Item - 2026.EC28.5

 The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1. Received the report (April 20, 2026) from the General Manager, Parks and Recreation for information.  

Early Local Registration (ELR) was directed by Toronto City Council in October 2024 to improve local access to high-demand, free registered recreation programs at the City’s Free Centres, particularly for residents living nearby and in lower-income neighbourhoods. ELR allows eligible residents living within a defined catchment area near a Free Centre to register for programs one week in advance of general registration.

Parks and Recreation implemented ELR using a phased approach beginning in Summer 2025, initially at six Free Centre locations, with gradual expansion over successive registration sessions. ELR will be fully implemented at all 37 Free Centre locations with registered programming by Fall 2026. 

Implementation of ELR has been supported by extensive community and Councillor engagement, local outreach, and targeted promotion. Over the past year, more than 3,600 residents have been directly engaged through in-person, virtual, and pop-up sessions, alongside hyper-local communications and partnership with community agencies and City divisions.

ELR is guided by a data-driven program design and ongoing evaluation. Findings to date indicate that ELR has improved access to registered programs for local residents and residents from lower-income areas at participating Free Centres, while resulting in an expected reduction in access for some non-local clients. The impacts of this displacement have been closely monitored and mitigation measures, including individualized client support, promotion of the Welcome Policy, and service planning adjustments where possible, have been implemented to help address identified challenges. 

The purpose of this report is to provide City Council with an update on the implementation of Early Local Registration, summarize evaluation findings and outcomes to date, and outline the approved sustainment approach to support the ongoing delivery of the program.