Land for sale in Toronto, Ontario

About Toronto

The area

The City of Toronto, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, is Canada's most populous municipality: about 2,794,000 people in 2021 on about 631 km² of land. Almost all of it is built up, so most listings here are city lots; the open land lies in the ravines and river valleys of the Humber, the Don, the Rouge and smaller creeks. Rouge National Urban Park, which also takes in parts of Markham, Pickering and Uxbridge, will cover 79.1 km² when complete and includes working farms on Class 1 soil.

History

The City recognizes the land as the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat, and notes that it falls under Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit and the Williams Treaties. Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe founded the town of York in 1793, and York became the City of Toronto in 1834. On January 1, 1998, Metropolitan Toronto (formed in 1953) and its six municipalities, East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York and the old City of Toronto, merged into today's city.

Services and access

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre on Bayview Avenue has a 24/7 emergency department and is a regional centre for trauma and stroke. In the east, Scarborough Health Network runs 24/7 emergency departments at its Birchmount, Centenary and General hospitals. Toronto Pearson, Canada's busiest airport, is about 29 km northwest of downtown. Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on Toronto Island has scheduled Porter and Air Canada flights and is reached by tunnel or ferry from the foot of Bathurst Street.

Land and climate

In a 2016 presentation, the City said 17% of Toronto's land area was under its ravine bylaw, and that about 40% of ravine land was privately owned, touching some 30,000 private addresses.

Before you buy

Zoning By-law 569-2013, adopted in 2013, covers most of the city, but some properties are still under the zoning bylaw of a former municipality; the City's interactive zoning map shows which applies, and Toronto Building answers zoning questions. Under the Ravine and Natural Feature Protection bylaw (Municipal Code Chapter 658), land inside a protected area shown on the bylaw's maps needs a City permit before trees are injured or removed, fill or refuse is placed, or the grade is changed; the City Surveyor can plot the exact line on a plan at the owner's cost. Separately, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority regulates river and stream valleys, flood plains, wetlands, steep slopes and the Lake Ontario shoreline under Ontario Regulation 41/24, and building, additions, pools, landscaping or fill there may need a TRCA permit. TRCA's Regulated Area Search Tool gives a first answer by address.

Sources

• Statistics Canada, 2021 Census population and dwelling counts (table 98-10-0002)
• City of Toronto, land acknowledgement
• City of Toronto Archives, resources on former municipalities
• Parks Canada, Rouge National Urban Park land transfer and park facts (2017)
• City of Toronto, Toronto's Ravine Strategy presentation (2016)
• Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 658, Ravine and Natural Feature Protection
• City of Toronto, Zoning By-law 569-2013
• Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, planning and permits
• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, emergency department
• Scarborough Health Network, emergency and urgent care
• Greater Toronto Airports Authority, annual information form 2024
• Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, FAQs

Written by AcreScout from the sources listed; facts checked October 1, 2026. Rules change: confirm anything that matters with the municipality.