The MC sits at the core of the fastest-growing central city in North America. It is the nexus of Ontario and Canada’s economic and innovation ecosystems. Pre-pandemic, it was facing challenges that come with such strong growth: congestion and a stressed transit system, affordability, and rising inequality.

The pandemic has had a deep impact on the Metropolitan Centre. The majority of workers in the MC shifted to remote or hybrid work. Visitor and tourist traffic declined sharply, resulting in $8.35 billion in lost economic activity tied to visitor spending for the City of Toronto in 2020. The MC’s once-bustling streets have grown quiet, with in-person spending declining by more than 60%. Questions are being raised about the prospect of workers returning to the MC at a pre-pandemic scale.

The pandemic, as tragic as it has been, is also a once-in-a-century opportunity to build back better and reimagine our urban environment and redesign our transportation systems to make them work better for everyone. We must leverage digital and smart city technology to build confidence that our core is a safe place to live, work, and visit. A post-pandemic recovery also requires a bold strategy to help revitalize the visitor economy and re-establish the MC as a preeminent destination for leisure and business tourism. Finally, we must seize this opportunity to reskill, upskill, and ultimately empower our workers.