What to know
- Toronto is often compared to New York City, but unlike the long-standing “city that never sleeps,” Toronto’s nightlife is limited by shorter transit hours, earlier noise curfews, and fewer overnight services despite similar population size.
- Experts say NYC’s late-night culture dates back to the 19th century and was strengthened by early implemented 24/7 subway service, international trade, airports, and a strong demand for social and cultural activities after dark.
- Toronto has been working since 2019 to expand its night economy, including hiring a nightlife champion, reviewing noise and licensing rules, consulting working groups, and exploring extended hours for transit and services.
- Surveys show strong demand for more nightlife across the GTA, and the city has already expanded entertainment permissions, increased allowable entertainment space, and launched initiatives to improve safety, accessibility, and overnight cultural opportunities.
There always seems to be something to do in Toronto during the daytime from festivals to cafes. However, the bustling city tends to come to a halt after-hours, unlike its similarly populated doppelganger, New York City (NYC).
Toronto and NYC are often compared to each other, with many tourists calling the Canadian city a mini version of its U.S. counterpart with a similar Times Square environment nestled at Sankofa Square (formerly Yonge-Dundas Square). NYC has also been called “Toronto on steroids” across social media platforms.
The two cities share populations not too far in size from each other, with NYC at more than 8,300,000 residents, and Toronto trailing behind at over 6,500,000, both as of 2026.
Despite this, New York City has been coined as the “city that never sleeps” for decades, due to its many rich cultural hubs that stay open and alive overnight, assisted with the city’s long-existing 24/7 transit system.
When did NYC become ‘the city that never sleeps’?
Tim Tompkins is a fellow at the Marron Institute of Urban Management and an adjunct professor of urban planning at the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He told Now Toronto that the late night culture in the U.S. city initially began in the 19th century.
“People going out and having a drink and meeting each other and being social in certain ways, into the late hours of the night,” he explained. “When the subway system opened in 1904, the 24 hour service has continually been sort of a driver of the city’s identity in that way.”
Tompkins had also run the Times Square Alliance for 19 years, improving and promoting the core of the city. He said trade can be a major factor for cities with a prominent night life.
“Trading goods are often about different peoples and cultures coming together,” he explained.
He added that the need for international transportation through airports is important, noting New York City is home to three major international airports. He acknowledged that although Toronto only has one major airport, with Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport also on the rise to become an additional hub someday, the city still has decent inter-city transit options.
Tompkins explained that having transit and transportation options overnight contributes to a 24/7 structure, something Toronto has but arguably is not up to par with NYC.
NYC’s transit includes a 24 hour, seven days a week schedule for both subways and buses, while most Toronto transit halts around 1:30 a.m., with the exception of some limited night bus routes.
Although, Tompkins says the addition of rideshares such as Uber and Lyft have made hanging out at late hours easier.
He added young people tend to want to stay out longer to meet other people.
“[Young people] want to meet someone that they’re going to start a family or have as sort of a life partner,” Tompkins said. “That is very closely linked to, broadly speaking, sort of entertainment, and light night life, and culture.”
Toronto’s not too far behind
When it comes to Toronto having a future as a more accessible city that functions through both the day and night, Tompkins says the city isn’t too far behind in resources.
“I’m a huge fan of Toronto,” he said. “I think that Toronto has a lot of those elements… The core thing is really just to think hard about your strengths and your weaknesses, both competitively and culturally and economically, and to have a set of policies that recognise those different strengths and needs and opportunities, not always city wide, but in particular places.”
Travis Van Wyck, project manager for Toronto’s Night Economy, says the city has been working towards growing the overnight culture since 2019, with the City’s last report detailing what needs to be improved releasing in 2023.
“A lot of this work is about balancing vibrancy and livability and helping to ensure that we have a thriving night culture supported by these kinds of essential activities that connect us and enhance night culture without necessarily compromising livability,” Van Wyck explained.
So far, the city has completed their goal of hiring a night life champion representative. They hope to continue trying to modernise existing noise regulations and licensing zones in order to help businesses and events be more flexible with what time they close.
Currently, the noise curfew for the city is widely set for 11 p.m., with some exceptions, including emergency or waste related sounds.
Van Wyck said the city is working alongside multiple organizations and groups to look into extending hours for various services.
In order to meet future night life objectives, the city formed two working groups of various businesses, artists, gig workers and residents to consult and work with to achieve Toronto’s night life goal.
When it comes to overnight services, the City told Now Toronto in an email that they don’t regulate business hours, adding there are no policies preventing stores from remaining open overnight, excluding businesses who create noise, such as construction, or holistic centres.
“Toronto’s nightlife is one of the things that sets us apart as a truly great city, but I agree, there’s room for improvement so that people who aren’t working a traditional 9-to-5 can live their lives and enjoy the city,” Beaches—East York Councillor Brad Bradford stated to Now Toronto. “In most cases, it’s a business decision not to stay open 24/7, but there are things the city can do to make it easier for people to get around. Better overnight transit service would help people who leave work late or need to start early. We also need to make sure people feel safe, and continued investments in front-line officers and public safety initiatives can help with that.”
Van Wyck noted though businesses aren’t restricted on hours, they are restricted on providing some services, such as selling alcohol.
“Provincial legislation does restrict the 24 hour sale of and service of alcohol,” Van Wyck explained. “But businesses can apply for municipal endorsement for a temporary extension of hours as part of an application to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.”
What’s been done so far?
Van Wyck said the City of Toronto is working toward their night life goal by also implementing three objectives called plan the night, protect the night and create the night.
This will be done by coordinating with municipal services and policies to shift to 24/7 function, promoting safe, and inclusive environments, and supporting local talent and artists.
A city-conducted survey involving over 3,300 participants led to policy changes in Jan. 2025, that made it so a larger area within the city was able to expand entertainment permissions for nightclubs and specific zones with conditions involving their nearby residential areas.
The survey showed that Toronto already has a strong night life, with over 90 per cent of participants saying they go out to restaurants after dark, 85 per cent go to bars, 82 per cent go to live concerts and 73 per cent go to the movies, theatre or a comedy show.
Additionally, participants reported a lack of access to events near them, with most of them outside of the downtown core.
These residents living outside the downtown core reported wanting more activities local to them, with 80 per cent saying they’d like more nightclubs across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
At the time of the survey, conducted in 2023, business owners participating reported the existing 6 per cent policy on only allowing non-accessory entertainment floor space to not be feasible. Following the survey, the city increased this policy to 25 per cent.
Van Wyck says the city’s nightlife team is constantly comparing themselves to their neighbour down south.
“I think both Toronto and New York offer their own unique scenes and experiences,” he explained. “…We are following NYC and several other cities around the world that have completed economic impact studies of their night economy to assess really where Toronto is doing and identify areas of opportunity.”
Van Wyck added the city works with other major cities in the world, in order to improve each other’s night cultures with best practices.
He said Toronto is well on its way to having a more improved night life, even 10 years from now.
“Toronto has a myriad of different types of late night experiences and cultural scenes to tap into. So, I think a lot of this work is about ensuring that these scenes can thrive in Toronto’s night economy.”
