Community Leaders Dinner

On April 8, I hosted a Community Leaders Dinner at North York Civic Centre, bringing together local leaders, residents, and Mayor Olivia Chow for an evening of meaningful discussion on the future of Willowdale.

Mayor Chow shared updates on key city priorities, including improvements to emergency response times, ongoing investments in transit and infrastructure, and efforts to strengthen Toronto’s financial position through a new fiscal framework. She also highlighted programs supporting residents directly, such as flood prevention rebates and home energy incentives.

A central focus of the evening was hearing directly from community leaders. Key challenges raised included: 

• traffic congestion, particularly along Yonge Street and at the 401 interchange, 

• limited parking, 

• infrastructure gaps (including sidewalks, childcare, and seniors’ services), 

• overcapacity in community centres,

• overdevelopment and the related loss of green space, and

• neglected development sites and enforcement.

Residents also identified important opportunities to strengthen the community. These included: 

• expanding access to affordable and flexible community spaces, 

• increasing intergenerational programming, 

• addressing social isolation, and 

• ensuring future development includes housing options suitable for seniors.

A significant portion of the discussion focused on unlocking existing public spaces, particularly schools as community hubs. I moved a motion to explore the feasibility of running recreation programs in school facilities for community use during evenings and weekends, and Mayor Chow indicated her support and willingness to work with the Province and school boards to advance this work. This would especially support our Avondale community and those awaiting the Newtonbrook Community Centre which has an unknown completion date due to market conditions (as the project is tied to a development).

On major infrastructure priorities, attendees emphasized the importance of advancing the Transform Yonge project, with the Mayor encouraging coordinated advocacy with provincial partners to address delays affecting multiple projects in the area.

Next Steps

My office will be:

• Following up with the Mayor’s office on parking strategies and temporary community and recreational programming in the Avondale neighbourhood

• Conducting a site visit with the Chief Congestion Officer of congested intersections in Willowdale shortly

• Advancing discussions with provincial representatives on community use of schools and major infrastructure projects

• Continuing to advocate for improved enforcement of property standards and maintenance of vacant sites

• Working with community leaders to better quantify local space needs and identify opportunities for new or shared community hubs

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed thoughtful insights. Your input is essential in shaping a more connected, livable Willowdale.