Sankofa Square revenue plummeted in 2025 amid protests, reduced U.S. brand activations

People rest at Sankofa Square in Toronto, on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

Revenue for Sankofa Square (formerly Yonge-Dundas Square) plummeted last year, dropping by about $700,000, city budget documents reveal.

The number of events at the square dropped off sharply from 171 in 2024 to 127 in 2025, a more than 25 per cent decline and well below the square’s target of 200 events for the year. The drop came even as the square waived permit fees for community events, with those declining as well.

The drop-off in events was reflected in the revenue projections for 2025.

While the square brought in $275,000 in event permits in 2024, staff project that amount to be just $87,000 for 2025. Similarly, revenue from digital advertising was down to around $600,000, compared to $826,000 the year before, and revenue from sightseeing tours was down to $200,000 from $300,000 a year earlier.

Overall, revenue was down from $2.67 million in 2024 to $1.96 million in 2025 – a drop of about $700,000.

There seem to be several reasons for the drop-off, including the U.S. trade war and multiple demonstrations and protests at the square, according to staff.

The square was also rebranded as Sankofa Square on Aug. 23, 2025, though staff did not attribute the drop in revenue to that change but rather to other factors.

“The number of commercial event days dropped from 71 in 2024 to 22 in 2025 – brands are not activating at pre-tariff levels and many USA owned brands have reduced their promotional spend both in physical onsite activations and in Out of Home advertising,” staff wrote in the briefing note.

Coun. Chris Moise sits on the Sankofa Square Board. Speaking with CP24.com, he called 2025 “an anomaly year.”

“Many businesses, corporate events – not only for Sankofa Square, but also Pride Toronto and others – also saw a decline in corporate activity,” Moise said. “Again, a lot of it was because of what’s happening in the U.S. and the uncertainty of the times.”

In order to compensate for the reduced commercial events last year, staff self-produced 55 events, including a Melanin market to promote products made by the BIPOC community and Sankofa Day, a day to celebrate the renaming of the square.

The city boosted its promotions on the square’s digital screens from 25 in 2024, to 73 in 2025, representing an in-kind value of $1.4 million.

City staff say Sankofa Day, the square’s only event in 2025 that involved a closure of Yonge Street, logged the highest number of attendees – about 55,000 according to data recorded for the city by Environics. An NFL activation, a Thai festival and a South Indian festival each brought in about 20,000 to 30,000 attendees. The rest brought in fewer than 20,000 attendees.

Protests driving away commercial events

Staff also noted a high volume of protests as a factor driving away clients, with more than 40 protests and rallies at the square last year.

“These have impacted both commercial and community event clients. A number of commercial clients packed up early and have indicated their reluctance to return with future activations,” staff wrote.

Moise cited freedom of assembly and freedom of speech as giving people the right to gather and protest. But asked whether the city has done enough to communicate to the public that freedom of speech is not unlimited and should be balanced with the rights of others to enjoy the city, he said TPS and local leaders are hesitant to interfere.

“We live in a metropolitan city, the largest city in Canada. And so it would be ideal if every protest had a permit, but we know that that doesn’t always happen, right?” Moise said. “And the Toronto Police have been criticized in the past when they’ve been heavy handed, so they’re very mindful of that, as we are as local councillors.”

Sankofa Square’s budget is expected to increase by $300,000 to $3.8 million for 2026, mainly due to salary and benefit increases for its eight employees, inflation for service and maintenance costs, and marketing and communication costs related to renaming the square.

Record number of events booked for 2026

Looking forward, Moise said the square has 172 confirmed events and activations booked for 2026, which would surpass a previous pre-pandemic record of 170 if completed.

“We’re also working with the FIFA team, because I was told that they want to have some activation around FIFA at the square, so that number (of events) will only increase,” Moise said.

City staff say they’re “cautiously forecasting increases” in local advertising revenue because of the FIFA World Cup matches Toronto will be hosting.

Staff say they’re also hoping to boost the number of events at the square through smaller scale partnerships and to lean into a new strategic plan for the square.

“Effort will be made in 2026 and 2027 to address the number of events days through smaller scale daily activity and building partnerships to support these,” staff wrote.

Staff also described the square’s architecture as “austere” and said they will be working to “reframe it space for everyday usability.”