People are choosing to leave GTA rather than endure the struggles

By Michael Giles, Director of Government Relations RESCON

December 1st, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

A recent poll by Environics Analytics for CTV News reports that last year 35,000 households left the Greater Toronto Area.

That’s not 35,000 people, it’s 35,000 households, so based on an average household size of three people, that’s more than 100,000 people deciding to relocate.

In discussions with friends about challenges facing people in the GTA, particularly the young, one thing I always point out is that people have a choice if day-to-day living is too challenging. They can leave.

The importance of these numbers is that so many of these people who are choosing to leave are young people. They are future workers and taxpayers that are making the decision that the GTA is just not the best place for them to realize their career goals, dreams of home ownership and the desire to live comfortable lives.

Statistically, young people tend to be the bigger risk-takers and therefore the demographic from which societies find their entrepreneurs.  So, when you have this group of people leaving it really is a warning bell.   We simply cannot afford to lose this future generation of GTA residents to other places.

So, why are people choosing to leave the GTA, often referred to as one of the best places in the world in which to live?

Because increasingly, this is simply not how they, or people from around the world, see this region of the country anymore.

While it’s important to note that the region dropped two places in just one year, it’s worse when you go back to 2010 and find that CNBC had Toronto in the number four spot among the world’s cities. Again, we’re going the wrong way.

What is driving the frustration to levels that see people deciding to leave?

First and foremost, it just costs too much to live in the GTA, particularly if you’re young and just starting out. With respect to housing, we’ve all heard the seemingly endless stories of young people struggling to either rent or buy a first home.

The cost-to-income ratio for them is just too divergent to be able to afford to live on their own.

We’ve all heard of the increasing phenomenon of young people having to remain living at home with parents due to costs of living.

Statistically, we’re looking at about one-third of 18-24-year-olds still living at home.

Second, the cost of living aside from housing is also increasing all the time.

Take a walk into your local grocery store and you’ll see it. In my local store I pass by the prepared foods section. I take note of the packaged sandwiches which in three years have gone from $4.50 or so to $7.50.

Impose that increase across all grocery products and you can see why people find it hard to afford to buy the food they need.

As for congestion, the endless hours people spend in congestion, often the result of poor municipal transportation planning and road closures, increases frustration and reduces quality of life.

On public safety, people simply don’t feel as safe as they used to across the GTA.

If you don’t feel safe on our streets, where do you go from there?

I could go on, but suffice to say, governments, and indeed all of us, simply need to do a better job than we’ve been doing.

We can’t remain prosperous for long when our youngest and best and brightest come to the conclusion that it’s better to pack up and leave than endure endless struggles just to have a good life in our cities.