Subway billboards tell Torontonians to leave and get a 'bigger house' in Alberta
A series of billboards at one of Toronto’s busiest subway stations is directly targeting the frustrations of young people living in the city by offering an alternative – Alberta.
“A bigger house. Closer to work,” one billboard at Yonge-Bloor station reads with a parallel image of a cyclist. Another says, “An engineer, accountant and plumber walk into a province. They all get jobs.”
At the bottom of each billboard, the tagline, “Alberta is calling,” nudges at a solution to these problems.
This new ad campaign is part of a $2.6 million ploy designed by the Alberta government to lure people from Toronto.
Earlier this week, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney made a trip to downtown Toronto to drive that message home.
“There is a place in this country where you can afford to buy a home,” Kenney said. “That place is called Alberta.”
According to Kenney, a detached home on average costs $1.2 million in the Greater Toronto Area, compared to $425,000 in Calgary and $360,000 in Edmonton.
“It felt like a commentary about Toronto from an unusual source that some things here have gone very wrong,” Shoshanna Saxe told CTV News Toronto after noticing the ads while travelling through Yonge-Bloor station.
As an associate professor in civil engineering at the University of Toronto with an expertise in urban infrastructure, she was keenly aware of the targeted messaging surrounding housing and transit in Toronto.
“It was putting a finger right on the key challenges Toronto is facing,” she said.
Videos on the Alberta is Calling website take the message a step further.
“My name is Alycia. I live in Calgary, Alberta. I moved here from Toronto three years ago,” a young mother says in one advertisement while her two children happily play in their backyard.
“The cost of housing in Toronto is astronomical,” she goes on to say as she sits in a modern house with light flooding in and ample room for her kids to run around.
“It’s honestly night and day what we have. Now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.”
In another video, Natasha reassures Torontonians who are hesitant about making the move.
“The pieces that I was thinking I was going to have to leave behind in Toronto, I’ve found them here as well,” she said.
“It’s really rewarding as a young person to make your own life and build your own community and find your own interests.”
Saxe said these ads are working to re-brand Alberta, venturing away from common associations with the province, like trucks and oil, and instead, gravitating towards biking and exploration.
“As a city, we want Toronto to be saying we see you, we’re going to work on that,” she said.
Have you moved from Ontario to Alberta? We'd like to hear from you.
To tell your story, send us an e-mail here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson airport: police
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
ArriveCan contractor to be admonished by MPs in extraordinarily rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.