Full List of Teens’ Questions for Candidates

All questions were developed by youth across Toronto through workshops hosted by TPL Teen Councils at Albert Campbell District, Barbara Frum, Beaches, Fairview, and Woodside Square branches.

At each workshop, participants explored major challenges facing our city, drafted candidate questions, and voted on a favourite to represent their library’s Teen Council. With support from our advisory group, the final question was selected from among five branch finalists to represent youth perspectives in this election.

This question was sent to all registered City Hall candidates (Mayor and Council), who were invited to share their positions. Check back regularly to see their responses as new candidate answers are added daily!

Woodside Square

Sept 11

Winning question from Woodside Square

The immense cost of living has been a highly prominent and serious problem for many Torontonians, and continues to grow at this very moment. Citizens cannot afford and/or sustain themselves with these current costs. What would you prioritize on the next City Council in order to make Toronto a more affordable city to live in, soon enough for it to matter to residents?

All questions

  • Toronto’s buildings produce over half of our city’s greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from burning natural gas for heating. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to accelerate home and building energy retrofits, so that Toronto can reach its net-zero emissions goal by 240, and lower energy bills for residents?
  • Many youths are finding difficulties in employment in Toronto. As the cost of living continues to rise, youth are unable to support themselves. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to improve the job market for youths in Toronto?
  • Parking is an issue in the city as it is expensive, and the government is taking money from humans for just parking. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to ensure the parking cost is cheaper?
  • The price of housing doesn’t match the people’s income; it usually takes 25 years to pay off a mortgage. What concrete steps could you take to create change and prevent this from happening?
  • Housing takes lots of time to build and by the time it’s built many new people who moved into the country are homeless. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to build housing faster?
  • When people take public transit, a majority of travelers don’t feel safe while on said transport. This can affect Toronto if people were to use transport less. The council could shut the service down, which would affect those who need the service. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to enforce public transport safety rules and take steps to ensure that the public follows these rules?
  • In Toronto, the TTC is a prominent transportation form, yet it often doesn’t arrive on time, troubling those who commute to work or school. Moreover, when the TTC does arrive, it either feels like a sweaty nightmare or the bus doesn’t even stop due to the number of people on board. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to improve the conditions of the TTC to make the lives of workers and students easier and more efficient?
  • Currently in Toronto, many bikers are having a lot of trouble getting around. There is a lack of bike lanes on many major roads, biking on roads endangers bikers while biking on sidewalks endangers pedestrians. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to both ensure biking safety and make biking easier and more accessible?
  • Many people commuting on public transit, especially during late hours, report feeling uncomfortable and unsafe from vehicles, and suspicious persons and activities. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to ensure the sense of safety to all Torontonians getting around the city?
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Beaches

Sept 15

Winning question from Beaches

Students in Toronto are frequently using Artificial Intelligence as a tool for cheating on tests and exams, resulting in the inflation of grades. This poses an unfair disadvantage for other students moving forth with higher education, as they suffer from decreased opportunities and acceptance rates. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to ensure Artificial Intelligence is not being misused on student tests and exams?

All questions

  • Everybody is susceptible to believing in stereotypes, which are widely circulated through the media and made into cultural norms until everyone believes this single narrative. However, stereotypes are incomplete narratives, presenting only a single side rather than the whole picture. In addition, they rob people giving the stereotypes of being fully educated as well as rob those receiving it of dignity. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to reshape the narrative and stereotypes that many teens of colour face?
  • As the city grows and adapts, more and more culturally significant buildings and locations are being converted into industrial and corporate spaces; it is also becoming harder and harder to make a profit from smaller businesses, such as Opera Bob’s Bar and Public House, which closed recently. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to make it more affordable to keep small and historically important businesses open?
  • The misuse of power regarding people of colour by cops affects their mental health and gives them trauma. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to ensure a state where people of colour are free to walk in society without being fearful for their safety?
  • In Toronto, affordability is a big issue and it affects people’s quality of life. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to help basic necessities accessible to a wide range of people?
  • Due to inflation and the rising cost of common goods, the cost of living has become increasingly unmanageable for the average Toronto resident. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to reduce financial strain on working-class citizens, including more affordable basic necessities, an improved job market, and advocating for OSAP?
  • Due to the high cost of living, people are struggling to save for their child’s educational needs. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to reduce the cost of living to make education more attainable for people of different economic backgrounds?
  • Toronto’s downtown area has been expanding further and further, which has been increasing light and noise pollution and blocking the skyline. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to help reduce these types of pollution?
  • A lot of bikelanes have been recently removed, making one of the cheapest, most reliable and environmentally friendly modes of transportation significantly more unsafe. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to ensure that Torontonians that rely on biking are safe?
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Fairview

Sept 16

Winning question from Fairview

Across the City of Toronto, many underage people and students in schools have access to substances like weed and alcohol which they obtain from older family members or through going through the process of making fake IDs. No underage students should be able to get their hands on these substances in the first place, and we want to see a school environment where everyone is in their right state of mind. What would you prioritize on the next city council to prevent substance abuse in minors, and what would your first step be to prevent this issue from getting worse, or stop it completely?

All questions

  • AI is increasing in students’ daily lives. This has made us lose our critical thinking, creativity, and social skills. A lot of students use AI for basic tasks, which can affect their social interactions and mental health. What would you prioritize on the next city council to teach students to properly and safely use AI?
  • Getting around the city for Torontonians is very difficult. The TTC often gets a reputation for having bad service and skipping stops. However, the driver also experiences disrespect and people not paying their fares. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to improve the experience of using the service for both the public and the workers?
  • Safety on the TTC is decreasing every day. We are noticing more people who are high on substances on board which is making people feel unsafe. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to help people feel more safe and be more comfortable when using the TTC?
  • The safety in the Toronto Transit Commission is decreasing every single day. Many people such as teenagers, elderly, and women fear getting on the TTC because of the violence that has been going on in the subway station and buses. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to ensure that the people of Toronto feel more safe and comfortable in their everyday commute?
  • Due to the new Ontario school testing policy, many students have been experiencing mental health problems, time management issues, and stress due to lower academic performance. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to improve the school testing policy regarding the alarming issues that students are experiencing including mental health, balancing school with their day-to-day life, and stress?
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Barbara Frum

September 18

Winning question from Barbara FrumSelected for candidates*

Getting started is hard enough for the average person; let alone an experienceless teenager. With rising costs of living and hard competition, AI is only making matters harder. What would you prioritize on the next city council to reduce the use of AI in the workplace whilst opening more job positions up to the public?

All questions

  • Many Torontonians are currently struggling with everyday life in the city. They live paycheque to paycheque, barely getting by with no chance to plan for the future. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to help with this everyday problem?
  • Travelling around Toronto is a right that allows us to get around the city, but most feel that the fare costs are obscene and overpriced. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to fix the travel times and the hefty price that comes with traveling?
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Albert Campbell District

September 28

Winning question from Albert Campbell District

Rising costs is one of the many obstacles in a teen’s life. Not every teen has a job to afford some of the everyday costs, like adults. What would you prioritize on the next city council to reduce the costs of everyday necessities, so highschoolers don’t stress about costs more than school?

All questions

  • The legalization of GenAI in schools and workplaces has resulted in a harsher job market and the over-dependency on it. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to help future generations be able to further engage in their studies and passions, independent of AI?
  • Public transportation like the TTC should lower their fares for teens because they’re quite expensive and many people resort to outright skipping their fare. What would you prioritize on the next city council to improve the convenience of public transportation so that it is more dependable and friendlier to use for citizens?
  • Multiple people in Toronto rely on public transportation, but some feel that the service is unreliable and often affects their punctuality, especially youth who struggle with the price and unsafe environment. From all these issues, from TTC timings, unreliability, and making it hard for youth to pay the price, what would you prioritize on the next City Council to enhance the environment for the TTC passengers and further improve reliability to get around on time and safely?
  • Many people rely on public transportation, cars, walking, etc. Getting around the city has been a rising issue with untimed construction. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to act on the untimed construction that affects people’s daily lives?
  • There has been a rise of AI being used by students in the classrooms. What would you prioritize on the next City Council to prevent students from using AI in classrooms?
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See candidates’ answers to the selected question

*Note: We made a small change to the selected question based on feedback from our advisory group. The original question raises an important concern about AI and the difficulty young people face when trying to get their first job, but asking Council to “reduce the use of AI” assumes a particular solution and may go beyond what the City can directly control. The revised version keeps the teens’ core concern about AI, competition, and getting started, while giving candidates more room to explain what they would actually do to help young people find jobs and gain work experience. The selected question, and all questions, appear on this page unedited.