Town hall meeting to address spate of coyote attacks in downtown Toronto

February 13, 2025 Canuck

As residents of two downtown Toronto neighbourhoods say city efforts have failed to reduce a spate of coyote attacks on pet dogs, a local councillor is hosting a public meeting Thursday to hear their concerns and come up with a long-term safety plan.

A group of people from the communities of Fort York and Liberty Village in downtown Toronto, calling themselves the Coyote Safety Coalition, say they’ve recorded over 40 attacks since November.

They say the city has helped address the issue with bylaw patrols, but it’s not enough.

“We urgently call for a comprehensive and sustainable action plan to address this issue permanently,” the coalition said in a Feb. 11 letter signed by Ruby Kooner, a Liberty Village resident who says her dog died after a coyote attack in November.

“Residents remain deeply concerned as fear continues to rise, particularly at night,” the letter says.

City staff told CBC Toronto that they received 64 service requests related to coyotes in the area in January, including three bites and two attacks on dogs.

City monitoring coyote activity, educating public

The city has had bylaw officers monitoring coyote activity in the area since November and is offering public guidance on how to keep safe and prevent coyote encounters, according to animal services. That includes, keeping dogs on-leash, making noise and being assertive in the event of an encounter.

WATCH | Liberty Village dog owners seeing coyote attacks on the rise:

Coyote attack on dog in Liberty Village leaves woman shaken

3 months ago

Duration 2:14

Some residents are urging the city to do more after increasing sightings of coyotes across the city. The CBC’s Tyreike Reid introduces us to a woman whose dog was attacked.

Toronto’s animal services director Esther Attard says most coyote encounters involve off-leash dogs, and the city is working to maintain safety while allowing wildlife to co-exist peacefully with people in the communities.

“If animal behaviour changes in a way that affects public safety, we will take a range of further actions after assessing all options available,” she said.

But members of the Coyote Safety Coalition say that coyotes are remaining aggressive, even when people follow the city’s guidelines.

6 coyote attacks reported Monday alone, residents say

The community coalition says Monday evening alone, six pet dogs in the area were attacked by coyotes. Ann Selvanayagam’s five-year-old terrier-mix, Gregorio, was one of them.

The Liberty Village woman says she was wearing a hands-free leash when she took Gregorio just outside her building at night so he could have a quick pee. She says a coyote came out of nowhere while she was distracted by a noise and tried to carry Gregorio away in its teeth.

“I’m screaming and I’m kicking at the coyote to let go,” she said, but the coyote held on. She said the coyote stayed aggressive even as four other dog owners came to her aid. It finally relented when a large man arrived and scared it away.

A woman in a snow jacket holds her terrier in a snowy park during the day. The terrier is wearing a cone. — Ann Selvanayagam says she was following the city’s guidelines for coyote safety when her dog, Gregorio, was attacked outside her building. It was one of six coyote attacks in the Liberty Village, Fort York area reported to a local community group Monday night. (Naama Weingarten/CBC)

Gregorio received stitches for the attack, and Selvanayagam says she got a $1,300 vet bill. She says it’s shaken both of them.

“He typically gets really excited for walks and now when I ask him, he just gets really scared,” she said.

“The city actually needs to do something because their guidelines aren’t doing anything,” she said. “Everyone is scared to go outside.”

Another Liberty Village resident, Monica Healy, says her dog was also attacked Monday night, the second time since Christmas. She says she had her dog leashed both times.

“I think they’re gaslighting us a little, the city, saying it’s not really a problem, but it is,” she said. She now carries a whistle and coyote repellent and wants to see coyotes removed from the neighbourhood.

“They can’t stay here,” she said. “It’s out of hand.”

Coun. Ausma Malik, who represents Spadina-Fort York, says she’s been meeting with community advocates about the issue on a weekly basis this winter and is hosting a town hall Thursday to consult on a new safety plan to address the coyote problem.

Politicians blame Ontario Place redevelopment for escalation

Malik says she intends to propose a plan to the city’s economic development committee later this month, and she has asked staff “to look at every option available to us to resolve the issue,” including relocation and euthanasia.

Coyotes have always existed in the city, Malik says, but their prevalence in downtown areas with little vegetation is new.

“We’ve seen an escalation,” she said.

Coyote 1 — A coyote is pictured here walking in a park in Toronto. MPP Chris Glover and Coun. Ausma Malik say coyote attacks have been on the rise since the Ontario Place redevelopment reduced green space in the area. (CBC)

Malik and local MPP Chris Glover both say the redevelopment of nearby Ontario Place has removed green space from the coyote’s former habitat, pushing them into the city.

“It was this wildlife refuge just offshore in downtown Toronto, and they clear-cut it,” Glover said. “Then immediately afterwards, the escalation of the coyote attacks started.”

He says the provincial government should take responsibility for the problem since it’s leading the redevelopment project.

An environmental assessment for the Ontario Place redevelopment did not report any coyote habitat in the area, but Glover says that didn’t look at the entirety of the redevelopment area. A Metrolinx assessment for the Ontario Line’s planned Exhibition Station found evidence of coyotes in the area.

Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources didn’t respond to CBC Toronto’s request for comment in time for publication. The ministry told CBC Toronto last month it was working with the city on the problem.

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