Toronto is one of the loneliest places in Canada based on new findings showing an increase in depression and anxiety following the pandemic, according to a new report.
On Wednesday, charity organization the Toronto Foundation released its 19th biennial 2023 Vital Signs Report “The Power of Us” detailing the troubling patterns of social isolation, economic stress and declining mental health in Toronto. In response, the Toronto Foundation is launching a 150-day campaign to restore faith in the city.
It has partnered with Volunteer Toronto to stimulate social engagement within the community by introducing a new online tool, connecting people to volunteer opportunities and providing up to $1,000 microgrants for civically-minded initiatives.
“The #PowerOfUs campaign encourages individuals and organizations to take one action over the next 150 days to help restore social connections across Toronto and recommit to our collective wellbeing,” the Toronto Foundation’s release read.
This rise in poor mental health cases among Toronto residents is the result of post-pandemic life where Torontonians continue to express symptoms consistent with depression and anxiety, showing little to no improvement over the past couple of years, despite the lifting of pandemic restrictions.
“Your city needs you,” Toronto Foundation President and CEO Sharon Avery said in a written statement.
“We want Torontonians to believe there are people who care about them, their businesses and their neighbourhoods. We want people to believe there are things to look forward to. Let’s use these findings as a catalyst to re-engage with the city we all love and together shape the future we want,” she added.
To reach its findings, researchers looked at local data provided exclusively to them from The Survey on Employment and Skills, which was conducted in Spring 2023. It also analyzed 2023 data from Mental Health Research Canada who conducted a national survey about the mental health of Canadians in April and May of 2023.
The report found that the number of people indicating poor mental health has doubled during the pandemic. In Toronto, 37 per cent of adults (about 925,000) said they felt lonely during at least three or four days in the last week in 2023. This is about 28 per cent higher than the rest of the country.
“Loneliness is increasingly recognized as one of the most serious risk factors of many negative health outcomes,” the report said.
In fact, loneliness among high school students has even doubled with 44 per cent saying they frequently feel lonely. The percentage of people with at least six close friends has also declined by nearly 30 percentage points from 2013 to 2022.
During the second quarter of 2023, 23 per cent of Toronto’s adult population, about 575,000 people, reported symptoms associated with depression. Specifically, young women, socially isolated individuals and financially vulnerable groups are among those who feel the brunt the most.
“Young women in particular face an even greater challenge, with more than 40% of women aged 18-29 reporting fair or poor mental health. This is 10 to 15 percentage points lower than among young men in the same age categories,” the report read.
In addition, more than a third of the city’s population, around 36 per cent or 900,000 adults, have a mental or physical health condition that occasionally impacts their daily activities.
By mid-2023, about 19 per cent of the adult population, roughly 475,000 people, showed symptoms consistent with anxiety.
“In Toronto, poor mental health is significantly associated with financial strain, isolation, age and
membership in certain equity-deserving groups. Income, employment status, age, isolation and
disability, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity, significantly influence mental health
across groups,” the report explained.
The report says Toronto residents feel overwhelmed by affordability, as one of three residents believe their household income is insufficient and 17 per cent of people are living in overcrowded conditions, including 32 per cent of newcomers.
As a result, residents feel less inclined to donate to charities. The report found that Toronto’s volunteer rate fell from 37 per cent to 25 per cent between 2018 to 2022 and the donation rate slipped from 75 per cent to 63 per cent. This led to a massive loss of 300,000 donors and 300,0000 volunteers, the report said.
And that’s not all, one-third of charities were forced to tap into reserves to maintain operations and 75 per cent reported an increase in service demands. However, 62 per cent admit they are struggling to meet demands and 16 per cent they can’t meet them at all.
