How much does the City of Toronto collect and spend?

Toronto ranks eighth overall among all governments in Canada by budget size, ahead of many provinces and territories, and all other municipalities. The city, the largest in Canada by population, boasts an extensive public transit network, the largest public library system in Canada, a large portfolio of social housing units, an integrated road network, well-equipped emergency services, parks and recreational facilities, and more. In short, it’s a large city that offers a lot of services and amenities. All of this comes at a cost.

Setting the budget

One of the major responsibilities of Toronto City Councillors is to prepare and approve the city’s annual operating budget that covers the day-to-day costs of running the city, including the delivery of services, staff salaries, recreation programs, public health, road maintenance, and operating the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), and the city’s emergency services such as the police, firefighters and ambulances. You can learn more about the budget cycle here.

Unlike their provincial or federal counterparts, municipalities in Ontario are prohibited by law from running deficits. Which means, each year, the city has to figure out how to pay for all of its services using existing revenue streams. They are also not allowed to borrow money to pay for operational expenses, adding another constraint to the budgeting process.

In mid-February 2026, the Toronto City Council unanimously approved the 2026 operating budget of $18.9 million, up 1.1% from $18.8 billion the year before. While the approved budget represents projected revenues and expenses for 2026, it doesn’t 100% reflect what the city spends or collects. To get a better picture of that, we’ll look at the City’s audited financial details from its 2024 Annual Financial Report and Financial Statements, the most recent reports available, to illustrate how the city generates revenue and what it spends the money on.

What are the City of Toronto’s revenue streams?

In 2024, the City of Toronto recorded revenues of $18.2 billion, an increase of 11.5% from $16.3 billion the year before. City revenues come from several sources which include: Property taxes; government transfers; user charges; municipal land transfer tax; investment income; development charges; rent and concessions; earnings from government-owned enterprises; and other revenue sources.

The City’s primary source of revenue is property taxes, which accounted for three out of 10 dollars it generated in revenue in 2024. Meanwhile, government transfers accounted for a quarter of total revenues. The chart below shows a breakdown of the city’s revenues by source in percentage and dollar terms.

What does Toronto spend its money on?

In 2024, Toronto spent $16.1 billion. This covers everything from the general operation of the government, transit, social services, recreation centres and more. Among its expenses, transportation was the top line item. That year, the city spent $4.4 billion, or 27.5% of total expenses, on transportation, which includes funding for the TTC, road maintenance, and other transportation-related programs and initiatives. This was followed by social and family services, where spending reached $3.6 billion, representing 22.6% of total expenses. Protection of people and property — think police — ranks third at $2.4 billion. These three collectively made up two-thirds of the city’s total expenses.