What we won at the 2026 City Hall budget rally!

On February 10th, more than 100 community members from across northern Toronto headed downtown to join in advocating for a city budget that works for all! We made sure City Hall took NOTICE!

Last year when we mobilized our community and arrived at City Hall with hundreds of petitions and letters — we won. We secured increased funding for drop-in meal programs, increased funding for tenant supports, a TTC fare freeze and expanding the School Food Program. That's the power when people come together.

This year, we came back louder and stronger to call for investments to support our community, including:

• TTC fare freeze and cap to make transit more affordable
• Increased funding to rent bank to help prevent evictions 
• Universal school food program to help families save money on groceries 
• More city-run shelters to ensure no one goes cold this winter

We rallied outside City Hall with four speakers from North York Harvest Food Bank and over 250 people to demand better for our community. Then, our food bank contingent was invited into the Mayor's Office to meet with Mayor Chow -- an important opportunity on budget day to make sure decision-makers were paying attention. 

And once again, our community made itself heard.

With the collective advocacy by our community and coalition with Social Planning Toronto, the City Council added $2 Million in service enhancements directly supporting our community, including:

• $185,000 to increase legal services provided through the Toronto Tenant Support Program 
• $100,000 to support drop-in centres for winter and hygiene supplies 
• $30,000 to support our partner agency, the Weston Area Emergency Support
• $90,000 to fund a pilot program with Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation for a comprehensive pest removal strategy 

Overall, the final budget invests $30.445 million in new and enhanced city programs.

For renters, this includes:

• $2.6 million increase for the Rent Bank program, which provides grants to low-income individuals and families behind on rent or in need - bringing the total budget to $10.8 million, which will support 2,800 renters across our city 
• $996,500 in additional funding for RentSafeTO to make sure apartment buildings are liveable and safe
• $1 million to expand the Air Conditioner Pilot Program, which will provide 1000 AC units to those in need

For children and youth:

• $6 million to expand the Student Nutrition Program to feed over 62,000 children and youth across the city
• $500,000 to expand the Universal Camp Nutrition Program, increasing snack programs from 89 to 185 camp locations, which means 115,000 children and youth are now being provided food at holiday and summer camps

For seniors: 

• $1.2 million to expand services for seniors, including eliminating wait lists for home care, cleaning, and financial management support services
• Introducing the Reducing Seniors' Social Isolation program to the Toronto Public Library to help seniors connect in their community

And for our wider community:

• $3 million for the TTC fare capping program along with a third year of transit fare freeze and expanding Wheel Trans service 
• $6.2 million for youth violence prevention initiatives to build safer communities
• $1.8 million to support the Toronto Community Crisis Service-TTC Pilot to increase crisis prevention services on the TTC

These are real policy wins that make a difference for people who face food insecurity and poverty: from food for our kids, tangible housing and shelter supports, affordable transit, to specific community programs and supports for our people. You can read more about all the budget updates at Social Planning Toronto.

Thank you for being a part of this growing movement with us. This work would not have been possible without the the Fund Our City Coalition with Social Planning Toronto, ACORN Toronto, YWCA Toronto, Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations (FMTA), The Neighbourhood Group (TNG) Community Services, Centre For Independent Living In Toronto (CILT), Don Valley Community Legal Services, Toronto Community Benefits Network, TTC Riders, Labour Toronto & York Region Council and South Asian Women’s Rights Organization, Campaign 2000 End Child & Family Poverty, GTA Disability Coalition, Family Services Toronto, Toronto Public Library Workers union CUPE 4949, and everyone who came out to advocate for better with us.

We’re proud to organize in solidarity with our community and the organizations that serve them. There’s still work ahead to make our city more liveable for all of us and together we’re building the power to get there.

When we fight together, we win together!