Who's where
SUBURBS (GTA and CMA) 2,666,000 52% ------AMALGAMATED CITY
OF TORONTO 2,456,805 48%
From cold showers to multiple bathrooms: 50
years in the city
Heating the home:
| In 1951, 440 households in the CMA were heated with wood. Gas
heating was the new kid on the block, and was in slightly more
than 1 per cent of households. |
By 2000, gas was the main household heating fuel, in 81 per cent
of homes. |
1951
Coal 60.2%
Oil 38.0%
Gas 1.4%
|
2000
Gas 81.4%
Electricity 13.2%
Oil 5.4%
|
On the road
| In 1951, personal vehicles were still something of a novelty.
In all of Canada, there were just 2.6 million. |
By 2002, the GTA alone had 2.8 million. But the number entering
downtown Toronto hasn't grown since the mid-'80s. That's because
the downtown is saturated.
|
Rush hour
Between 1951 and 2001 the number of people entering
downtown during the morning rush hour almost tripled to 320,900
from 108,403.
During the same period the number of cars entering downtown jumped
to 102,870 from 17,071.
The congestion is little surprise given the fact that the percentage
of commuters using public transit has risen by just 1 per cent
to 66%.
|
Teen sex
Birth control and abortion were illegal in Canada until 1969, so no one
has accurate records of teenage pregnancies back to the 1950s. Even
married women had to rely on the social conscience of their family
doctor or gynecologist to get birth control or to have a tubal ligation
after they had had their quota of children. The first birth-control-counselling
clinic in Toronto was set up in late 1974. In 1976 (the first year
of accurate statistics), an average of 56.9 of every 1,000 girls in
Metro Toronto aged 15 to 19 were pregnant. Roughly half the pregnancies
ended in live birth and the other half ended in therapeutic abortion,
often at clinics in the United States or in Montreal. In 2000, the
comparable figure was 45.3 for every 1,000. Of those, about twice as
many ended in abortions as in live births. (Source 1)
The bottom rung
In 1951, the minimum wage for a woman working in a factory
was 35 cents an hour. In 2003, minimum wage for either a man or a
woman in any occupation is $6.85.
Bare necessities1951: No water 1.3%, Cold water
only 6.8%, No bath 4.0%
2000--Have a bathroom 100.0%, Have two or more bathrooms 44.6%
Growing up
Fifty years ago, Toronto was in the thick of the baby boom that followed
the end of the Second World War. Then, about 28 per cent of the CMA's
population was under 15, compared to 20 per cent now. Today, those boomers
are heading toward the ranks of the senior citizens. Already, more than
11 per cent of the CMA's population is 65 or older, compared to less
than 9 per cent in 1951.
Marriage is over
In 1951, there were only about 3,800 people in the city
of Toronto (not the CMA) who were divorced. By 2001, there were 133,085.
In 2001, the CMA had 96,610 families living common-law. It wasn't counted
in 1951.
Changing faith
Percentage of the Toronto CMA population in 1951 and 2001
by selected religions:
1951
Roman Catholic 16.8%
Jewish 6.0%
Muslim not categorized
2001
Roman Catholic 33.4%
Jewish 3.5%
Muslim 5.3%
The better way
A TTC cash fare in 1951 cost only 10 cents (71 cents in today's
coin), the subway consisted of 7.4 km of track. In 2003 a ride on the
Rocket costs $2.25 and the subway has grown to 42.5 km. (Source 3)
Feeding junior
In 1950, a pound of bread cost the equivalent of 76 cents
in today's money. A dozen eggs was the equivalent of $4.10.
Tracing our origins (CMA)
In 1951 the census asked people to record their origin as
a single response. In 2001, each person was able to report up to six
different ethnic origins, accounting for the total being greater than
100 per cent.
1951 (Single responses)
Other: 3.0% Asiatic: 0.9% Other European: 3.7% Ukrainian: 2.6% Scandinavian:
0.6% Russian: 0.5% Polish: 2.4% Netherlands: 1.1% Jewish: 5.3% Italian:
2.5% German: 1.7% French: 2.8% British Isles Origin: 72.6%
2001 (Multiple responses)
Oceania: 0.1% East and Southeast Asian: 14.7% South Asian: 10.8% West
Asian: 1.9% African: 2.6% Central and South American: 1.7% North American:
19.0% French: 4.8% British Isles: 27.4% Arab: 1.5% Other European: 35.5%
Caribbean: 6.0% Aboriginal: 1.0%
Comparing the GTA and CMA
In 1951, the people who lived in Statistics Canada's definition of the
census metropolitan area (CMA) of Toronto logged in at slightly more
than 1 million. By 2001, the figure was nearly 4.7 million. The map
shows how the CMA has grown and compares the current boundary with
that of the GTA. (see map)
Key
Current CMA
CMA, 1976/1981
CMA, 1951
Greater Toronto Area
The CMA population has grown at a steady rate during the last half century.
1951 1,117,470
1976 2,803,101
2001 4,682,895
Where we live
How the CMA population is divided by housing types:
1951
Single attached house: 25.5%
Apartment or flat: 22.1%
Single detached house: 52.1%
Other: 0.3%
2001
Apartment building with five or more storeys: 21.20%
Duplex or apartment building with fewer than five storeys: 8.30%
Other house: 18.67%
Movable dwelling: 0.03%
Single detached house: 51.80%
Cosmopolitan city
The percentage of immigrants and non-permanent
residents in the amalgamated city of Toronto:
1951 Foreign born: 30.9%
2001 Foreign born: 51.2%
Money talks
The value of shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange
(2001 $):
1951: $8.5-billion
2001: $637.7- billion
Nearing equality
The percentage of male and female workers in the Toronto
CMA:
1951
Male: 70%
Female: 30%
2001
Male: 52%
Female: 48%
Hatch, match and dispatch
Rates per 100,000 residents for the City of Toronto
| 1951 |
2001 |
Births 200
Marriages 170
Deaths 110
|
Births 120
Marriages 60
Deaths 70
|
Note: City of Toronto boundaries are not standardized
and rates for 2000 are based on an estimated population of 2,542,844
The doctor's office
In 1950, the top five communicable diseases in Ontario (and,
by inference, Toronto) were the illnesses of childhood: measles, rubella,
mumps, chickenpox and whooping cough. Mandatory vaccines have banished
all but chickenpox from normal childhood. Today, three of the top five
reportable communicable diseases in Toronto can be prevented with the
use of a condom. In order they are: chlamydia, chickenpox, gonorrhea,
hepatitis C and campylobacter enteritis (food-borne bacteria stemming
most commonly from undercooked poultry or pork). Doctors have developed
a vaccine for chickenpox but it is not mandatory in Toronto.
Between 1951 and 2000 the rate of infant deaths dropped from 50 per 100,000
residents to 7. That means 363 infant deaths in 1951 compared with 180.
Over the same period the rate of stillbirths fell from 40 per 100,000
to only 9. That is 268 compared with 240 in 2000. (Source 2)
Retail therapy
Retail space per person in the Toronto CMA:
1951 16 sq. feet
2003 30 sq. feet
Keeping in touch
In 1950, more than a third of telephones were operated from
switchboards that required operators to plug lines in by hand. That
same year, Ontario boasted 161,141 individual residence lines, as opposed
to the far more common party lines. By 2002, Canada had 12.7 million
residential telephone lines.
Earning our keep (CMA)
1951
Owners and managers 5.6%
Professional 8.8%
Clerical 22.2%
Agricultural 0.5%
Logging, mining, quarrying 0.1%
Manufacturing 23.5%
Construction 5.2%
Electric, light & power production 1.0%
Transportation 5.6%
Commercial 8.5%
Service 9.6%
Commercial 1.8% Financial 1.0%
Labourers 5.7%
Other 1.0%
|
2001
Processing, manufacturing
and utilities 8.3%
Primary industry 0.9%
Trades, transport and equipment
operators 11.3%
Sales & service occupations 22.1%
Art, culture, recreation & sport 3.7%
Social science, education, gov't
service and religion 6.6%
Health 4.1%
Natural & applied sciences 8.2%
Business, finance & administrative 21.7%
Management 13.0%
|
Sources
Most of the information came from Statistics Canada's censuses of 1951
and 2001, as well as other Statscan surveys.
Intro sources:
profile TORONTO: Population Growth and Aging, City of Toronto Urban Development
Services, January 2003.
People and Places: A Portrait of the Evolving Social Character of the
Greater Toronto Region, Larry S. Bourke, Jan. 31, 2000.
Other sources:
1. Maureen Orton and Toronto Public Health, Health Information & Planning
2. Canada Year Book 1952/53 and Toronto Public Health and Leslie Geran,
senior analyst, Statistics Canada
3. The Toronto Transit Commission
4. TSX Group
5. Canada Year Book 1952/53 and John Winter Assoc. Ltd.
6. Leslie Geran, senior analyst, Statistics Canada
7. Urban Strategies Inc.
8. 2001 City of Toronto Cordon Count Program and Metropolitan Toronto
Key Facts, 1970; Ontario Ministry of Transportation Ontario and Canada
Year Book, 1952/53
GRAPHIC: RICHARD PALMER --AND ALANNA MITCHELL
RESEARCH: RICK CASH AND STEPHEN RODGER / THE GLOBE AND MAIL.
PETER FRAYNE AND WILLIAM DORE / STATSCAN.
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