It's election time in the city, and guess what? This year you can participate. Yes, you! Don't miss Toronto's first ever Kids Vote Weekend!
Did you know that Toronto plants up to 120,000 trees a year? Trees help clean the air, provide shade and support wildlife. The goal is to create a tree canopy that covers 40 per cent of the city by 2050. Have your say to support a healthier, greener future!
When is Kids Vote Weekend? Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, from 10 am to 7 pm.
Where can I vote? With a grown-up's help, use MyVote to find the advance voting place that is closest to your home.
What happens next? The winning tree will be announced after the October 26 municipal election. In 2027, the Tree of the Year will be featured in special plantings across the entire city... maybe in your neighbourhood or at your school!
There are five candidates running for Toronto’s 2027 Tree of the Year. They are all large trees native to Toronto that play an important role in our urban forest. See if you can spot them while exploring Toronto's parks, forests and trails with your family. Meet the candidates:
Basswood
- Provides lots of shade, great for staying cool on hot days
- Its flowers are an important food source for pollinators like honeybees
- Its wood is light and smooth, making it perfect for carving musical instruments
Paper birch
- Groundbreaking and adventurous species! Its tiny seeds can float long distances on the wind, helping new trees grow in different places
- Grows fast and helps establish new forests quickly
- One of the first trees to grow on cleared land, providing food and shelter for animals and plants as the land regenerates
Red oak
- Strong and reliable, it has deep root systems that help it to weather storms and prevent soil erosion
- Can live for hundreds of years! A single tree can provide food and shelter for generations of people and animals. (In fact, Toronto’s oldest tree is a 250-year-old red oak.)
- Acorns are great snacks for blue jays, chipmunks, deer, squirrels and turkeys. Plus its leaves provide food for caterpillars.
Sugar maple
- Source of maple syrup. Its sap has one of the highest natural sugar content of any maple species. Sweet!
- Puts on a colourful show in the fall with orange, red and yellow leaves
- Seeds can spin like little helicopters
White pine
- The only evergreen tree in the running. Keeps its needles year round, making it a cozy shelter for wildlife
- Birds and squirrels enjoy snacking on the seeds in its cones
- Often grows to be the tallest tree in the forest
Which candidate are you rooting for? (Haha, get it? Root for?) Find more fun facts, videos and tips to identify the trees on the City of Toronto's website!
Branch out this fall and learn about both elections and nature! Check out your library for:
Books about trees Books about democracy and voting
Fun activities like tree crafts and creating campaign posters (if grown-ups feel like they're missing out on the tree front, some libraries have Trees Around the Branch tours)
We hope you enjoy Kids Vote Weekend, and thank you for voting! (Psst... remind the adults in your life to vote on October 26, too.)