How Toronto is spending $170 million on its civic theatres

These meeting notes are part of Documenters Canada, which is partly funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Learn more about our program here. The Green Line maintains full editorial independence to ensure journalistic integrity.

Toronto is upgrading three major civic theatres.

On March 24, 2026, TO Live discussed its 2025 accomplishments, the 2026-2035 capital plan and what’s next for the City’s biggest arts venues.

TO Live is a City agency that manages the three major civic theatres — Meridian Hall, Meridian Arts Centre and the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

City staff presented a capital plan totalling approximately $170 million to be used across 10 years. The budget covers 38 projects and focuses on state-of-good repair, accessibility upgrades and commitment to making the facilities net zero.

In 2025, only eight capital projects were completed. Yet, staff said they went eight per cent over the planned budget for that year.

In 2026, more funds are being allocated to each venue. The City expects to spend about $18 million as part of the next phase.

At Meridian Arts Centre, renovations are planned for the George Weston Recital Hall. Meanwhile, the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts is undergoing changes as part of a larger revitalization project. 

While the plan outlines increased investment into the future of Toronto’s arts infrastructure, the meeting did not mention any public consultations. Residents can submit comments and feedback to councilmeeting@toronto.ca.

Our Documenter’s local perspective:

I’ve been to Meridian Hall and the Meridian Arts Centre several times. The programming offers a variety of types of performances, including concerts, comedy, dance shows, political talks, family programming and more. I wasn’t aware that Meridian Hall and the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts are publicly owned. Because the arts are generally underfunded, I attended this meeting to learn more about the investments being made in the building, and therefore, in the arts.

The budget covered changes to make the buildings net zero. While the municipal government is invested in reducing carbon emissions of buildings — as seen through their TransformTO Net Zero Strategy, under which one of the critical steps is to “accelerate a rapid and significant reduction in fossil (natural) gas use in buildings,” —  the provincial government recently removed a 15-year-old bylaw mandating green roofs for eligible buildings.