Stay informed on policy and advocacy
The Toronto Region Board of Trade is working on issues that
matter
most to business leaders. Read about our latest advocacy activities
below.
View our recent news releases
Scorecard On Prosperity
2013:
Our Annual Look at the Toronto Region's
Competitiveness
This Year's Focus: Understanding our Human Capital Performance
Toronto as a Global City: Scorecard On Prosperity 2013
benchmarks the
Toronto Region against 23 global metropolitan areas. This year, the
Region ranked 6th overall, 12th economically and 5th for labour
attractiveness. Scorecard 2013 also examines a pillar of economic
productivity, this year putting a lens on "Human Capital." This focus
compliments previous Scorecard research that focused on cluster
strategies, transportation infrastructure, and access to
capital.
Download Scorecard on
Prosperity 2013 here.
Scorecard on Prosperity 2012 in the Media
How human capital drives Canada’s cities
Carol Wilding and Merv Hillier, editorial published in The Globe and
Mail
Toronto 6th among cities in global competitiveness
ranking: study
Laura Hubbard, The Globe and Mail
Canadian cities falling behind in placing women in top
jobs
Janet McFarland, The Globe and Mail
Toronto's recipe for prosperity: More graduates – and
more paths to good jobs
James Bradshaw, The Globe and Mail
March 18,
2013
Toronto Region Board of Trade advances four dedicated
revenue tools to fund The Big Move
Congestion in the Toronto Region is
not just a fact of life, it is changing how we live our lives. We all
know it’s not a change for the better. We can no longer defer the tough
decisions on how to address our region’s lack of mobility. Today,
Toronto Region Board of Trade (the Board) is putting forward four
revenue tools, for serious consideration, that must be dedicated to
funding Metrolinx’s, The Big Move. The tools are outlined in the Board’s
new discussion paper, A Green Light To Moving The Toronto Region: Paying
For Public Transportation Expansion.
Click the following
links for more information:
Our Discussion Paper:
A Green
Light To Moving The Toronto Region: Paying For Public Transportation
Expansion
Media Release
Stakeholder
Quotes
Carol Wilding’s Remarks:
Toronto Region Board of Trade advances four dedicated revenue tools to
fund The Big Move.
January
2013
City of Toronto 2013 Operating Budget
Toronto Board of Trade
Consultation Submission
The 2012 City Budget marked a pivotal
point in the City’s budget development process. Indeed, the Toronto
Board of Trade welcomed the Budget’s long needed fiscal reforms,
including establishing the groundwork for the City’s first multi-year
budget in over a decade, undertaking independent core service/user fee
reviews, identifying service efficiencies and reducing payroll costs.
Taken together, these actions helped to more closely align revenues with
expenditures, thus making big strides in tackling the structural
deficit; undoubtedly, very positive outcomes for Toronto’s taxpayers and
business community.
To review our
consultation submission,
please click
here.
December
2012
Toronto Region Board of Trade partners with boards of
trade to enhance “Hub Cities’” infrastructure
Collaboration is key with nearly any
advocacy initiative no matter what the goal. And, investing in public
infrastructure helps nearly any business or economy. Toronto Region
Board of Trade’s work with three levels of government including
municipalities in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area, along with other
organizations and boards of trade is an example of how ongoing
collaboration for public infrastructure can help our economy.
Toronto Region Board of Trade is participating in a group that
emphasizes the unique needs and issues confronting “Hub Cities” in
Canada. These are cities that are at the centre of metropolitan areas
and play an important role in the economic welfare of their respective
regions.
The Hub-City Chambers of Commerce Caucus is the body through which
fellow Hub Cities in Canada collaborate to advocate. One key priority
presently for the Caucus is public infrastructure.
To review our joint
statement,
please click
here.
August 3,
2012
2013 Federal Pre-Budget Submission
The Board welcomes the opportunity to
present our pre-budget consultation submission to the Government of
Canada and the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. Our five
recommendations are premised on our mutually shared objectives: to keep
Canada on track towards sustainable economic recovery and growth, create
quality sustainable jobs, address demographic change, improve
productivity and facilitate greater access to capital.
To review our
submission,
please click
here.
July 5,
2012
Business Takes The Lead: Collaborate To
Compete
Toronto Board Of Trade’s
Toronto Region Economic
Summit, Presented by
KPMG.
A Region to be Proud Of
Toronto Board of Trade hosted the
landmark Toronto Region Economic
Summit, presented by KPMG, on
March 29, 2012.
The Summit was clear in its ambitions —
the time for thinking and talking about
regional competitiveness was over.
It was time for action.
Action, in building a business-led
regional economic strategy that
increased the competitiveness of
the Toronto Region’s key industry
clusters — our critical mass of linked
businesses and institutions, from
suppliers to postsecondary institutions
to government.
Click to review the: Executive
Summary
| Summit Report
.
March 26,
2012
Toronto as a Global City: Scorecard on Prosperity
2012
On behalf of our 10,000 Members of
Toronto Board of
Trade (the Board), we are pleased to present our fourth edition of the
annual global benchmarking report, Toronto as a Global City: Scorecard on Prosperity
2012.
When Scorecard was first launched in 2009 the global
economy was coping with the effects of a crushing
recession. In its wake over the past three years, governments have
fallen, millions of people have
lost their jobs, and the retirement savings of millions more around the
globe have disappeared. Much of the world’s economy remains in an era of
deficits, debt and deleveraging. Uncertainty encompasses the economic,
political, and social spectrums.
To review our report,
please click
here.
February 29,
2012
Meeting the Challenge: Growth in an Age of
Deleveraging
2012 Provincial Pre-Budget Submission
The Toronto Board of Trade is pleased
to share its pre-budget perspectives and recommendations with the
Ontario Government.
This year’s provincial budget arrives at a
time of considerable volatility and uncertainty in global markets. The
economic upheavals of recent years and profound shifts in the global
economic order – notably the emergence of high-growth economies such as
Brazil, China and India – have not left Ontario unscathed. Many long
simmering budgetary tensions: rapidly escalating healthcare costs,
demands for more infrastructure investment and declining tax revenues,
are also coming to a boil. Simply put, the day of financial reckoning
is upon us.
To review our complete
submission, please click
here.
January 10,
2012
2012 City of Toronto Operating Budget
Submission
In October, the Board hosted a
half-day Toronto Budget Forum with senior elected and un-elected City
officials. Through two breakout sessions - one dedicated to expenditures
and the other revenue - Board members spent an entire morning working
through ideas to achieve fiscal balance. The ideas generated built on
the principals of our VoteToronto2010 platform and have given shape to
our 2012 budget submission. .
To review our complete
submission, please click
here.
October
2011
2012 Federal Pre-Budget Submission
The Board welcomes the opportunity to
present our pre-budget consultation submission to the Government of
Canada and the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. Our two
recommendations are premised on our mutually shared objective, to keep
Canada on track towards sustainable economic recovery, create quality
sustainable jobs, ensure relatively low rates of taxation, and finally,
to achieve a balanced budget.font>
For the rest of the
submission, please click
here.
December 7,
2011
2012 Toronto Budget Deputation
My name is Carol Wilding President of
the Toronto Board of Trade.
I am here today on behalf of our 10,000 members representing over
250,000 business professionals.
With me today is Richard Joy our Vice President of Policy.
Today, we are encouraged that our Mayor and Council are now facing up to
the city’s fiscal reality.
The 2012 Tax Supported Operating Budget sets out new and clear
boundaries which we support.
For the rest of the
deputation, please click
here.
September 15,
2011
It's
About Time Platform Paper
Toronto region economy a major concern
to voters yet parties falling short in addressing underlying issues such
as gridlock: new poll
For the Toronto region to stay globally competitive it needs to reduce
gridlock while becoming more economically coordinated the Board argues
in its VoteOntario2011 platform document titled, It’s About
Time.
For copies of the media
release, please click
here.
June 28,
2011
Reaching
Top Speed Platform Paper
Toronto Board of Trade issues reality
check on tackling gridlock
Provincial parties must commit to
developing a financing strategy
for the regional transportation plan
For copies of the media
release, please click
here.
June 8,
2011
Shifting
Into High Gear Platform Paper
Ontario’s provincial parties
must make economic leadership of the Toronto region a priority and
develop strategies that include a special focus on the Toronto region,
says the Toronto Board of Trade and a growing number of key regional
employers.
For copies of the media
release, please click
here.
April 18,
2011
Framework
For A Stronger Toronto Region Platform Paper
The Toronto Board of Trade supports a
growing coalition of Canadians who believe a national focus on cities is
needed to improve urban infrastructure, said President and CEO Carol
Wilding today.
For copies of the media
release, please click
here.
March 29,
2011
The McGuinty government’s final
budget before the 2011 provincial election achieves a balance of deficit
reduction, infrastructure investment, while preserving or enhancing key
priorities in health and education, says the Toronto Board of
Trade.
For copies of the media release,
please click
here.
March 28,
2011
Scorecard On Prosperity
2011
The Board proudly launched our
third edition of Scorecard On Prosperity
2011, in the Globe and
Mail. Developed with support from Certified Management
Accountants of Ontario, the Scorecard benchmarks the Toronto
Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) against 23 other metropolitan areas
around the world, on issues related to the economy and labour
attractiveness.
March 23,
2011
The 2011 federal budget achieves a
prudent balance of tax stability and deficit reduction measures while
pointing to longer-term infrastructure investment opportunities, Carol
Wilding, President and CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade, said
today.
For copies of the media
release, please click
here.
February 3,
2011
This election is our chance to unleash our
economic potential and VoteOntario2011 is our campaign to make it
happen. This framework is our starting point for the debate Ontarians
need to have as we choose our next government. In the months to come, we
will explore the paths to renewed economic growth, publishing discussion
papers and igniting conversations.
Download Framework:
Executive Summary
Complete
Version
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Related Files
Metrolinx_Submission_November_08 (Adobe PDF File)
