Economic inclusion doesn’t happen by accident. It requires deliberate policy, sustained investment, and a shared understanding across City divisions, agencies, and community partners of what they are working toward and why. This is what the City of Toronto Inclusive Economic Development (IED) Framework is designed to provide.
On April 23, Toronto City Council adopted its IED Framework — providing Council, City divisions, and agencies with a clear, practical, and coordinated lens to advance inclusive economic development. The IED Framework was developed over a year-long process led by the City’s Economic Development and Culture and Social Development Divisions and underpins the 10-year Action Plan for Toronto’s Economy.
Central to the IED Framework is the shared vision to build an economy that works for all, and shared language to coordinate efforts. It “seeks to meet the social and economic rights of Toronto residents, using City levers to support, alongside community partners, accessible pathways to employment and decent work, skills training and entrepreneurship for residents and communities that have not benefitted from economic growth in the past. IED focuses on ensuring democratic processes for inclusive outcomes: it is shaped by and accountable to communities and neighbourhoods.”
Metcalf was part of the process that shaped it. We participated in the Inclusive Economic Development Working Table alongside 20 other organizations spanning labour, community, nonprofit, philanthropic, academic, and advocacy sectors. Our grantee partners Toronto Community Benefits Network, Black Urbanism TO, and North York Harvest Food Bank also contributed, drawing on their direct experience with community benefit agreements, community land trusts, social procurement, and workforce development.
Over the last decade, Metcalf has partnered with more than 100 community organizations to create pathways to good jobs, invest in decent work, and build community wealth in our neighbourhoods. What we’ve seen is that community-led approaches work — when they have the sustained support and coordination to do so. The IED Framework is an opportunity to build that coordination at the City level — and to give the grassroots innovation already happening in Toronto’s neighbourhoods a stronger foundation to build on.