Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.
Wellesley Institute is publishing a series examining how mayoral candidates can show leadership and deliver Toronto the Bold—a city that takes wellness, health and equity seriously to build a better future for every Torontonian, and that takes the lead on doing so. First, we examine housing, an issue we expect candidates will spend a great […]
As Canada’s largest city, Toronto has enormous promise and possibility—and enormous challenges. Torontonians do not need “Toronto the Good” or “Toronto the Good Enough.” What we need from our leaders is a vision for Toronto the Bold: a city that builds a better future for every Torontonian. A city that leads rather than follows and […]
Canada has significant health inequities. Wellesley Institute research has shown that social factors such as housing, income, education, discrimination, and access to social supports are vital for individual health, community health, and Canada’s economic growth. To build back better, to establish a new normal, inequities in the social determinants of health are our most important […]
Continue ReadingCanada needs a health equity plan: 2023 federal budget submission
Access to affordable, accessible, and reliable public transportation is critical for the good health of individuals and communities. The cuts to TTC services listed in the new budget will decrease the frequency of services and increase crowding in already underserved areas. This will have a disproportionate impact on the health of women as well as […]
Continue ReadingToronto’s cuts to public transit will worsen health equity
Toronto has significant, and worsening, health inequities. Wellesley Institute research shows that social factors such as housing, income, education, and access to social supports, are vital for individual and community health as well as Canada’s economic growth. Eliminating inequities in the social determinants of health must be our priority. We can build a future in […]
Continue ReadingToronto Housing Action Plan: Who will it be for?
Canada’s federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments agree that we need to rebuild and improve our health systems. The dream of access to high quality comprehensive effective health systems is alive and well in Canada, but only for the minority. Today, timely preventative care, barrier-free access to necessary tests, short surgery wait times and after […]
Continue ReadingMoving forward on a national health data system
The Wellesley Institute is a non-profit and non-partisan institute that works on research and policy to improve health and health equity across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This includes using research to inform policy development to ensure health is advanced and health and wellness are shared equally by all. Our work has shown that a […]
Continue ReadingPolicy Brief: Ontario Portable Benefits Program
We can build a future in which everyone in the Greater Toronto Area [GTA] has the opportunities and resources they need to have a healthy home. Healthy housing must be affordable, as people spending more than 30% of their income on housing means significant stress on their resources. Healthy housing must also be safe, of […]
The delayed response to long COVID is concerning. People with long COVID report difficulty breathing, brain fog, heart palpitations, and dizziness—among other symptoms. This impacts their ability to work and care for themselves and others. Gaps in our understanding of long COVID should not be used as a rationale for a delayed response to meet […]
Continue ReadingLong COVID: Literature scan to inform policy response in the GTA Download PublicationLong-COVID-Policy-Response-2022-Final
Affordable child care is crucial for the health and well-being of families. Wellesley Institute’s Thriving in the City for families: A framework for income and health report, which identifies the goods, resources, and services a Greater Toronto Area (GTA) family with young children needs to live a healthy life, found that the cost of child […]
Continue Reading$10-a-day child care would move GTA families closer to a thriving wage
We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.
Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.