A new report on affordability reveals that middle income earners are leaving Toronto as a result of high housing costs and congestion.
CivicAction, a non-profit organization, released the report saying that this could become a big problem as essential workers leave the city.
“It is dire, this is like an invisible problem. It’s happening, it’s creeping up on us and we really need to focus on it,” said Leslie Woo, CEO of CivicAction.
CivicAction found that two thirds of healthcare workers, educators, first responders, retail workers and others deemed as essential to make a city work, have considered changing jobs or moving.
The report cites that congestion and expensive homes have pushed people out of the city.
The latest data shows the annual income needed to purchase an average home in Toronto is almost $235,000, while the actual annual median household income is $100,000 a year.
One example Woo cites is educators who commute over two hours daily because they can’t afford to live close to where they work.
“Teacher absenteeism is a domino effect of not having housing close to where you work. You’re having to commute further. The access to child care is more distant, and so it’s compounding the ability of a teacher or a nurse to show up,” said Woo.
According to the data, most of those leaving were young families between 25 and 31 years of age, representing 19 per cent of total out migration.
Woo says collaboration is the solution to the problem.
“We need more coordinated action. Different levels of government need to be talking to each other,” said Woo.
