The Toronto Ward Boundary Review (TWBR) Final Report is now available. This report provides a recommendation for new municipal wards for the City of Toronto. The recommended ward structure can be implemented for the 2018 municipal election (lasting until the 2030 municipal election) if approved by City Council.
You’ll see that in the recommended new boundaries, Cabbagetown – Don Vale would remain part of one ward. Cabbagetown South and Regent Park neighbourhoods would be bisected along Dundas Street.The Recommended Ward 23 (RW23) is smaller geographically and in population than the current Ward 28.
Current Ward Boundaries:
Recommended Ward Boundaries:
Balancing (shifting) populations, social boundaries, natural boundaries, geographical (area) boundaries and historical borders is no easy feat as you’ll read in the full report. Ward 28, of which Cabbagetown is a part, is one of the 5 wards that currently has a population more than 25% larger than the average.
From the report:
For the 2010 municipal election, based on 2011 Census data, ward populations in Toronto ranged from 44,935 (Ward 29) to 88,440 (Ward 23). This represented a variation from 24.4% below to 48.8% above the average ward population of 59,433.
By the 2014 election the smallest ward was 45,440 (Ward 18) and the largest ward was now 94,600 (Ward 27). The variation around the average ward population size ranged from minus 25.03% to plus 56.07%. Therefore, the current Council finds itself in a situation where the range in ward populations, from smallest to largest, is over 75%. This unsustainable range has most likely increased since the election of 2014.
The Toronto Executive Committee will consider the Final Report on May 24, 2016. Toronto City Council will subsequently consider the report and make a final determination on any changes to Toronto’s ward boundaries. The Executive Committee and/or City Council may defer consideration of the matter to a subsequent meeting.
About the Toronto Ward Boundary Review
The Toronto Ward Boundary Review has looked at the size and shape of Toronto’s wards in order to ensure that each person in Toronto is fairly represented at City Council. Toronto’s significant growth has resulted in wards with populations above or below the current average of 61,000 with some wards 30 to 50 per cent above the average. The goal of the Review has been to ensure that the population in every ward is similar in size throughout the city. The City of Toronto has oversight of the Toronto Ward Boundary Review and the study has been carried out by a third-party team of consultants. More information about the Toronto Ward Boundary Review can be found at www.drawthelines.ca.
TWBR Final Report (drawthelines.ca)