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Why Workers Aren’t Returning to North America’s Second Biggest Financial Center
Toronto’s downtown ranks below San Francisco’s for post-pandemic foot traffic as financial institutions struggle to lure employees back.
An empty courtyard in Toronto’s financial district.
Photographer: Galit Rodan/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
It’s been 360 days since Toronto’s last pandemic lockdown ended, and the vast underground mall running beneath its financial district is still showing scars.
A Starbucks next to the Hockey Hall of Fame, once a favorite place for dealmakers to meet, hasn’t reopened. A sprawling food court is largely devoid of restaurants. And in the underground thoroughfares between — built to allow the bankers, traders and investors of Canada’s financial capital to visit each other without going outside — many storefronts still sit empty.