Kay Matthews doesn害羞草研究所檛 mince words when asked about the state of businesses fighting to survive in downtown cores across Ontario.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e struggling,害羞草研究所� said Matthews, executive director of the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e seeing the impacts from one end to the province to the other 害羞草研究所� For the first time, Ottawa害羞草研究所檚 even seeing economic impacts that they害羞草研究所檝e never seen in past.害羞草研究所�

The experiences in Ontario害羞草研究所檚 cities are echoed across Canada, as downtowns grapple with high vacancy rates, the post-pandemic work culture and the prospect that crowds of office workers may never return in full.

That could spur a shift in the fundamental nature of Canada害羞草研究所檚 downtown neighbourhoods, but experts say such a major alteration will take time, requiring large investments and changes to infrastructure to bring people back.

Members of the International Downtown Association Canada gathered in November in Ottawa to urge the federal government to extend the deadline for businesses to repay emergency loans taken out during the pandemic.

But beyond loan relief, the group also wants direct federal funding for downtown business associations to bolster their neighbourhoods.

Downtown street-front business vacancy rates range from 11 to 14 per cent in cities such as Toronto, Montreal, Victoria and Halifax. Edmonton and Winnipeg have downtown vacancy rates has high as 33 per cent.

Association chair Kate Fenske, who is also CEO of the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone, said weaker downtowns dent the country害羞草研究所檚 overall economy and fiscal stability.

害羞草研究所淚f your city害羞草研究所檚 downtown isn害羞草研究所檛 strong, your city cannot be strong,害羞草研究所� Fenske said. 害羞草研究所淎nd so, when we look at, for example, Winnipeg, our downtown 害羞草研究所� makes up less than 1 per cent of the total land, but it generates 17 and 14 per cent of commercial tax and business tax. So, those funds are actually supporting services and amenities throughout the entire city.害羞草研究所�

Federal Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada, whose portfolio also includes economic development for Quebec, said she has engaged with several representatives from downtowns in that region.

Martinez Ferrada said the federal government is looking to support downtown revitalization through several agencies, but there are also opportunities to rethink the core purpose of downtowns, creating new ways to bring people back without relying on office workers.

害羞草研究所淥ne of the opportunities that we see is for those cities to develop kind of a new stream of how can we use downtown cores,害羞草研究所� she said.

害羞草研究所淪o, I think you will see a lot of transformations around what downtown will mean in the future. And yes, tourism it is a big part of that.害羞草研究所�

The school of cities at the University of Toronto conducts a 害羞草研究所渄owntown recovery害羞草研究所� project, charting the state of downtowns across North America.

The study compares the number of current unique visitors in a city害羞草研究所檚 downtown with the same time period in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

As of October, visitors counts in Montreal were about 67 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, followed by Toronto at 70 per cent, Winnipeg at 76 per cent and London, Ont., at 79 per cent. Vancouver was at 85 per cent, while Mississauga, Ont., had the highest visitor count in Canada at 91 per cent.

University of Toronto school of cities director Karen Chapple said many downtowns were designed with an 害羞草研究所渙verdependence害羞草研究所� on office space, with transportation and urban design all catering to that economy.

Chapple said downtowns have undergone transitions in the past, such as the shift away from manufacturing in the early 1900s, but it could take decades for neighbourhoods to adjust to a new business model.

害羞草研究所淵ou don害羞草研究所檛 just change up your economy overnight,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e going to have to diversify again a little bit more, and that害羞草研究所檚 a slow process that takes 害羞草研究所� if we害羞草研究所檙e true to history 害羞草研究所� it害羞草研究所檚 probably going to take a decade or more to restructure.害羞草研究所�

For Prairie cities, such as Edmonton and Winnipeg, one challenge will be attracting more residential development downtown, said Edmonton Downtown Business Association executive director Puneeta McBryan.

The problem is that downtown development is expensive but rents are low, she said.

McBryan said developers need governments to provide more incentives for such projects.

害羞草研究所淚 think we persisted through the pandemic on a lot of optimism 害羞草研究所� and we害羞草研究所檙e at this point where I think the realization has started to settle in that where we are today is kind of this new normal.

害羞草研究所淭here are people living downtown and people who are still treating downtown like a destination for shopping and dining,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淏ut we can害羞草研究所檛 rely on five-day-a-week office traffic, that we know.害羞草研究所�

A rise in vandalism and other crimes in some city cores is also putting a strain on businesses.

Tasha Morizio, general manager of La Soci茅t茅 de d茅veloppement du boulevard Saint-Laurent in Montreal, said businesses in her district reported three incidents of storefront glass being broken and stock being stolen in one week.

害羞草研究所淭hat害羞草研究所檚 just another hurdle that these small mom-and-pop shops are having to deal with,害羞草研究所� Morizio said. 害羞草研究所淎nd obviously, our hearts are open. We害羞草研究所檙e not here trying to say that we don害羞草研究所檛 want you on our commercial street. I think that we need more resources, and we need more leadership coming from the federal government.害羞草研究所�

Police statistics don害羞草研究所檛 necessarily show crime levels are on the rise, however.

Vancouver Police害羞草研究所檚 GeoDash Crime Statistics Hub, for instance, showed commercial break-and-enters in the central business district were down 26 per cent in an eight-week period this fall when compared with the same time last year.

Offences against people were down 12 per cent in the same period, although mischief and theft from vehicles rose slightly.

Toronto Police statistics comparing 2021 and 2022 showed increases in offences in some downtown areas but decreases in others, while Ottawa Police said the crime rate in Ward 14, where much of downtown is located, rose 7.3 per cent.

Ontario害羞草研究所檚 Matthews said the data doesn害羞草研究所檛 always reflect reality, and owners of one business told her recently they will close because they were 害羞草研究所渢ired of having to replace害羞草研究所� broken windows.

害羞草研究所淪o, it害羞草研究所檚 not just happening once, but it害羞草研究所檚 happening repeatedly,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淒owntown Hamilton has some beautiful, beautiful, busy properties (that) date back to the 1890s and the 1920s, and they害羞草研究所檙e seeing even things like the door knobs being stolen.害羞草研究所�

Montreal害羞草研究所檚 Morizio said the long-term solution may be to re-establish downtowns as a place for social connection rather than just going to an office.

She said Montreal has begun installing pedestrian-only streets to create public spaces, but such projects are costly and not applicable everywhere.

害羞草研究所淧eople aren害羞草研究所檛 going to come to work more than two or three days a week 害羞草研究所� So, I think to be able to counter that, what we need to do is we need our commercial streets to almost be our third plac

e,害羞草研究所� she said, referring to a familiar public spot that people can go.

害羞草研究所淏esides our dwelling and where we work, we need a space where people can come and connect. That害羞草研究所檚 a lot of what we lost during the pandemic.害羞草研究所�

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