Op-ed · Sep 25, 2026
By Dr. Bahira Abdulsalam, P.Eng.
Candidate for Mayor of Toronto
Racism has a human cost. It also has an economic cost – and Toronto cannot afford either.
When a qualified person is denied an opportunity because of their race, name, religion, accent or background, that individual may lose a job or income. But our city loses something too: productivity, skills, entrepreneurship, consumer spending and tax revenue.
When discrimination contributes to poverty and housing instability, the consequences can extend further – to food insecurity, homelessness, emergency shelters and other public services.
As Mayor, I want Toronto to treat equality not only as a human-rights responsibility, but also as an important part of our economic strategy.
The economic evidence is significant
The United States has already attempted to measure the economic consequences of racial inequality.
In 2020, Citi estimated that if major economic gaps affecting Black Americans in wages, housing, education and investment had been closed 20 years earlier, US$16 trillion could have been added to the American economy. Citi further estimated that closing those gaps could add US$5 trillion to U.S. GDP over the following five years.
These are modelled economic opportunities rather than literal accounting losses. Nevertheless, they illustrate an important principle: racial inequality can impose costs on the entire economy.
Canada should be asking the same question – and so should Toronto.
The wage gaps are measurable
Statistics Canada reported that in 2024, employees aged 25–54 who were neither racialized nor Indigenous earned an average of $39.62 per hour.
Black employees averaged $30.84 – 22.2% less.
Filipino employees averaged $29.35 – 25.9% less.
Latin American employees averaged $33.02, Arab employees $35.43 and South Asian employees $35.71.
Education does not necessarily eliminate these differences. Black employees with a university degree averaged $34.76 per hour, compared with $48.26 for similarly educated non-racialized, non-Indigenous employees – a difference of 28%.
Statistics Canada cautions that wages are influenced by education, occupation, industry and other characteristics. We therefore cannot claim that discrimination causes every dollar of these differences.
But we cannot ignore the economic disparities either.
This matters enormously to Toronto
Toronto’s diversity is one of its greatest assets.
According to the 2021 Census, approximately 1.54 million Torontonians – 55.7% of our population – were racialized.
That included approximately 385,000 South Asian residents, 296,000 Chinese residents, 265,000 Black residents and 170,000 Filipino residents.
When more than half of the population belongs to racialized communities, removing unnecessary barriers to economic participation is not a niche social policy.
It is economic policy.
Toronto cannot reach its full economic potential while leaving the potential of hundreds of thousands of its residents underused.
Women face overlapping barriers
We must also recognize that inequality intersects.
Women can experience gender-related economic disparities, while racialized women may encounter barriers related to both gender and race.
This matters to families as well as individuals.
When a mother who is qualified to earn $80,000 earns $50,000 because she cannot access opportunities matching her qualifications, the consequences affect her children, housing choices, retirement savings and ability to participate in Toronto’s economy.
Our goal should not simply be to create jobs.
It should be to remove unjustified barriers preventing people from obtaining jobs and advancement that reflect their abilities.
From employment inequality to housing insecurity
The economic consequences become even more serious when inadequate income intersects with Toronto’s housing crisis.
The City reports that approximately one in five Black Torontonians was in core housing need in 2021 – twice the rate among non-racialized residents.
Across Toronto, approximately 215,225 households were in core housing need in 2021.
Housing unaffordability is certainly not caused solely by racism. Toronto has a severe shortage of affordable housing, high rents and broader structural housing problems.
But racial and economic inequalities can compound those pressures.
Lower earnings mean less money available for rent.
Unstable employment increases the risk of losing housing.
Housing discrimination can further restrict people’s choices.
And once somebody becomes homeless, Toronto may end up paying for emergency shelter and other crisis services.
We must stop paying for crisis when we can invest in prevention
This is where economic policy and social policy meet.
Consider the possible chain:
Employment barriers → lower income → housing insecurity → eviction → homelessness → emergency shelter and crisis services.
Every stage can become more expensive.
Instead of waiting until people reach the final stage, government should intervene earlier wherever doing so is effective and economically justified.
Affordable housing is therefore not simply an expenditure.
It can be preventive infrastructure.
Keeping someone successfully housed can potentially avoid shelter use and some of the other public costs associated with homelessness.
That is why I want Toronto to evaluate housing policy using both sides of the ledger:
What does affordable housing cost us to provide – and what does preventing homelessness save us?
Toronto’s homelessness data demand attention
The City’s Street Needs Assessment shows that racial inequality is also visible among people experiencing homelessness.
Black residents constitute roughly 10% of Toronto’s population, yet the City’s assessment reports that 59% of surveyed respondents experiencing homelessness identified as Black.
Indigenous people were also significantly overrepresented.
These numbers require careful interpretation because a homelessness survey is not identical to the general Census population, but the disparity is far too significant to ignore.
Our response should be based on evidence rather than assumptions.
We need to understand how housing affordability, poverty, discrimination, mental health, addiction, family breakdown, immigration circumstances and other factors contribute to homelessness – and intervene where the evidence tells us intervention works.
My proposal: measure the economic cost of inequality
As Mayor, I would propose that Toronto undertake a comprehensive Economic Cost of Discrimination and Inequality Study.
I want us to measure the economic consequences associated with disparities in:
- employment and unemployment
- wages and occupational advancement
- professional credential recognition and underemployment
- gender and racial inequality
- entrepreneurship and access to capital
- City procurement opportunities
- housing discrimination and housing affordability
- homelessness and shelter utilization
- barriers affecting internationally trained professionals
Most importantly, the study should distinguish correlation from causation.
I do not want Toronto to manufacture a politically convenient number.
I want evidence.
If a disparity can be explained by occupation, education, age, immigration history or another measurable variable, the analysis should say so.
Where evidence demonstrates discrimination or systemic barriers, we should say that too – and calculate their economic consequences wherever the data permit.
From shelters to permanent homes
My housing approach would also put greater emphasis on moving public investment upstream.
Emergency shelters remain necessary. Nobody should be abandoned when they have nowhere safe to sleep.
But a shelter bed is not a home.
Toronto should aggressively pursue opportunities to preserve existing affordable rental housing, because the City itself recognizes that preserving existing affordable rental stock is generally cheaper than constructing replacement housing.
We should also examine suitable underused City properties and pursue partnerships with other public institutions, non-profits and responsible private partners to expand affordable and supportive housing.
We should strengthen homelessness prevention and help households at genuine risk of losing their homes before they enter the shelter system.
And we should measure outcomes – not simply how much money we spend.
- How many people became permanently housed?
- How many households avoided homelessness?
- How many shelter stays were prevented?
- How much did those interventions cost compared with emergency responses?
Those are questions taxpayers deserve to have answered.
Equality is economic infrastructure
I want Toronto to become a city where your name does not determine whether your résumé receives consideration.
Where an immigrant engineer, physician, scientist or other qualified professional does not spend years unable to use their skills.
Where women have genuine opportunities to advance.
Where Black, Indigenous, Muslim, Jewish, Arab, Asian and other communities are treated with dignity and equal opportunity.
Where Palestinians and people of every background can participate in civic life without discrimination.
And where we recognize that protecting people from racism does not require diminishing anyone else.
Equal opportunity is not a zero-sum game.
When more Torontonians succeed, our city becomes more productive.
When families earn more, they spend more in local businesses.
When entrepreneurs succeed, they create jobs.
When people remain housed, we can reduce pressure on emergency systems.
When highly educated newcomers use their qualifications, Canada receives a return on the human capital already present in our communities.
This is why fighting racism is not merely a social objective.
It is economic development.
Toronto cannot afford to waste talent.
Toronto cannot afford to normalize discrimination.
Toronto cannot afford to spend endlessly managing preventable crises while ignoring some of their underlying causes.
My approach as Mayor would be straightforward:
Measure the problem. Follow the evidence. Remove discriminatory barriers. Invest earlier where prevention works. Demand measurable results.
Because every Torontonian who is given a fair opportunity to reach their potential strengthens our entire city.
A stronger Toronto requires everyone to have a fair opportunity to contribute.
Sources
- Statistics Canada, Average earnings, 2024, Labour Force Survey.
- City of Toronto, 2021 Census profile: 1,537,285 Toronto residents identified as visible minorities/racialized, representing 55.7% of the population.
- City of Toronto, Toronto Housing Data Book: one in five Black Torontonians was in core housing need in 2021, twice the rate among non-racialized residents.
- City of Toronto housing data: approximately 215,225 Toronto households were in core housing need in 2021; preserving existing affordable rental housing is generally cheaper than building new housing.
- City of Toronto, Street Needs Assessment: Black and Indigenous residents are disproportionately represented among people experiencing homelessness.
- Citi, Closing the Racial Inequality Gaps: estimated that closing major Black–White gaps in wages, housing, education and investment 20 years earlier could have added US$16 trillion to the U.S. economy.
Authorized by the campaign to elect Bahira Abdulsalam for Mayor.
