Hmmm..... Toronto is the rudest, least helpful, least friendly city in Canada. Toronto is also the most bleeding heart socialist city in Canada. I wonder - could there be a connection?

I lived in downtown T.O. as a graduate student and while I understand the frustration of dealing with seemingly indifferent crowds, I'd like to point out (and confirm with personal experience) that there can be a lot of risk associated with making eye contact, initiating conversations, etc, in a large urban centre. I've been harrassed by persons with mental problems, seen a man pickpocketed while someone else distracted him by asking for directions, and been intimidated by gangs of high school kids on subway platforms. That said, I've also seen kids pulled out of the way of oncoming traffic, heard a salesperson use the intercom to request help for someone who needed assistance and only spoke Chinese (three people from the crowd responded), and worked/lived/studied alongside some of the most decent people I've ever met. So, yes, Toronto can be intimidating, but I think what you see as indifference is really a lot of people trying to maintain a certain sense of personal boundaries in a large, crowded city -- especially those on their way home from work.

I have to agree with whoever said that there is the same mix of good and bad people in TO as there is anywhere; it's just that there are a lot more of them.

I think it's kind of lame to blame a city for the actions of its citizens, rather than the citizens themselves. The city didn't raise them, their parents did. Whether or not these un-helpful people lived in Toronto, or elsewhere, it likely would not change their personality...they are who they are, its how they were brought up which has nothing to do with where they reside. Blame their upbringing, not the city.

I've been in other cities, where I encountered both friendly and unfriendly people. Helpful and unhelpful people. When I'm in Montreal for example, I don't speak French very well, and I say so in my broken French, so I'll converse in English. When I'm shopping, and depending on the politics of the person I'm dealing with, either they're friendly to me, or on the rare occasion they regard me as something they've stepped in because I'm speaking to them in English.

Me? I'm the type if I'm walking with someone else, or in a group, people will hone in on me, and ask me the time, or can you take our picture, or ask for directions, or whatever and I gladly oblige wherever I am - the Skydome, the ACC, locally to home-I live just outside the city of Toronto. When I go downtown, I have never had a bad experience. Ever. Well, except for the time when a guy fell face first into my lap on the subway, but that's another story, and even then I found the humour in it. That's just me. And I don't apologize or atone for where I come from when I travel, but when I'm asked, I proudly say where say where I'm from. I was in Vancouver, at a mall and visited Purdy's Chocolates, which is based in that city. I told them where I was from and that there's one of their stores at a local mall, and had a great old chat with the ladies behind the counter. There was no animosity to me or where I was from, but I was sparking a friendly conversation. Then again, I could talk the bark off a tree :)

I'm a people person, and wherever I go I appreciate everyone. I like talking to new people, because everyone has a story. Maybe we all should stop profiling and start trying to appreciate our fellow Canadians, wherever they live.

L.A. in T.O.

I'm a bit surprised by this story. I travelled to Toronto for a job interview and received quite a bit of help from Torontonians who patiently showed me the direction to the interview. One lady offered to walk with me to the street to ensure I arrived on time and didn't ask for any money or favour in return. I never received any negative comments or cold shoulders from the people of Toronto!

I'm a West Coast girl who moved to Toronto almost 2 years ago. To say that Torontoians are rude is somewhat of a misleading statement. Coming from Calgary, where everyone wants to lend a helping hand, to this is definitely different. I find though, because of the multiculturalism, many people here don't want to get to know each other, they don't want to stray too far from their own, there's a lot of fear in Toronto to be perfectly honest. Back home,Toronto was described as "the center of the universe"( by other Torontoians,i think!) but as I see it now, people here believe THEY are the CENTER of the world...too much ego and not enough substance.

i am from Toronto...and a fabulous creative writer...
and yes the city is pretty cold unless ur some one like me...
there is alot of wanna be's in toronto
other than that ..great city ...4 canada..
but now i am a res in LosAngeles...another rat race city...lol

This goes out to all Torontonians who continue to deny the truth when it comes to the true character of our city. I have been in transition from the city of Toronto to small cities such in the Niagara Region. What we have here in Toronto is a clash of multiculturalism with each demanding compassion and understanding from the other yet neither side will relinquish their defiance to acceptance and the end result is cold and unhelpful city folks. I have experienced nothing but complete discourteous individuals throughout the city due to my work. Toronto, ask yourself this, when was the last time someone said thank you to you for doing something as simple as holding the door open?
When the Coors ad was introduced, I could not understand why our city was in such an uproar. Does the phrase "you can't handle the truth" ring a bell? Well, this could be a cup is half full situation.... I'm just saying.

I disagree with this artivle. as a Newfoundlander, I passed out in downtown Toronto one Christmas while shopping on Bloor. I received much help from passers by. they, caught me whenI fainted, and called an ambulance for me. the hospital was great-turns out I had a kidney stone, and i became quite ill that trip. i received much better treatment in To than ever in NL! i might add, that recent experience taught me that NLers would throw rocks at you in the street, rather than respectfully help.

I think it depends on where you are in Toronto. Downtown is definitely not the place to look for kindness....crossing the street, move your butt or your going to get run over, walking in the path underground is the ultimate...it's a bloody zoo of suits walking with there heads down texting on their blackerry's or turned in conversation talking to a co-worker paying absolutely no attention to where they're going and if you fail to move you'll get walked on top of. Funny thing is there are hundred and hundreds of these people not paying attemtion and they don't smash into each other. It's like they have a road map they don't show with the few polite ones you see zig zagging through the crowd in an atte,pt not to be run down. How about door holding, common courtest right....wrong. Most won't even give it a heart swing as they go through to give you enough time to grab it before it closes. No instead there are the masses of able bodied workers that push the handicapped button when they have nothing in their hands, or do that quick move to slither in the fact closing door without having to god forbit touch it and hold it for the next person....Those same people are the ones that as you approach a set of doors 5 or 6 wide will swoop all the way from the left side to the right in behind you to allow you the pleasuring of holding them the door for them so as not to get door cooties themselves. Never fear though as they are greatly appreciative as they stride through without a word od thanks. Somewhere there is an unwritten law that says if you are wearing a suit and carrying a blackberry common courtesy are not required. There are actually decent kind people in Toronto. They just don't happen to be the oblivious individuals that work there.

well ..what is taking so long for this countries gov,t to get canada completely run into the ground? weah i wanna see that day,then we can turn to the rest of the world for help.whos with me on that idealistic view? why not we keep giving out on and on till we turn our stupid heads around and notice that hey its all gone and were starving.

I am a Trontonian and proud of it. I moved here to go to school from a small town in the northern Ontairo 23 years ago and never looked back. I have found the people around me to be very friendly. I have an eclectic group of close friends I know any one of which would help stranger in need if they were capable. There are ignorant morons here but they are everywhere; there are more people here so we have more of them. The idiots of a region should not define it. This is the most multicultural city in the world; it is a place that nurtures art and is a center of learning. It is a diverse place new of ideas where anyone can find kindred souls if they care to really look. I see a lot of hate in these many of these notes about this world class city. These people clearly have not seen this city as I have and with their negative focus I doubt they will.

Hi Im an ex Torontonian now a Vancouverite. I too used to pridee myself being from Toronto and would get deffensive when some one put it down. Not anynmore. Im the first one to critique it now! Actually we ARE friendly people ( mostly 2nd - 3 rd generation Torontonians/Canadaians now all moving to the far subbourbs or Barrie or backwoods Country etc. The other ignorant opportunists and criminal, refugees go to Toronto. So the old blood Torontonians are way friendlier if we're out of the main stream BUT in general there are Soooooo many Culterally clashed people from hardships all over the world, there is NO uncicen. No trust. So the soul is each each man for themselves. Safety in numbers and space.

Last time I was there (from Burlington), I was going to a concert. I took the Go train, but I've only taken the Go a handful of times and am not totally familiar with Union Station. Any time I had been there previous, I was with someone who knew their way, so I didn't pay much attention. Imagine the fun I had when I had to navigate the place by myself (!) at 12:30 in the morning, with only the cleaning staff there! I smiled at a girl on the way in and she just stared at me before going back to scrubbing the windows. Thinking the 12:30 train was the last one, I panicked a little because I realized I wasn't sure where I was going. I'm tearing around there while my phone keeps telling me it's dying. Don't have enough money for another cab back to my friend's. I asked another cleaning guy how to get to the train platforms. He laughed, shrugged, told me he had no idea. It wasn't until I found a security guy, and even he seemed reluctant to help me until I asked if he could actually SHOW ME where i was supposed to go.

So, people who work in Union have no idea of the layout and don't want to help a frantic 21 year old woman? Cool. Strangely enough, all the cabbies I had that night were really nice... one even knocked a buck off my fare.

I recently moved to Toronto from Northwestern Ontario and I have to say that I have been very impressed with Toronto and its people. I've been surprised by the amount of times people have spoken to me while waiting in line at stores and as soon as they find out that I'm not from here they offer helpful information about the city and things to do and see here. I have also seen countless people give money to homeless people. So I have to say that I've been really surprised to find that so many people think that Torontonians are rude.

I first came to Canada in the year of 2000. I lived in Toronto for about a year and I have to admit I cannot recall any rude or bad thing happened to me in that period of time. I found that Torontonians most of the time hold the doors for me when needed, busdrivers gave me helpful directions, seen outragously dressed teenagers giving a seat to a shaking elderly and people lining up orderly to wait for a bus.(excuse my grammar English language is not my first language) Also I've seen a middleaged woman collapsing on the sidewalk and almost everybody tried to help in some way. I thought just mentioned that.
I am not a mother yet but I believe giving all to kids is a big no-no. I didn't have many things in my childhood, but strong parenting skills to give me a good and realistic lifestart ahead. If Torontonians now have changed from 9 years ago it is not from immigration but from politics and bad business influences.Those things pushing and rushing people into stress and selfdistraction. We should erase a message of I, ME, MYSELF that money hungry people wants us to believe and implant We, You , They.

I just moved out of Toronto to the suburbs recently after living there for 40 years. I didn't move far enough away, but that is another story. In my travels (even to the US, so tired of hearing how rude they are....no where near as rude as Torontonians), I have never encountered a culture as rude as ours. It is most noticeable when driving both with other drivers speeding up when you indicate you are about to change lanes, and with pedestirans walking in front of the car, apparently as slow as they possibly can and without looking or acknowledging that you are waiting for them. I have noticed that they even walk in front of moving vehicles with children in hand, thus teaching them that walking in front of cars without looking is a good thing to do.
I intend to move further away now that my children have grown as I need some friendliness in my life. I have tried talking to neighbours, but other than people saying "hi", you never get to know anyone here. Just. Cold.

Totally agree. Toronto is Cold. Stone Cold.

However, in looking for consolation - Toronto is still friendly than Brampton. Don't ever have a heart attack here.

Toronto the good? Good cities don't need to put cameras in their buses and put the driver behind shields. I was born here, moved away when I was twelve and returned when I was 22. I'm 44 now, and I WANT MY TORONTO BACK!!!!

Toronto is changing, and not just in Jane-Finch or Scarborough, or those other "priority" areas. Immigrants are coming in, and their "cultural customs" far outweigh the skills they bring with them; at least in terms of what they are remembered for. Look at north Etobicoke's swaths of immigrant-inhabited land, and the crime that ensues. Look all the issues in central Scarborough. Even some parts of North York are changing for the worse. Whites are moving out, immigrants are moving in.
Adult and parent immigrants are trying to scrap together a decent life in Canada. According to their culture, formed presumably and unfortunately by a lower quality of life, they must put themselves first before others. This concept is then passed on to younger generations. Torontonians have been gradually assimilated into this H1N1-like mentality, and what we have today is the beginning of the end result.
I am a Chinese high school student, born and raised in Toronto. I don't mean to alienate any cultural groups; there are many good things to Toronto's multiculturalism, but I am just stating the facts to accompany the negative overtones of this article and readers' responses. There are many exceptional people who fit in with the Canadian way of life perfectly well. But I do think that the stereotype of Canadians being nice folks is disappearing as surely as the born-in-Toronto/Canada Torontonians. It is too bad...

I lived in toronto for 24 years. The first lesson I learned was, don't look up and don't help! It might get you shot or knifed. So for 24 years I looked away and didn't speak to anyone. One day I did yell at a guy who was beating on his partner while holding a child. I asked him, "Is this what you want to pass on to that child?" I was told to "F#$k off and mind your own business bitch or you'll get the same." So why should I help? I am a proud Newfoundlander and I was raised that way.

I was born and raised in Toronto and always took part in the shows exhibits etc etc and when my son was born I decided that he should share the same entertainment I had when growing up. So at the International Centre on Airport road we took in the Motorcycle show. He being 6 at the time mistook my blue jacket on someone else and wandered off after what he thought was me. I was speaking to a salesperson for Hully Gully cycles in London ont. when this happened. Well talk about feeling dead, my son was lost amonst 100's of thousands of people! I quickly asked the immediate people around me and they started to slowly look but really no effort. I tried to stop two EMS attendants, they didn't even seemed concerned and told me they were on break and continued walking. I finally found the salesperson whom I was talking to and explained in horror that my son vanished and if he could call show security. He did agree but instead lost me in the crowd on purpose to speak with another salesperson so he could order his lunch?!?!?! Yes, I found my son-he was at the Leather girl model show-smart kid-the police officers in attendance were more interested in flirting with the models than actually dealing with my 6 year old. I am a level headed adult, this has not been fabricated-I've lost my faith in Toronto the good, u r too full of yourselves-I guess thats why you can't solve your poverty, garbage or any other issues that deal with human life and compassion........be proud though you can still have your Overpriced Cafe's and ignore because really you're not that important anymore-it used to be called Hogtown when I lived there, now its just plain PIGVILLE! my apologies to porcine everywhere

I was born in Montreal but had to spend a couple of years in Toronto for my studies. I wish I could contradict you on this one but I'm affraid I can't. I found the atmosphere very "Americanized" in the sense that it is everyone for themselves. I found Torontoniens very competitive in an unhealthy way and I don't think it necessary. It's very sad!! Everytime I would mention being from Montreal (while in Toronto) people would say "Oh I love Montreal, it's such a beautiful city and the people are so welcoming" But whenever someone heard I was going to Toronto they would say"Why?? People there are so rude and lifeless" I find it sad 'cause Toronto is beautiful city. but I sure was glad to come back home. Sorry Torontoniens :(

You know what the problem with Toronto is, all the rich people, people that live in Rosedale and Forest Hill that think they have a God given right to do whatever they want in their city, as everyone else is an outsider, an immigrant, unworthy to live in Toronto. The British classist system is very much alive in Canada, and especially in Toronto. What I mean is that noone is worthy of receiving help by people that are so sophisticated, cultured, and rich. People would rather care about what others are thinking of them, than save someone's life.

i am a born and raised torontonian and i have actually chosen to move out of the city beacuse of the lack of decency in the city i have seen elderly ppl fall and no one helps ive seen ppl pushed infront of cars beacuse someone behind them has shoved them all out of pure ignorance, the city of toronto has change dramaticly and not for the better, the city has become a dirty filthy place to live with rude ppl at every glance. and you ask yourself why has it become like this, beacuse no one in this city has any RESPECT for the others who live here ppl smoking in non smokeing areas ppl spitting on the homeless and less fortunate its absolutly appauling. i may be a born and raised torontonian but thats the last thing ide want to be proud of in my life these days.

No one should fear rendering assistance. Read the good samaritan act of 2001. In the unlikely event you do provide CPR or other lifesaving measures, you probably won't even be asked by EMS or police to give your name.

TO has become a cold place....

This is no surprise to me. I hate toronto. I even don't like Barrie, which is apparantly cottage country to torontonians. The whole vibe that Ontario gives off is horrible. Everyone is very clicky and it is very hard to meet people here. I've lived several places in the maritimes and in BC. And well.. yah Toronto people suck lol

I totally agree. I have lived in Toronto for over three years now and I find that most Torontians are rude or would rather look in every other direction than glimpse up and make eye contact.

Don't get me wrong I love living in the city, but I wish more people would be more curtious.

I grew up in Newfoundland, spent 5 years in Nova Scotia, 14 years in BC and moved to Toronto last year. In addition, I have spent time in every major city in Canada. I have learned that people from Ontario, particularly from Toronto, are some of the rudest, unhelpful people in the country. Just today I was walking out of a store and the person in front of me let the door slam in my face despite seeing me with my hands full. Not sure if performing CPR or not is a good measure, but from my experience, Torontonian's are not going to win a congeniality award any time soon

One of the few drawbacks of multiculturalism

The title on the MSN page is "Toronto-the most unhelpful city in Canada" or whatever, but the study cited was conducted in Ontario only. And though it is reported that the percent of Torontonians who are willing to help a bystander is lower than most other places in the world, no data is cited to confirm that contention. Just saying.

I also was born and raised here, and I am one who would help out anyone that I could. If the law was clear on what can and cannot happen to you for trying to help someone, more might help ? I go up and down the elevator in our building everyday and see allot of the same faces. But maybe 1 out of 5 MIGHT say hi. It is as if it would ruin their day to take a second and make someone else's day by saying HI or even just a smile. We are so lucky to live in such a great city and country, but allot of the times you would never think so. Say HI or Smile ... I / We will not bite, unless you want us too ?

Let"s hope the person who commented that people are not required to "help" anyone and that everyone should be willing to ante up and pay for all services never finds his or herself in a situation where a helping hand is needed. It can be pretty daunting to be in a strange city and need some assistance and not be able to get it. Sometimes just a friendly smile is all it takes. Or does " Carmel" expect us to pay for those as well. I would like to meet this person sometime as I am sure they are as prunefaced as they sound.

In Toronto, there appears to be a greater number of people whom are emotionally absent and unavailable, than there are the number of peiople whom are people sincerely friendly and welcoming. Walk around the city and count the smiles vs. the frowns. There does seem to be alot more miserable faces in Toronto, than there are happy ones.

-Born and raised in Toronto

@doesn't matter

As a firefighter/EMT I can tell you that ribs are bound to break performing CPR, mainly due to the fact that you need a significant amount of pressure to move blood around. Regardless if you're a bystander or trained professional breaking ribs while performing CPR will not put you in jail. If you stand around and do nothing while someone dies in front of you, THEN you're liable to face charges.

$20 says you're from Toronto with that attitude. Open your mind and open a book. Learn CPR, save a life.

I was in my car at Yonge Street and Dundas, last winter. A gentlemen in a wheelchair was crossing Dundas, going Northbound on YongeSt. There was a pile of snow on the ramp of the sidewalk and he was having difficulty wheeling past the snow. I would say 10 - 15 people walked past him without as so much to offer a hand. The looks on their faces were cold and trying to avoid eye contact. It was myself and another driver who had to stop our cars on a green light to help this gentleman out. Toronto is all about business and greed, starting from our politicians who set the example right down to the consumer. I have recently decided to leave Toronto, it is no longer a city for humanity but rather for the dogs. A university professor taught us one lesson I will never forget, life in Toronto is like prostitution, the Business Man( the pimp) will always line the pockets of the politicians( the prostitutes) when they want something.

You WILL NOT be help liable. You are protected by the Good Samaritan Act...

I was born in Toronto and I have seen this city change dramatically over the past 20 years. It is true that good manners and social graces are a thing of the past. Most people in Toronto are passionless robots who do not smile, laugh, or show kindness to others. There are way too many rude smokers who stand in doorways smoking and throw their filthy cigarette butts on the ground. I rarely hear "thank you" even when I hold a door for someone. If you look around at people's faces on the subway or just walking down any main street, most of them look like miserable drones. And yes, most people are not speaking either of our official languages. I used to love Toronto -- I am now extremely disappointed with the new demographics and the loss of humane descency.

I grew up in the "Beach" and the people are the friendliest down to earth people in the city. I frequently go back to visit my old stomping grounds. I find that the Toronto people who are rude are the ones new to the city that come from a different culture. I'm proud to say that I'm from Toronto.

You also have to understand that if a bystander does CPR on someone and happen to hurt the person by doing it, IE brakes a rib or whatever, that bystander can be held liable. With this, it has made a lot of people a little wary of doing anything at all.

Finally, proof about Torontonians. I moved here from Ottawa a few years ago and can't stand the lack of consideration Torontonians have for each other. "It's just that it's a big metropolis" is the excuse given every time I get bumped into, have a door slammed in my face or am honked at. My ear! Montreal is big too, but I've always found a delight to be around the people. A good-natured chaos!

Hopefully this study will shame Torontonians into becoming more civil.

I have been to Toronto on several occasion, and I have no complaints, I found that most Torontonians are helpful, you just need to ask, plus a smile goes a long way when requesting help. I suppose that applies everywhere in the world.

Of the 30 percent asked if they would assit ? are they acutally from Toronto.. or fairly new to Toronto. Most of the snobs in Toronto are in the downtown area. So yes is all suit's we asked they probally would drive over you with their fancy SUV or Sports car..before offereing help. But of you asked a contractor in the area.. or a good old Joe.. I bet they would help. The main problem with people these days in they are afraid of what might happen vs what could happen if you help out.. thats the main reason the noise is so high on many. I agree allot more people just need to be more friendly and say hello to each other.. otherwise take the next flight to the other plant you should live on.

I was born and raised in Toronto and it wasn't like this in the earlier years 30-40 years ago. People cared, were curtious, thoughtful, empathetic, generous and kind. They minded their manners, didn't swear every word and helped the less fortunate, the elderly,and their neighbors. No it wasn't perfect, but at least that was the majority of society behavior.
Now that we're such a huge multicultural society(not a bad thing, in fact I love much about that),but there's minimal morals, value's or traditions that are known as strictly Canadian. Now it seem's as though it's all about "My Culture", "My religion", "My Country", "My People".....and People now take care of their own.
Granted these values and morals should be world wide, and toward all human beings but unfortunately they aren't. Different Countries view things differently (Not prejudice, just stating a fact).
I remember a few years ago when I took the bus to work, and I was very pregnant. Most of the time I stood there while much looked on and let me stand. They would totally avoid looking at me so they wouldn't feel obligated. I can't tell you how many times I saw elderly standing without one offer (other than myself) to give up the seat to them. It was terrible! Once,I even reported to a TTC guy that some guy was getting mugged/attacked just outside and could he help. His response was, "What do you want me to do about it?" Needless to say, my mouth hit the floor and I shook some sense into someone who apparently didn't have any.

I'm sure some will say we can't blame it on just that....and yes I agree, but I'm not going to suggest that it is because of hard times. Our grandparents/parents who immigrated here, who fought in the war and went through the great depression and famins....now those were hard times and they didn't treat eachother like that. A lot of us don't know what hard times really is. Everything gets handed to us practically on a silver platter now. We seemed to have adopted the "sense of entitlement" behavior.

Don't get me wrong. There have been much good things that I've seen people do to...and there are a lot of really great hearted people here (no matter where you're from), but truth is, I do see it less and less.

So, I don't know if it's a cultural/immigrational thing or that people are too scared to get involved for fear of their own life, but whatever it is .....it needs to change.
Even if it's just starting out by being thoughtful and giving your seat up for someone, or letting someone in front of you in line who has only one item or helping an elderly person with their heavy bags ......or for the more daring of us ...jumping in when theres an emergency, every little bit makes a difference.
People lost sight of what matters here and we all need to start thinking of others and not just "me, me, me".

You can generalize and say everyone is nasty and rude - or you can just try being nice to everyone. I think you'll find the latter works better as most people are actually nice.

I have been trained in CPR and I'd have to admit that if I were in a cardio situation then I'd lack the confidence and maybe get a bit confused at this point. Now if I had just underwent the training then things could be different.
Give T.O. a break ya country bumpkins. O.K. Americans as a rule are 10X friendlier than any Canadian in any Canadian city and I've been to them all, afterall this is my country. Yeah, I'm Native North American and I have long hair with braids and I found people in Toronto to be very nice, except when one fello ran by me with a handgun. Anyhow, lived all over Toronto and I never encountered anything like what I experienced throughout all the Western provinces, with the Eastern coming in a close second. People have a right to mind their own business and mob psychology does apply to this, too. It is always easier to assume that someone else will assist this person. These "daze" I would have to hesitate to stick my lips on a stranger and I don't carry one of the required oral devices to prevent that. Gee, now ya huys bring in the Swine Flu?, thanks a bunch

I was born in Toronto, and go back to visit quite often. I find so many people are in there own little world. I find the elders are more willing to communicate than the younger generation. I have got off my flights either from Pearson or Porter's airlines and have had many people asking directions. I have on many occasion have taken the time to take them to where they have wanted to go. I have been rewarded with a simple Thanks and usually a couple of bucks for my efforts. Usually enough to restart my trip to where I was headed.
I find that alot of people would benefit more from being more aware of their surrounding and make our city of Toronto more appealing if many took the time to even smile. So please people smile more and maybe give the direction as a few seconds of your time is not the end of the world and one day what goes around usually comes around.

I'm from SW Ontario and travel to TO occasionally. While I love all that the city has to offer I do find some truth to what people have been writing. In my experience, it's not the drivers that are bad but rather TO's pedestrians. They launch themselves from between parked cars, out into the street without looking and saunter across the street . When I drive through downtown Toronto it's like a game of dodgeball. I can't believe that there isn't more fatalities'. Stray dogs seem smarter when it comes to negotiating the streets.
Snikey

I think that's a silly article, to generalize that only 30% of Torontonians would offer help to someone.Just another reason for people to jump on the " Toronto the bad " bandwagon.I've been in Toronto many times and was offered help with directions without even asking, and helpful service in most places is second to none ( and I've visited every major city in Canada many times.) These unfair stats just furthur the crapping on Toronto that is so prevalent, and unfair. I'm sure the average Torontonian would try to offer help to someone hurt just as readily as someone in Winnipeg or Calgary or Vancouver.They probably poled areas with a large immigrant population, who may not have even understood the question.

As a former Torontonian-I disagree!!! I still love to go back to visit-and I find that people are always wonderful and helpful and go out of their way to be of assistance. Mind you-that was usually for general information and directions-but still-I can't say enough nice things about Toronto...my perception of this city is, of course, based on my own personal experiences. I LOVE TORONTO!!

I used to visit Toronto a fair amoumt to see shows attend functions see doctors etc, not any more, in fact the last few times that I was in Toronto the only persons who showed any human kindness at all were fairly recent immigrants. Toronto residents seem too full of themselves and too self important to take the time to help somebody. Not all by any means, but enough for it to be commented on, and taken into consideration by non Torontonians when planning vacations etc. Sorry folks there are far more attractive places in Canada to go to.