July 22, 2023
By Valentina Shamoun and Sydney John-Baptise, both Torontonians and members of BGC Canada’s National Youth Council
Dear Future Mayor – Toronto is a vibrant, multicultural city. The sheer number of traditions and opportunities – from jobs to culture to entertainment – draw people from around the world to live, study and work here. But without young people, this vibrancy is at risk.
Young people are finding it harder and harder to live here. We kept hearing that coming out of the pandemic, the city would come roaring back to life – prosperity, fun and relief that the worst was behind us and we could work toward fixing our city’s problems. It doesn’t feel that way living in Toronto these days. We are finding it hard to feel optimistic about our future here.
Dear Mayor, how are you going to help revive our city?
Young people can barely live here anymore. Did you know that the average age of Torontonians is now over 40? The average rent is over $2,500/month which is impossible for most young people to afford, pushing us further and further out to the edges of the city or out of the GTA altogether. We constantly hear that ‘young people don’t want to work’, especially in entry-level jobs, retail, and hospitality. That’s not it – we just can’t afford to live in Toronto and make those wages. Why would we commute into the city to make $16 an hour? Many of us are trying to get by on insufficient OSAP funds, piecing together part-time work, orare already drowning in student debt. It can take us an hour and a half to get from Scarborough to downtown in rush hour, each way. That’s 15 hours a week we could be working or studying instead. It just doesn’t make sense. We are worried about what downtown Toronto will look like in 5 or 10 years. Where will youth fit in?
What are you going to do immediately about violence on the TTC? Because most of us don’t feel safe. Ridership is down since pre-pandemic levels, but violence is up. Teens, especially young women, are taking the streetcar to the GO train in some areas because it’s not safe to be underground after dark with no cell service. It’s an expensive and inconvenient option that we resent. Dear Mayor, why does a world-class city not have cell service on subway trains in 2023? Youth don’t care about battles with big telecom. We cannot wait two years for this to happen – every day without it makes stepping underground feel like a roll of the dice.
How do you plan to advocate for marginalized youth and provide more mental health resources? More than 300 students have been involved in violent incidents so far this year. There is clearly a crisis in our schools. Students who are struggling, especially those with special needs, have been chronically under-served. Will you fight for equitable education and everyone’s right to feel safe in the classroom?
Dear Mayor, when was the last time you worked in the community? Spoke to someone who is unhoused unless you were in front a camera? Most youth want a mayor who has spent years working in the community because it’s the only way to truly understand the crisis going on now. The kind of mayor who cares less about showing up at the Pride Parade for a photo op and more about keeping trans kids safe and advocating for the health of 2S & LGBTQIA+ youth on a daily basis.
Dear Future Mayor, please don’t think we’ve lost hope. Young people need things to change and need you to show us you can get things done. Let us be a part of the strength of this great city we love so much.
