People in Toronto have wildly different opinions on where 'downtown' begins and ends

As Toronto residents, we're opinionated about a lot of things: hot dogs, transit, green spaces (or lack thereof). When it comes to defining the borders of "downtown," there's surprisingly little consensus.

blogTO hit the streets to ask people a simple question: what exactly constitutes downtown Toronto? The answers, as it turns out, were all over the map.

One person confidently defined the borders as St. Clair Ave. to the north, Lansdowne Ave. to the west, the lake to the south and River St. to the east. That take seemed to resonate online, too, with nearly 2,100 likes backing a "first guy on point" comment on our TikTok.

Another person shared a similar perspective, saying downtown is essentially everything within the Don Valley Parkway (DVP), Bloor St., Bathurst St. and the waterfront.

But not everyone agreed.

"Downtown basically ends at Yonge and Bloor," one man told us. As a Scarborough resident, he admitted his personal definition stretches a bit further, even joking that downtown runs all the way to Kennedy Station. Alas, he concluded that a more realistic cut-off would be the DVP.

@blogto What do you consider the borders of Toronto? 🤔 🎙️ @antonwongvideo ♬ original sound - blogTO

Others drew the lines differently, suggesting downtown begins around Dupont and Spadina (near Casa Loma), stretches south to the waterfront, and spans east to Broadview Ave., before looping back north.

So, where does downtown Toronto actually begin and end?

Well, some people were on the right track. According to the City of Toronto, it's bounded by Bathurst St. to the west, Queens Quay to the south, the DVP to the east, and extends north along Rosedale Valley to about Dupont St.

Now you know!