Item - 2026.EC26.5

The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1. Requested the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to report back to Economic and Community Development Committee, in the progress report for Cultural Connects: An Action Plan for Culture in Toronto (2025 – 2035) in 2027, on findings from the Cultural Infrastructure Study, providing information about the needs and opportunities for cultural infrastructure in Scarborough, including performing arts uses and performing arts spaces.

The City of Toronto approved Culture Connects: An Action Plan for Culture in Toronto, the City’s 10-year culture plan adopted by Council in November 2024 and this was a step in the right direction. Advancing a feasibility study to establish a Centre for Performing Arts in Scarborough aligns with a key priority of Culture Connects: Culture Everywhere, which speaks to the establishment of new cultural spaces across all of the city of Toronto. Identifying this vital piece of cultural infrastructure can help lead to opportunities for local artists, enriching community life and ensuring cultural programming reaches all corners of our city. There is data to support the lack of public spaces to play, learn and share in Scarborough and with this recommendation Council can start to ameliorate this condition.