Dueling Numbers: 416 versus the 905

Ever increasingly, a divide has erupted in the Greater Toronto Area.
For those outisde of Toronto, it is the city against the suburbs.
For those in the GTA it's known simply as the 416 versus the 905.
416 is the phone interchange for Downtown Toronto and some of its surrounding communities, 905 is phone interchange for the rest of the Greater Toronto Area.

The 905 prefix is used quite liberally (if you'll pardon the ironic pun) to incpororate some areas in the Hamilton areas, but mainly, what is considered the focus of 905 is the largest of the cities the immediate west/northwest: namely Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, much of Halton Hills, Peel, and other regions.
While this definition is by no means perfect it is central to the lingering political disputes between the two regions- Toronto proper and the Greater Toronto Area.

The tension has reached critical mass in the latest Ontario budget. In recent decades the 905 area growth explosion has outpaced most infrastructure. The current highway system is poor by everyone's agreement, while the needs of social services to the large segments of immigrant populations in these subburbs has put a strain on the 905. Meanwhile, the 905 has in a sence been subsidizing social services costs to the 416.

This latest budget has apparently broken this chain- with the 905 receiving a huge boost in provincial monies, while the city is now facing a short fall in their social servce budgets.

To those in the 905, it is long overdue. To those in the 416 it is the provincial government turning their back on their most loyal voters.

The 416 is largely, almost solidly Liberal voting, whereas the 905 is less tied to one party, has grown increasingly small 'c' conservative leaning in recent elections and thus Ontario Liberals face a great dilemma: Help secure the 905, in the hopes it can increase its presence in those ever growing ridings (only to get larger as businesses move out into the 905 to take advanatage of available land and lower poperty taxes; or risk alienating their strongest base in the 416 by forcing them to raise property taxes to make up the social services shortfall.

It is to be sure a complicated calculation, only to become more complicated if, as Toronto Mayor David Miller suggests doubling the property tax increase twice the rate of inflation (1.5% to 3%). Studies done such as those by firms like REALpac have analyzed just what sort of effect this all will have on the two regions.

Michael Brooks, Executive Director of REALpac: This can have significant negative effects on the City of Toronto's economic growth, because when it comes to work, increasingly, employers are choosing to locate offices in the 905 region, due to its dramatically lower tax rate."

With businessness moving out, and more monies needed to make up the gap, will more middle income workers follow the suburban flight, leaving Toronto a city of a shrinking middle class unwilling to pay higher proerty taxes, on already higher assessed homes??

In a game of winners and losers, or new versus old, Ontario's politicians seem to be banking on the expanding growth of the 905 and the dwindling fortunes of the 416.