Item - 2025.HL26.5

The Board of Health:

1. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to include in upcoming Strategic Plan updates, progress on the Toronto Public Health (TPH) Public Health Surveillance Framework, including: 

a. public launch of the first phase of the public health monitoring dashboard; and 

b. progress on planning and development of additional monitoring indicators.   

2. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to partner with academics and community researchers, City divisions and others to assess the feasibility of qualitative and quantitative research on areas of human health where data sources do not currently exist, such as: 

a. excess deaths and the burden of illness from heat and air quality; and 

b. health-related behavioural impacts that contribute to adaptation and resilience.

3. Directed the Medical Officer of Health to include where possible and applicable, as part of the tracking and reporting of the health indicators outlined in Attachment 3 to the report (June 20, 2025) from the Acting Medical Officer of Health, disaggregated indicator data that outlines whether the cause of the indicator outcome was the result of indoor or outdoor exposure (for example, rate of emergency department visits for heat-related illness from outdoor exposure, and separately, rate of emergency department visits for heat-related illness from indoor exposure).

In November 2023, the Board of Health adopted Item 2023.HL8.3 Public Health Impacts of Climate Change in Toronto: A Path Forward for Responding to the Climate Crisis, re-establishing a commitment to leadership and collaboration on climate change and health actions that reduce health inequities. The Board of Health also recommended that the Medical Officer of Health report back in 2025 on progress on a surveillance framework, climate change health indicators, and collaboration efforts.  

The most recent Toronto climate projections reinforce the need for a systematic way to track the health impacts of the increasing heat, variable precipitation and unpredictable weather that will affect health. Timely monitoring and surveillance of impacts on health and wellbeing, including from climate change, are a strategic priority action for Toronto Public Health (TPH). 

This report describes Toronto Public Health’s approach to creating a climate change-related health impact surveillance framework, which will be developed over the next several years. The first phase of this work will create a publicly accessible dashboard that is expected to launch in spring 2026. The dashboard will be updated annually and will share information related to the health impacts of climate change, including:

• Heat related illnesses
• Vector borne diseases from ticks and mosquitoes
• Injuries following severe weather
• Health impacts of poor air quality
• Impacts from UV radiation
• Food-borne diseases; and
• Water quality implications.