When Prime Minster Justin Trudeau declared at an UN-sponsored climate change conference after his election that “Canada is back,” we were hoping this also meant that Toronto is back—that our city was ready to seize the extraordinary opportunity of hosting the largest event on the plant, Expo 2025.
But as you are now aware, Mayor John Tory and his Executive Committee voted on October 26 to “not support the development of a bid to host Expo 2025 in Toronto.” Their decision was made after hearing five hours of deputations where each and every speaker spoke intelligently, urgently and passionately on how Expo 2025 would be an accelerating and exceptional city-building pursuit for Toronto.
Despite building a solid business case with tangible benefits that are irrefutable and convening an energized and diverse citizen coalition for Expo 2025, we must accept the stark reality that a bid from Toronto is not winnable without the active support of the Mayor.
For those of us who have been working hard to bring the World Expo to Toronto, we were not surprised when city staff stated in their Expo 2025 Feasibility Considerations report: “Expo 2025 has the potential to be the largest and most impactful economic and cultural event held in Canada since Expo ’67.”
Despite building a solid business case with tangible benefits that are irrefutable and convening an energized and diverse citizen coalition for Expo 2025, we must accept the stark reality that a bid from Toronto is not winnable without the active support of the Mayor.
A Mayor’s enthusiasm, soft power and tenacity has to be on full display when securing Expo support and funding from the other orders of government. The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the organization that sanctions the Expo, has made it clear that unwavering political leadership and support from the host city’s Mayor is most important when competing internationally for member nation votes.
The Expo 2025 Canada team accepts that we don’t have Mayor Tory’s support for an Expo 2025 bid and as such we will be putting aside our current campaign efforts at this upcoming City Council. Despite this difficult decision, we remain committed to bringing Expo back to Canada. We remain hopeful that Mayor Tory can take inspiration from all of you and choose to lead us in a bid for Expo 2030.
It takes a truly transformative event to bring together this cross-section of our City. This is the magic of Expo 2025. I want to see this magic continue. We cannot lose the spark that has been ignited in so many through Expo 2025.
The effort to bring Expo 2025 to Toronto has brought together an incredibly diverse coalition—leaders from the arts and business, community groups and the labour movement. Truly we had the widest group of thought leaders join the pro-Expo movement–from the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation to the entire board of the Toronto Stock Exchange, 30 start-up companies including youth entrepreneurs in Rexdale, as well as social innovators and immigration settlement services in Scarborough and the arts communities of North York. It was breathtaking. It was the face of Toronto.
It takes a truly transformative event to bring together this cross-section of our City. This is the magic of Expo 2025. I want to see this magic continue. We cannot lose the spark that has been ignited in so many through Expo 2025. The imagination that has been lit by Expo is what Toronto needs for ‘Big Thinking’ to happen. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be reaching out to you to hear your thoughts and ideas on how we can transform this energy and enthusiasm into an ongoing discussion about big ideas for our city and country.
City Council will be voting on the Expo Feasibility Report at 9:30am on Wednesday, November 9th in the City Hall Council Chambers (100 Queen St. W). I welcome you to join and show City Council that the movement behind Expo is strong and alive.
Sincerely,
Kristyn Wong-Tam
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: EXPO CAN BE DELIVERED
EXPO SUPPORTERS TO COUNCIL: FINISH DUE DILIGENCE ON GREAT PROJECT
A broad cross-section of Torontonians stood in the heart of the city in front of the iconic Toronto sign and called on city councillors to give a vote of confidence in their city and to give Expo 2025 a chance.
On Wednesday, Executive Committee will review a privately-funded feasibility study which projects multi-billion dollar benefits that far outstrip the incremental costs of staging Expo.
A staff report commented: “Expo 2025 has the potential to be the largest and most impactful economic and cultural event held in Canada since Expo ’67.”
In spite of that glowing observation, the report recommended proceeding no further with bid explorations, citing concerns about completing projects on time and support from the federal and provincial governments.
Prominent civic leaders disputed the findings.
Andy Manahan, Executive Director of the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) said the staff report is “dead wrong” in suggesting Ontario’s builders would not be able to deliver on time. “Our members are poised and ready to go to get it built. We have a construction industry that is second to none in the world.”
Former Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sandra Pupatello said the city cannot possibly know whether Ottawa or Queen’s Park will support Expo 2025, given that council has not officially asked. She cited a May letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in which he said his government is “prepared to explore next steps”, should Toronto say it wants to bid.
“To me, that sounds like an invitation,” said Ms. Pupatello.
Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam called upon Executive Committee to vote to continue the city’s due diligence and to explore whether support from the provincial and federal government will be forthcoming.
“This is too great an opportunity to let go because of neglect,” she said.
For more information:
Sean Mallen- cell: 416-602-9772, [email protected]
]]>Toronto and Canada want Expo 2025
Poll: 56% GTA Residents, 55% Canadians support Expo 2025 bid
Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation add their voice to broad coalition
New Video shows faces of the city: “Toronto Has a World to Inspire”
Start-up, Tech Industries say Expo boon to innovation sector
It is the clearest signal yet that a strong majority of both Torontonians and Canadians believe that Canada should bid for Expo 2025 in Toronto. Research conducted by Hill+Knowlton Strategies shows that almost 6 in 10 (56%) of those in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) support Canada making a bid to host Expo 2025 in Toronto compared to one in seven (15%) who oppose the venture. Three in 10 (27%) residents in the GTA indicate that they are not sure of their position yet and need more information while 2% did not take any position at all.
Using the identical question, the survey found similar results nationwide with 55% support for Canada making a bid to host Expo 2025 in Toronto, 10% in opposition and 32% not sure and needing more information before making up their mind. 2% also had no opinion.
The poll results were released on the same day that Chief Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation announced that his First Nation was enthusiastically in support of the initiative—a crucial step, given that Expo and the Port Lands redevelopment all would take place on their traditional territory.
The Expo 2025 Committee also released a new video, “A World to Inspire”, in which Torontonians speak passionately for an Expo bid—citing massive economic benefits, an accelerated redevelopment of the Port Lands and the opportunity to market Canada’s innovation sector, cultural industries and diversity to the world. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lji9wgEc17A
Speaking at a City Hall news conference Moy Wong-Tam of the Centre for Immigrant and Community Services said: “Expo 2025 holds incredible value for the immigrant and refugee communities of Toronto.”
Writer and activist Andray Domise added: “Expo 2025 Canada will be leveraged to highlight the ingenuity, resourcefulness and unlimited talent of the youth in Toronto, Scarborough, North York and Etobicoke. “
In a measure of the growing enthusiasm for a bid, the Expo 2025 Steering Committee quoted from some of more than 20 letters submitted to Executive Committee from Toronto’s dynamic digital and technology start-up community.
Joseph Weinberg, CEO of Paycase wrote: “I’m confident that bringing EXPO here to Toronto would not only shine a brighter light on the amazing work that we’re all doing, but would help elevate our community to a higher level”
More on the H+K Poll
In order to have a non-influenced set of respondents for baseline measurement, the survey was conducted well before the release of a third-party Expo 2025 feasibility by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Arup and Lord Cultural Resources.
Methodology
The survey was conducted independently as part of the ongoing issues research portfolio developed and maintained by Hill+Knowlton Strategies for insight on current and topical issues. The results, released into the public domain, include the question and data tables used for the survey. There were no other preceding questions on the survey instrument that would have caused any form of inter-item contamination to affect the results.
Hill+Knowlton Strategies conducted an online survey of 1301 Canadian adults of which 483 were in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) between August 29 – September 1, 2016. A final survey data was weighted based on census figures according to age and gender to achieve a representative sample. A national sample of this size has a credibility interval of 3.1% and in the GTA of 5.1%. The sample for the survey was drawn from H+K Perspectives, an online panel developed and maintained by Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada. The methodology used to recruit and maintain the panel was designed by one of Canada’s foremost panel experts who also leads the national Research + Analytics practice.
Survey Question
An Expo is a global event that aims at educating the public, sharing innovation, promoting progress and fostering cooperation. It is organized by a host country that invites other countries, companies, international organizations, the private sector, the civil society and the general public to participate. Canada has played host to two Expos: Expo Montreal 1967, and Expo Vancouver 1986.
From what you know or have heard, do you support or oppose Canada making a bid to host Expo 2025 in Toronto?
Oppose (net) 15% (oppose strongly 7%/mostly 8%)
Support (net) 56% (support strongly 23%/mostly 33%)
Not sure, I need more information 27%
Prefer not to say 2%
For more information:
(Expo) Sean Mallen- cell: 416-602-9772, [email protected]
(H+K Poll) Elliott Gauthier, VP and National Director of Research + Analytics, Hill+Knowlton Strategies [email protected]
D: 613.786.9959 | M: 613.323.4833
]]>The presentation, in English and Mandarin, included an overview of the opportunities Expo 2025 can bring including economic and social gains for the city. Research showed that Expo 2025 has the potential of creating over 50,000 person years of employment and raise the GDP by $4.37B. “Nation Days” will showcase the various cultures that make up the city, bringing Canada’s multicultural mosaic to light while promoting global investment and trade agreements. Expo 2025 aligns with the Mayor’s Smart City vision by including social and technology innovation, which improves housing and transportation. Councillor Shelley Carroll stated that during her visit to Shanghai as part of the Mayor’s trade mission, she witnessed the after effects of Expo: “a clean and developable site,” which can be the Port Lands.
Scarborough residents captivated by the discussion asked about transportation and capacity building to move people in and out of the site. Councillor Lee explained, “Expo 2025 will further the need to improve transportation which benefits the city for years after. This is an opportunity for the city and for the Country”.
“Canada has successfully hosted Expo ’67 and ’86. This is Toronto’s “moment in time” to showcase that “Canada’s back” on the global stage, ready and open to collaboration, innovation and business,” explained Menezes. Another community member stood up to address the crowd stating that “Toronto is the city to do this and it’s an opportunity for us. It’s the most diverse city in the world.”
More information on Expo 2025 Canada is available at: www.expo2025canada.ca
Media contact: Maggie Chi – [email protected], Councillor Lee’s office, 416-392- 1375 (office)/647-234-2735 (cell)
Expo 2025 Canada also represents an extraordinary opportunity to showcase the new and next wave of talented and inspiring Canadian entrepreneurs, including technology and innovation companies, on the international stage.
The redeveloped Port Lands location offers the city an opportunity to build out a significant portion of the central waterfront plan. We believe Expo 2025 Canada can ultimately act as a catalyst to accelerate an important urban renewal project, while also promoting locally-based Canadian ingenuity in clean and green technologies.
Beyond important local benefits like job creation, tourism and urban development, TMX Group believes that Expo 2025 Canada can serve to globally differentiate, redefine and rebrand our city and country as innovative leaders and truly demonstrate Canadian ingenuity and resourcefulness. Expo 2025 Canada is an incredible opportunity for the Toronto region, province and country and one that we should all seize with confidence and purpose.
]]>An independent, privately-funded feasibility study has found that Expo 2025 could deliver a $4.37 billion boost to the national GDP and deliver $1.26 billion in tax revenue to all three levels of government. The economic benefits and proposed social & cultural infrastructure far outweigh the projected incremental cost of staging Expo which is estimated at $1.91 billion.
In June, City Council voted unanimously to commission the analysis. It examined the incremental costs of staging Expo, the suitability of the Port Lands as a site, as well as the economic benefits and potential legacy for Toronto, Ontario and Canada.
The impartial, independent study was carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Arup – a global firm of designers and engineers, and Lord Cultural Resources. It was conducted at no cost to taxpayers as it was completely funded by a group of prominent businesspeople led by Ken Tanenbaum.
Other key findings:
– Expo’s anticipated direct revenues from ticket sales, sponsorships and other sources would be $1.64 Billion, enough to cover operating costs with a surplus
– Expo would produce more than 50-thousand person-years of employment
– Expo would draw 30 million visits to the site, including 9 million incremental visitors who would come to Toronto specifically to attend the event
– The redeveloped Port Lands is a viable site and Expo would leverage the substantial planning work already done on the initiative to maximize the benefits from a visionary urban renewal project that is underway
– The detailed study is scheduled to be made public on October 19th and to be discussed in Executive Committee on October 26.
“This report sends a clear and inspiring message: Expo 2025 is an extraordinary opportunity that will lift us all. Let’s do it,” said Claire Hopkinson, Director & CEO, Toronto Arts Council & Toronto Arts Foundation
Quotes from supporters:
“Expo 2025 would give a tremendous boost to the fast-growing innovation sector in the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor. We think it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to market our city, province and nation to the world.”
-Jordan Banks, Managing Director, Facebook and Instagram Canada
“Beyond important local benefits like job creation, tourism and urban development, TMX Group believes that Expo 2025 Canada can serve to globally differentiate, redefine and rebrand our city and country as innovative leaders and truly demonstrate Canadian ingenuity and resourcefulness. Expo 2025 Canada is an incredible opportunity for the Toronto region, province and country and one that we should seize with confidence and purpose.
-Nicholas Thadaney, President and CEO, Global Equity Capital Markets, TMX Group
“Yappn is excited to support Toronto’s Expo 2025 bid. We strive to bring people together by removing language barriers and together with the City of Toronto we can make Expo 2025 the most open and collaborative Expo ever.”
-Ed Karthaus, President and CEO, Yappn Corp.
“Beanfield is thrilled to be part of a potential World Expo in Toronto. The world needs to see how much our incredible city and country have to offer in terms of talent, culture and opportunity”
-Chris Amendola, President, Beanfield Metroconnect
“Previous Canadian expositions, held in Montreal and Vancouver, prove the enormous economic and urban development potential of such events. We support the City of Toronto’s due diligence and assessment process.”
-Jan De Silva, President and CEO, Toronto Board of Trade.
Download the full Expo 2025 Canada Feasibility Study Overview.
For more information:
Sean Mallen, cell: 416-602-9772 [email protected]
October 14, 2016
Major Announcement on Expo 2025
Key Results of Feasibility Study to be Released
Leaders & corporate supporters of Expo 2025 Canada will be releasing important findings from a privately-funded feasibility study on the costs and benefits of Toronto hosting a World Expo in 2025.
DATE: FRIDAY OCTOBER 14, 2016
TIME: 10:30am
LOCATION: TORONTO CITY HALL, 100 Queen Street West
2nd Floor – Outside of Committee Room 1
In June, City Council voted unanimously in favour of pursuing the feasibility study. The business case was carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
The impartial, independent analysis examined the incremental costs of staging Expo 2025, along with the economic benefits and potential legacy for Toronto, Ontario and Canada. The detailed study will be discussed in Executive Committee on October 26.
The key results to be released Friday will give the clearest picture yet to Torontonians of the potential benefits and costs of Expo2025.
Speakers will include independent corporate leaders and key members of the Expo 2025 Canada volunteer steering committee:
Alicia T. Dubois, Co-Vice Chair, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business
Chris Amendola, President and CSO, beanfield Metroconnect
Claire Hopkinson, President & CEO, Toronto Arts Foundation
Ed Karthaus, President & CEO, Yappn Corp.
Janet De Silva, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade
Jordan Banks, Managing Director, Facebook and Instagram Canada
Joshua Lax, Expo 2025 Canada, Director of Corporate Engagement
Nicholas Thadaney, President & CEO, Global Equity Capital Markets, TMX Group
Stephen Forbes, Executive VP and CCO, CIBC
For more information:
Sean Mallen, cell: 416-602-9772 sean@seanmallencommunications.
As someone with recent experience planning and hosting an international event in our city, I believe Expo would be an outstanding opportunity to showcase Toronto and everything we have to offer. It will generate thousands a new jobs and potentially bring millions of new visitors to our City. It will generate millions of marketing impressions promoting the City over an extended period of time. It will give Toronto an opportunity to tell its story to various audiences who want to live, work and/or set up their business here.
We have a unique opportunity to do what Expo 86 did for the City of Vancouver – let’s use this as a catalyst to build a better Toronto for everyone.
Sincerely,
Michael Burns
CEO, Invictus Games Toronto 2017
An important step was taken today towards the revitalization of Toronto’s eastern waterfront. The governments of Canada, Ontario and Toronto collectively promised to spend $65 Million to begin flood protection measures to protect the Port Lands.
The money will be spent remaking the Essroc quay, a key element in the plan to naturalize the mouth of the Don River, part of the broader initiative to redevelop the Port Lands.
The Expo 2025 Canada Steering Committee believes that the revitalization of the Port Lands is a far sighted urban renewal project that will ultimately deliver new neighbourhoods for our city, with much needed housing, parkland and transit. The joint announcement by Mayor John Tory, Federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi and Ontario Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli is a wonderful start.
“It’s thrilling to see three levels of government come together to enable something transformative like this,” said Expo Next co-chair Marcello Cabezas. “Young Torontonians like myself have always dreamed of a waterfront with global significance. This starts the journey and we are so thankful for this leadership.”
Expo Next Co-Chair Kendra Teale FitzRandolph added: “I believe that Toronto is leading the Renaissance movement in making great cities for the future. It is the innovative actions brought on by private public relationships such as this that will enhance the physical, visual and psychological access to the water while also protecting existing habitat and enhance the waterfront edge and site ecosystem.”
The Essroc Quay Lakefilling project will be led by Waterfront Toronto, which expects to begin work in mid-2017. More information on the project can be found here.
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Canada can be a global focus point for innovation, and hosting an expo is a means to deliver on this vision and showcase it to the international community; in an era of “fast and profound change,” expos serve as a means to take stock of national and international accomplishments while providing a forum for the discussion of novel possibilities for the future.
Expos are urban laboratories – they are megaevents where the focus is not distraction nor even primarily entertainment, but on interrogation of the conditions of modern life. Expos are not a spectacle, they are a forum for conversation and collaboration. They are uniquely collaborative compared to other megaevents – each visitor is free to experience and think about the site, its pavilions, and any displays in their own way – indeed, they are urged to do so. While at other megaevents visitors are so often passive spectators, at an Expo they become active in a conversation with international reach.
Many people from all walks of life also participate in organizing and developing the project both before an Expo opens and during its operation. Expos are innovative by their very nature, and originated in the nineteenth century as a means for showcasing new and exciting technologies to the general public. They still serve a similar purpose. Expos are also powerful international branding tools; by hosting an Expo and participating in it, Torontonians and Canadians all across the country can show themselves to the international community as a confident nation of innovators.
World Expos differ from Olympics or Pan Am Games
Expos differ from Olympics, or Pan Am Games; they are catalysts that accelerate the development of their time, producing new solutions to contemporary problems through the conversations they develop. They allow the public to not only see but also participate in the future of their urban environment. These spaces of experimentation and exploration develop conversations that outlast expos and lead to lasting changes in the built environment.
Each visitor to an Expo participates in these conversations to some degree, and will take new, challenging ideas home with them when they leave the expo grounds. Expos have the potential to innovate how people live their lives, just from a visit to their grounds. Who knows what new ideas and new technologies people may encounter as they explore Expo? From the IMAX screen to the City Beautiful movement, from the Ferris Wheel to freeways, from video-conferencing to touchscreens, expos have long served as a means of advertising new beliefs and technologies and as means through which the “intercultural exchange of innovation” has been facilitated.
Expo will harness creativity, incorporating the cutting edge of Canadian academics, artists, developers, entrepreneurs, and scientists for instance. For six months in 2025, Canada’s cutting edge can interact with the general visiting public, and with representatives of the international community. There is no way to fully predict the possibilities an expo might realize through these interactions, but the promise is enormous. In their capacity as an international forum, Canadian businesses will have an opportunity to show themselves off to the world – as forward thinking, ready to meet the challenges of the future and devise novel solutions.
Toronto City Council has already asked, should a bid be successful, that Expo 2025 be the most sustainable Expo ever hosted. So, in 2025 in Toronto, the pressing concern of sustainability might be a conversation that the world can have, together, at Expo. Together with nation representatives exhibiting from around the world, we might devise how to make our cities more livable, and more environmentally friendly. While we do not yet know what our theme may be, we know that it will address the challenges of the modern world, and in doing so it will invite all participants in the Expo to participate in devising a solution.
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