City installing AC units for seniors as Toronto sizzles under another heat warning

Julia Alevato · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 14, 2025 12:42 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

As Toronto deals with different vigor informing this summer, the metropolis is installing air conditioner units for seniors arsenic portion of a caller aviator program.

The metropolis launched the pilot programme successful May to supply escaped portable aerial conditioners to low-income, susceptible seniors.  

Since aboriginal this month, much than 380 portable aerial conditioner units person been delivered to seniors crossed Toronto, the metropolis said successful a release. 

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said astatine a quality league Monday that the aviator programme is simply a start, but it's "nowhere adjacent enough."

"Many deaths were recorded successful the past 10, 20 years due to the fact that of vigor waves, truthful having aerial conditioning helps, particularly for the astir susceptible seniors," said Chow. 

Chow said the aviator programme is simply a $200,000 inaugural outlined successful the city's 2025 fund and volition effect successful 500 aerial conditioner units being provided to low-income seniors crossed the city.

She said she's looking into whether she tin mandate landlords to instal aerial conditioners in each flat successful the city.

Units assigned done a lottery system 

Toronto's enforcement manager of environment, clime and forestry, James Nowlan, said astatine the quality league that the programme received implicit 1,400 applicants, and the aerial conditioner units were assigned to seniors done a lottery system.

Chow said the lottery ensures "fairness," arsenic the metropolis has lone 500 AC units to provide.

The quality league comes arsenic parts of the Greater Toronto Area is under an aerial prime informing connected Monday, alongside an ongoing vigor informing successful the region.

Chow said the seniors who don't person aerial conditioners in their homes should usage fans, enactment hydrated, and sojourn chill rooms, if needed. She said determination are implicit 500 chill rooms astir the city, including astatine libraries and assemblage centres.

The quality league took spot successful beforehand of a building in Toronto's Greenwood-Coxwell neighbourhood, wherever the metropolis installed an aerial conditioner astatine a senior's home.

Helen Bourke, who's turning 77 connected Sunday, said the caller aerial conditioner feels similar "an aboriginal day present."

"It feels wonderful. It's mode amended than my fan. We'll get to slumber tonight," said Burke.

"I've had blinds and windows closed each day, and I slumber with a instrumentality pointed astatine me. That's each I could do, but present I'll beryllium cool."

She said she signed up for the aviator programme successful May arsenic she had been surviving successful her portion without aerial conditioning for astir 2 years.

The area's councillor, Paula Fletcher, said astatine the quality league that seniors merit to person a comfy summer. 

"Extreme vigor takes a tremendous toll connected your health, peculiarly connected the wellness of seniors, truthful [an] aerial conditioner successful the portion volition truly alteration the lives for seniors here," she said.