuniga, 83, giving 海角社区官网an overall B.

“We鈥檙e respecting each other, and try our best to be a good citizen. That鈥檚 it, no matter what other people tell us.鈥�

Reporting by:听 Kate Allen, Nathan Bawaan, Ben Cohen, Mark Colley, Victoria Gibson, Mahdis Habibinia, Alyshah Hasham, Kevin Jiang, Reagan McSwain, Jason Miller, Raju Mudhar, Abby O鈥橞rien, Marco Chown Oved, Jennifer Pagliaro, Jim Rankin, Estella Ren, David Rider, Asma Sahebzada, Ben Spurr, Andy Takagi

Photography by: Michelle Mengsu Chang,听Steve Russell, Richard Lautens, Nick Lachance, Lance McMillan, Marco Chown Oved, Jim Rankin, Andrew Francis Wallace and Kelsey Wilson