A new Statistics Canada report is shedding light on where in Toronto office jobs could be performed remotely, highlighting opportunities to repurpose underused office space into housing. The study, titled Geography of teleworkable jobs in the Greater Toronto Area, found a high concentration of jobs in the city’s downtown core and financial district that meet the criteria for remote work.
Using 2021 census data, the report divided Toronto into 0.5 kilometre squares and discovered that many areas downtown hold more than 3,600 jobs per square that could be done from home. Surrounding areas, particularly along Yonge Street, also showed significant clusters with up to 3,600 teleworkable positions. Beyond Toronto, regions like Mississauga’s city centre contain similar concentrations of jobs suited to remote arrangements.
According to StatCan, jobs that can be performed from home are typically those that do not require direct interaction with the public, outdoor work, or the operation of machinery. Nationally, 18.2 percent of employees worked primarily from home in November 2024, down from 25.4 percent in late 2020 but still far above pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, office vacancy rates in Canada sat at 18.7 percent, suggesting widespread underuse of commercial space.
The report emphasizes the potential for converting these office spaces into housing, noting successful examples in Calgary, where 11 office-to-residential projects were approved in 2024, creating 1,400 new homes. Hamilton has also launched a pilot grant program to encourage such conversions. The City of Toronto says it is reviewing its own office needs through an ongoing study and will examine StatCan’s findings as part of that process.
Housing advocates, including the Ontario Real Estate Association, say the findings underscore the urgency of unlocking new housing supply. OREA president Cathy Polan said the provincial government should modernize zoning laws to allow office-to-residential conversions and expand mixed-use developments along transit corridors. With affordability challenges mounting, the report suggests telework and space conversions could help address both housing shortages and underutilized office towers.
