The Toronto region is one of the most rapidly growing metropolitan regions in North America. This rapid growth affects all areas of life, from the economy to education to housing. At the same time, the social character of the region is affected by changes in:
- the age structure of the region (the relative numbers of people in each age group);
- household and family composition (the way in which the population is divided up into individual households);
- patterns of immigration;
- ethnic and cultural diversity (the proportions of people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds within the population)
Such social changes affect not only the social structures, institutions, public policies and political organizations in the GTA, but also the spatial patterns of settlement and the character of local neighbourhoods and communities.
This report analyses the following five dimensions of social change in the GTA:
- the components of population growth and demographic change;
- the extent of population mobility, migration, and immigration;
- trends in family and household size and composition;
- levels of cultural and ethnic diversity in different areas of the region;
- inequalities in income distribution and the incidence of poverty.
