City of Toronto launches new open data portal

City Councillor Paul Ainslie (Ward 43 Scarborough East), the city’s chief information officer Rob Meikle and other city staff announced Toronto has launched a new Open Data Portal at a May 3, 2018 event at the Toronto Reference Library. The Portal is a key outcome of the city’s new Open Data Master Plan and Roadmap.

“Open and transparent government are hallmarks of a modern and progressive city,” said Ainslie. “This new Open Data Portal will benefit everyone, especially our thriving and evolving tech and business communities, both of which understand the value and potential of government data that is made available.”

The portal, which will be updated and enhanced in phases, is a user-friendly web page that is available to anyone, regardless of technical knowledge or background. Members of the public can use the portal to access and visually interact with meaningful government data in a way that’s never before been made available by the city.

“The most exciting part about this portal is that it was co-created with the public. Thank you to everyone who made this a reality, especially Toronto’s open data community, Toronto City Council and the City of Toronto Open Data team,” said Meikle. “Together, we have developed a tool that will visually showcase data, build narratives and tell stories. Data is essential for Smart Cities initiatives, and this portal will activate government innovation and inspire the release of meaningful data that can solve civic issues.”

Key features available to the public in the first phase include simplified search capabilities, the ability to tell stories related to the available data, application program interfaces and a new community showcase section that demonstrates the work the public is doing using open data.

The Open Data Portal is available at http://www.toronto.ca/open.

— Eric Holmes