^You do make a good point Brian, and I often wonder just how many buildings had to have been completed each year during the boom times to reach our current level. I do however think it's still big news to a younger generation who wasn't around to experience those earlier times, and get to see that kind of growth with their own eyes.
I found where I got my numbers from: Ontario's Ministry of Finance Population Projections.
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/economy/demographics/projections/A few key points:
-Toronto's 2006 census population was 2.5 million, but was almost certainly out of date the moment it was published. The 2010 estimate puts us at 2.72.
-Ontario's projection for Toronto will put us at 3.36 million by 2036, or an increase of 24,615 per year (assuming a fairly steady linear growth). This should mean that Toronto will hit the 3 million mark in 11 years, or roughly by 2020. This represents an increase of 24% by 2036, but less than the 35% overall provincial growth rate.
-GTA's 2010 projection now put us at 6.2 million, up from 5.5 in the 2006 census. By 2036, we are projected to be at 9.2, definitively reaching London's urban proportions.
-By 2036, the GTA's share of Ontario's population will rise to 51.8%, up from today's 47.1%.
-Peel region is projected to increase by 850,000 over the same period.
-Halton is expected to be the fastest growing census division in Ontario, with growth of 86.7%.
-So based on these numbers, Toronto's share of the projected GTA growth is about 21%, or 640,000 out of 3,000,0000. Do these stats square up with the proportion of new housing developments (both condo and other) in the 416 and 905 regions?
-That last point you made Matt, about low land supply and amateur buyers overpaying for their acquisitions. We heard the same from our interview with Mel Pearl a few months back (mid-way down),
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2011/06/interview-mel-pearl-lifetime-developments ..and we'll hear a similar sentiment echoed by Sam Crignano in part 2 of our interview next week.
A quick comparison of Toronto with NYC, Chicago, and London:
NYC: 5850 buildings, 7.7 Million, 634 sq km area
T.O. : 1889 buildings, 2.72 Million, 630 sq km area
Chi : 1130 buildings, 2.69 Million, 606 sq km area
Lon: 584 buildings, 7.83 Million, 1572 sq km area
If you compare the first three cities (because of their similar land area), take a ratio of people to buildings, you discover that Toronto and NYC both have very similar ratios (1317:1 for NYC, 1439:1 for Toronto). Chicago's ratio is 2380:1. Just another way to look at how urbanized we've become.
