Jack Mintz: ‘Toronto the good’ has become ‘Toronto the mediocre’

Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.HomeFP CommentJack Mintz: 'Toronto the good' has become 'Toronto the mediocre'If only the mayoralty candidates in Canada’s largest city had some innovative ideas for fixing transportation, housing and crimeLast updated 51 minutes ago Potholes along Bloor Street West, near Royal York Road in Toronto. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun filesArriving in Munich last spring after a flight from Toronto, I was immediately struck by the city’s lack of potholes. There aren’t any, even in the oldest part of the city. Munich is amazingly clean, too, with beautiful buildings, museums and the Englischer Garten (bigger than New York’s Central Park). Despite Germany’s recent economic challenges, you feel you are in a vibrant city.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Not so with Toronto. Driving down streets like Bathurst or Davisville, we’re whipsawed as we veer to avoid car-jarring potholes. Our own residential street, in bad need of repaving, gives us daily roller-coaster thrills.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againToronto’s potholes call to mind the “broken window” theory originally devised by James Q. Wilson and George Keeling in 1982 as a metaphor for and explanation of disorder in American neighbourhoods. While Wilson and Keeling related their concept to crime, potholes are emblematic of a city’s deteriorating infrastructure and inadequate public services.Only 69 per cent of Toronto’s thoroughfares are deemed to be in “good” or “fair” condition. And fair is not saying much since it includes roads with cracks and small potholes. In the next decade, over half of Toronto’s roads won’t even be in fair condition.Toronto’s subway, which has expanded in recent years, is critical to relieving road congestion. Subway fares, which unlike in many other cities are not based on distance travelled, cover only a third of operating costs. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is notorious for frequent security and other stoppages and crime, with 975 assaults registered so far in 2026.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Not all is bad with Toronto, of course. Like many large cities, it has a lively sports and culture scene. Its big, ethnically diverse population enables families to enjoy a wide variety of activities. But housing is expensive and traffic congested, with many Torontonians undertaking extraordinary long commutes to work or shop.Overall, “Toronto the good” has become “Toronto the mediocre.” The city expects its operational spending to climb to $19 billion in 2026, 25 per cent more than in 2023, when Mayor Olivia Chow and the current council were elected. Property taxes, which cover about a third of revenues, rose 17 per cent from 2023 to 2025, though this year their increase was kept to 2.2 per cent, presumably to avoid an election backlash. Yet despite tax increases that make life less affordable for many, the potholes continue to multiply.It isn’t just a decaying transportation system that ails Toronto. In her recent book, Beyond Good Enough, former city councillor and chair of the TTC Karen Stintz lays out several policy ideas for pursuing excellence, not mediocrity. One of her main arguments is that municipal policies are driving out the middle class, who cannot afford to live in Toronto. It’s a problem for many large cities and only strong leadership can address it.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.But, Stintz argues, Toronto is not well governed. Ontario Premier Doug Ford cut the number of elected councillors in half, but decision-making is still largely left to a consensus among 25 parochial decision-makers who represent their wards’ interests rather than have a large-city focus. A risk-averse bureaucracy exerts control by bombarding councillors with long agendas and hundreds of pages to digest for each council or committee meeting. Perhaps, as in Montreal, formal party politics might help overcome this system of serial backroom deals.Urban planners may love greenbelts and densification but they drive up land costs. Instead of large condo buildings that make housing unaffordable for families needing space, neighbourhoods can be densified with multiplex homes that don’t disturb residential looks families prefer. I saw this in Calgary, where modest multiplex homes weren’t monstrosities towering over single-family homes.Parks are for the common good but become unusable when tent cities overrun them. There may be a right to housing but people who want to use a park have rights, too. The homeless need jobs, adequate housing and, for those who need it, drug treatment (not injection sites). Provincial governments need to support programs that work.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Torontonians go to the polls Oct. 26. You’d think mayoralty candidates in Canada’s largest city would have innovative ideas for fixing transportation, housing and crime.Olivia Chow’s platform offers little to help the broad public. Instead, she pursues classic left-wing policies, including redistribution that is better left to upper levels of government with stronger tax bases. She proposes a universal food program at schools, more rent-controlled housing (which will discourage rental investment), a transit-fare freeze (which will boost the TTC’s deficit) and more trained workers to deal with mental health calls (which are unlikely to deter crime effectively).The other leading candidate, Brad Bradford, addresses affordability by eliminating the land transfer tax (a terrible tax on mobility) and freezing property taxes for one year and then limiting future increases to the rate of inflation. He would look for efficiencies to cut program costs and accelerate the construction of major roads and transit corridors.Neither candidate has a plan for potholes. Bradford’s emphasis on cutting spending might eventually free up room to address basic needs. But that would require the council to join the effort. Don’t hold your breath waiting for an end to Toronto’s current mediocrity in governance.This advertisement has not loaded yet.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.