As Toronto's population continues to grow at a torrid pace, the need to reassess the current ward divisions has become a top priority for the city, to ensure that citizens have equitable representation on City Council. Condo towers and mid-rise developments continue to pop up across the city, resulting in certain areas experiencing sharp increases in densification, while others have remained relatively stable and unchanged. This population disparity has fueled the need to redraw the lines currently dividing Toronto's 44 wards.

The current boundaries of Toronto's 44 wards, image courtesy of the City of Toronto.

Over the next week, the City of Toronto will be holding public meetings in Toronto-East York to discuss five new options for the division of Toronto's municipal wards. Residents and business owners are invited to attend to review the proposals and voice their opinions on the matter. The five options are a result of the Toronto Ward Boundary Review, which released a report on August 11 with their findings and recommendations. In a previous article, UrbanToronto took a detailed look at the five options, which offer very different solutions to the current dilemma.

Three public meetings are scheduled for Toronto-East York:

• Saturday, October 3 from 10 a.m. to noon at Holy Rosary Church Hall, 356 St. Clair Ave. W., Room 2 (main floor)
• Wednesday, October 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Metro Hall, 55 John St., Room 308-309
• Thursday, October 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Riverdale Hub, 1326 Gerrard St. E., 3rd floor, south space

Three public meetings are also scheduled for both Scarborough and Etobicoke-York community council areas in the coming weeks, while meetings in North York have already taken place. The full schedule can be viewed here.

Toronto's population - and its skyline - is growing at a rapid pace.

The review is being carried out by an independent team of consultants, in order to ensure the objectivity of the process. Input received at the public meetings will be combined with data from the online survey (which can be completed here), and will be used to inform the final Ward Boundary Review Report, which will present one recommended option to the Executive Committee and City Council in May 2016.

Stay tuned for more updates as the ward boundary review continues to take shape. In the meantime, additional information is available on the official website. News about the program is also periodically available on the City of Toronto website here.