A fundamental fact that is being missed or not acknowledged (or perhaps it's not very well known in this forum about Toronto, but I suspect it is also the same for the other major cities in Canada), is that in addition to the wealthy, the middle class, never left the city centre.
There really wasn't a need nor an existential threat (real or not) to do so, unlike in the US, as previously described.
It certainly was one of the first things I noticed when I visited the city for first time, coming from the US in the mid 90's - how normal, safe and relaxed it felt to be in such urban environment. It wasn't about the super wealthy hanging on to their abodes in the upper east side, so to speak, but regular middle class families being able to live in a safe, diverse and cultural enriching urban environment within walking distance to mass transit, good public schools, parks, restaurants, work, entertainment, etc and nobody even being surprised or conceited about it (in that stereotypical low key Canadian way).
It really felt something more akin to what you would find in European cities, in that respect.
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There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov
Last edited by PFloyd; Oct 30, 2020 at 6:18 PM.
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