Item - 2026.EC27.4

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1. Received the report (March 25, 2026) from the Executive Director, Social Development for information.

Toronto’s Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism is Canada’s first municipal strategy dedicated to addressing systemic anti-Black racism and improving access, outcomes, and life opportunities for Black Torontonians through City policy, programs, services, and community partnerships. Adopted by City Council in December 2017 and developed in partnership with Black communities, the Action Plan established 22 recommendations and 80 actions across five issue areas to address long-standing structural barriers and inequities experienced by Toronto’s diverse Black communities.

This report provides City Council with an update on Year Five (2023–2024), the final implementation period of the current Action Plan, confirms progress achieved between 2018 and 2024, and outlines priority work to be advanced in 2026 and early 2027. Over its lifespan, the Action Plan delivered 96 per cent of identified actions, strengthened interdivisional coordination, expanded partnerships with Black-led and Black-serving organizations, and built durable institutional capacity to apply an anti-Black racism lens across City operations. These efforts resulted in tangible community-facing outcomes while embedding accountability mechanisms to support sustained systems change.

Despite this progress, Black Torontonians continue to experience disproportionate and persistent outcomes across key determinants of wellbeing, including housing stability, food security, employment, and crisis response. Black residents remain significantly overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness, experience higher rates of food insecurity, and face elevated unemployment—particularly among youth. These outcomes reflect structural and systemic conditions that cannot be addressed through time-limited initiatives or business as usual service delivery alone and underscore the continued need for coordinated, targeted, and sustained municipal action.

The report also provides an update on Action Plan Legacy Initiatives that address complex and intergenerational barriers, including the Black-Mandated Funding Framework, the Toronto Black Food Sovereignty Plan, and the Growing in Place Initiative. These multi-year, cross-cutting initiatives extend beyond the original Action Plan timelines and demonstrate the scale, duration, and coordination required to achieve lasting systems change and improved outcomes for Black communities.

In response to City Council direction, staff are advancing work toward a renewed 10 Year Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism, to be brought forward for Council consideration in Q2 2027. While this work is underway, the City will continue advancing priority actions to maintain momentum, build on prior investments, and strengthen accountability. The renewed Action Plan will build on lessons learned between 2018 and 2024, shift from foundational capacity building toward deeper, measurable systems change, and provide a clear framework to address persistent disparities experienced by Black Torontonians.

By strengthening systems and service pathways that better serve Black communities, these targeted approaches also improve effectiveness, equity, and value for money across City services, supporting broader Council priorities related to safety, access, and service quality for all Toronto residents.