Key takeaways

• Torontonians are interested in vibrant music and arts. 
• Most popular hobbies in Toronto include hiking, playing ice hockey running, and Rugby.
• According to the most recent data from 2016, about 76% of Toronto adults consumed alcohol in the past 12 months.

Introduction

• The research brief contains a psychographic profile of the residents of Toronto and North York. However, the research team found that data relating to North York psychographics was limited in the public domain. We believe the data was limited because North York is a suburb of Toronto. Therefore, the data for North York has been included in the data for Toronto.

Interests/likes of Torontonians (North York inclusive)

• People from Toronto like diverse things including brunch, Patios, complaining about gentrification, complaining about the TTC, cheering for the Jays, Coffee, the East vs. West debate, and lining up for food.
• Torontonians love their personal space. 
• They are interested in vibrant music and arts. 

Most common hobbies of Torontonians(North York inclusive)

• Most popular hobbies in Toronto include hiking, playing ice hockey running, and Rugby.
• Millennials from Toronto are now collecting postage stamps as their hobby.

Toronto Alcohol Use

• Alcohol is one of the most regularly used psychoactive drugs among Canadians.

• According to the most recent data from 2016, about 76% of Toronto adults consumed alcohol in the past 12 months.

• About 29% of grade 7 to 12 students in Toronto consumed alcohol in the past 12 months.
• Toronto residents ages 19 to 39 years are more prone to consume alcohol compared to older age groups.
• Approximately 17% of adults ages 19 and above reported heavy drinking incidents at least once a month. The male gender was twice as likely to have regular heavy drinking episodes than the Females.

Smoking Use

• About 75% of Canadians in 2019 and 66% in 2020 believed daily smoking of cannabis increase the risk of mental health problems.
• About 93% of people who smoked cannabis in the past 12 months believed cannabis could be habit-forming
• In 2014, approximately 10.6% of Toronto's residents smoked daily, and 4.7% smoked seldom.

 

Source

 

Recreational Drug Use

• Recreational cannabis is the most regularly used illegal drug in Canada. Studies suggest that regular use of drugs in Toronto has been associated with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.

• About 14% of adults in Toronto reported using cannabis in the past 12 months, and 7% used it once per month or more.

• Cannabis is the most regularly used drug after alcohol. "24% of grade 11/12 students reported using cannabis in the past 12 months, and 6% used it 4 to 6 times per week or more."

• Factors such as social determinants have been linked to driving people to substance use as a coping mechanism. 

General health

• The majority of Toronto inhabitants have positive mental health. However, about 71% of Toronto adults rate their mental health as being excellent or very good.
• About 32% of Toronto adults had not visited a dentist in the past year. Almost, 38% indicated cost as a barrier in 2014.
• Over the last 10 years, the rate of STL has increased by about 58%. 

Research Strategy