Downtown Toronto coyote action plan approved amid ‘unprecedented’ number of incidents

A coyote walks through Coronation Park in Toronto on Wednesday, November 3, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler) (Evan Buhler/The Canadian Press)

Councillors have approved an action plan to respond to an “unprecedented” number of coyote attacks in the Liberty Village and Fort York neighbourhoods.

The action plan, put forward by Deputy Mayor and Spadina-Fort York Coun. Ausma Malik, came before the Economic and Community Development Committee on Tuesday.

The plan calls for a “playbook” with “clear protocols” for the city to respond quickly to any coyote-related incidents in downtown neighbourhoods.

“The motion that we have in front of us is to add measures that strengthen the city’s capability to respond to coyotes in our downtown communities effectively, so that pets and residents can be in their neighbourhoods safely,” Malik said at Tuesday’s committee meeting.

“These recommendations cover quite a bit of really important ground where we have seen gaps and looks to go further in terms of our capability to respond as a city.”

Since November 2024, there have been an increased number of coyote sightings, issues, and incidents in the Liberty Village and Fort York communities, according to the city.

They say despite coyotes living downtown for many years, several factors are contributing to the recent attacks including:

• a high density of humans and domestic dogs
• lack of per-capita green space compared to other city neighbourhoods
• sparse foliage
• increase in the number of construction and redevelopment projects (including Ontario Place)
• the presence of rail corridors (which generally enable coyotes to move about out of human sight)
• the availability of discarded food, which can attract rats, which in turn draws in coyotes as they feed on rodents

The city stepped up patrols in areas where most issues were reported in the fall and provided educational resources to the community, especially to people living in nearby buildings and residents’ associations. It also added more signage in parks and installed additional lighting.

“To have this many coyote interactions in downtown neighbourhoods is unprecedented in Toronto, and I cannot stress that enough. Pets have been attacked and pet owners are fearful,” Malik said.

Several of Malik’s recommendations were added to the city’s action plan on Tuesday, like improving 311 reporting, increasing fines for feeding coyotes, better waste management for restaurants and businesses, and taking a more “pet-friendly” approach to curbing interactions with wildlife.

As part of the amendments, Toronto also plans to ask the province to share the costs that have come out of its clearing of Ontario Place without an environmental assessment – something residents have pointed to as a catalyst for the increase in attacks – and to consult with experts on a “possible reproductive control plan” for the animals. The city previously said it has no plans to relocate or euthanize them.

In an email to CP24, Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) pointed to a previous statement it gave in February, saying, “environmental due diligence, Indigenous consultation and public consultation have been key components of the Ontario Place redevelopment project.”

The MNR also said it confirmed “it did not identify evidence of coyote habitats at West Island following two environmental assessments done in 2022 and 2023.”

Malik said she will continue to look for immediate action in the community.

“This framework is badly needed. We have to be able to respond and keep our communities safe again… and get further in terms of curbing the amount of interactions that we’re seeing.”

Plan is ‘ineffective’: community group

Ruby Kooner, who founded the community group Coyote Safety Coalition, said the plan is “disconnected” from what residents’ need as coyote attacks continue.

“If their plan is effective, why have we not had a decrease in attacks since the plan has been put into place?” Kooner asked.She shared with CP24 that there had been 38 attacks since the plan was conceived in March, including an incident that resulted in the death of another dog. Kooner’s dog also died after being attacked by two coyotes.

Kooner also recounted that a coyote tried to grab a two-year-old child while walking with their mother.

“This action plan, not only is it ineffective, it’s not working. The city just seems to be buying time when they keep quoting their so-called ineffective action plan,” Kooner said.

Asked what the city must do, she proposed relocating coyotes, which she noted is not what all residents want to do.

“This is why city officials and experts do need to step in,” Kooner said.

Keith Patton, who is part of the group, echoed Kooner’s comments, saying he doesn’t believe the new plan would make a difference.

The community is asking for a reactive response and not a proactive response, said Patton, who is helping in tracking the number of coyote attacks in the area.

He noted that there have been at least 20 incidents so far. Patton shared that he and his dog had a close encounter with a coyote.

“I think what they need to do is implement immediate, reactive measures, remove the threat from the area, reinstate community safety, and then go back respectively and look at what caused it, how can we prevent it in the future, how can we stop this from happening again,” said Patton.

Community members are holding a memorial later this week on May 8 to honour pets that have been lost to coyote attacks.