Item - 2025.EX28.4

The Executive Director, Toronto Emergency Management recommends that:

1. City Council request the Executive Director, Toronto Emergency Management to continue working with the City's Hot Weather Response Coordinating Committee to finalize and implement the draft 2026 Heat Relief Strategy in Attachment 1, and to review and update the Strategy as appropriate and when necessary.

The Heat Relief Strategy guides the City of Toronto's response to hot weather, with a goal of minimizing the health impacts of extreme heat. Its primary focus is to provide tailored relief to populations most vulnerable to heat. It is active during the heat season, which runs annually from May 15 to September 30.  

This report will respond to City Council direction MM31.21, which requested City staff to review City’s Heat Relief Strategy (the Strategy) and provide recommendations for enhancement, and MM31.26, , which directed staff improve timely and accurate public updates about pool and recreation facility closures.

Toronto is increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change, including more frequent, prolonged and extreme heat events. The summer of 2025 was among the hottest in the past decade, with a total of 29 days under a Heat Warning issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

The first Heat Warning in June 2025 was marked by high heat, with temperatures reaching 34.5°C, and Humidex values that reached 46, the highest Humidex ever recorded in Toronto for the month of June. The severity of this event highlighted areas where the City's response measures needed strengthening, including expanded access to cool spaces, increased water distribution and more coordinated, proactive communications. Challenges were experienced with the operation of public pools during the Heat Warning, requiring additional staffing, enhanced occupational health and safety measures, and a more proactive approach to pool maintenance to support uninterrupted service.

In response, City divisions implemented enhanced measures during summer 2025, and Toronto Emergency Management coordinated an interdivisional review of the Heat Relief Strategy to identify further recommendations for strengthening it.

Building on lessons learned from 2025 and City Council direction, the City is advancing an updated Heat Relief Strategy for summer 2026. Key updates include:

- Improved public communications to provide timely and accurate information about pool operations through the City’s website and 311 Toronto.

- Enhanced occupational health and safety measures and operational readiness for indoor and outdoor pools, including pre-season facility and equipment assessments to provide continuous and reliable operations and safe conditions for staff and the public.

- Improved contingency plans for CampTO to reduce heat exposure for staff and children during the heat season, including the purchase and deployment of portable air conditioning units to ensure every camp had access to a designated cool space.

- Expanded access to cool spaces, including the introduction of a 24-hour cool space during Heat Warnings.

- Dedicated engagement with vulnerable populations, including the dissemination of heat-related information and, in some cases, direct check-ins during heat events. Building on a 2025 Canadian Red Cross pilot, future outreach pilots will be explored, informed by best available evidence and approaches scalable to a city the size of Toronto.

- Expanded access to drinking water through deployment of water trailers and distribution of bottled water.

- Strengthened emergency management, including a pre-season tabletop exercise in April 2026 and continuing to convene the Heat Warning Table ahead of forecasted alerts to coordinate Heat Warning-activated services.

This report has been prepared in coordination with two other climate-related reports being presented to City Council: Progress and Priorities for Enhancing Toronto’s Climate Resilience (led by Environment, Climate and Forestry) and Towards Implementing a Maximum Indoor Temperature Requirement for Rental Units and Cooling Rooms (led by Municipal Licensing and Standards, co-signed by Toronto Public Health and Environment, Climate and Forestry). Together, all three reports contribute to a coordinated approach to enhancing immediate and long-term heat resilience across Toronto. The Heat Relief Strategy will be updated after City Council considers these two related reports, ensuring alignment across all three initiatives.

The 2026 Heat Relief Strategy will be finalized and posted publicly on the City's website by May 1, 2026.

In 2025, City divisions incurred the costs shown in the table below to implement the actions directed by City Council under MM31.21. Toronto experienced 29 days under a Heat Warning during six separate Heat Warning events in 2025. All expenses were managed within each division’s 2025 operating budget except for the grant to Project FoodChain, which was funded through the City's Corporate Extreme Weather Reserve (XQ1408). No additional or enhanced funding was required beyond these sources.

No seasonal forecast for summer 2026 can be provided this far in advance. As a frame of reference to guide planning and costing, Toronto Public Health has reviewed ECCC data and historical trends, and assuming a summer of similar severity, has provided estimates of approximately 25 days under a Heat Warning over seven separate events. This assumption reflects a higher-end estimate. City divisions anticipate incurring the costs outlined in the table below to implement actions directed by City Council under MM31.21 in this scenario. All expenses will be managed within each division’s 2026 operating budget; no additional or enhanced funding is anticipated.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with information included in the Financial Impact section.