I grew up in Toronto, have lived here in the Bay Area for over 20 years, and I still go back frequently. I assume that your thoughts about Toronto probably include the sprawling suburbs where the public schools are probably more coveted? Your kids may benefit the most if they get into the many public special programs from a young age. Ontario's olympic athlete training+schooling programs are amazing from what I hear. French immersion schools will only accept students from the ground floor. Public magnet gifted programs still exist in some school districts. The friends who stayed in Toronto proper have their kids in private schools or a public French immersion program. I think folks in Toronto are more open minded because with the exception of a very few tiny WASP enclaves, black people do belong as much as Asian people, as much as any other person of color in any given neighborhood. On a regular basis you will have a greater chance of encountering genuinely kind people who for some unfathomable reason are thinking about your best interests (vs just thinking about themselves). Your kids will probably not grow up being fearful, untrusting, or expect less from themselves or any other person, regardless of race. I suspect that downtown Toronto is still considered very safe after dark. My parents had no issues with me going down there with my friends to shop, play, or for special events. There is the occasional encounter with the mentally ill but there are so very many people on the downtown streets at night that it is was not a problem and probably still not a problem. Toronto is a remarkably clean and proud city. Good luck.
I grew up in Toronto, have lived here in the Bay Area for over 20 years, and I still go back frequently. I assume that your thoughts about Toronto probably include the sprawling suburbs where the public schools are probably more coveted? Your kids may benefit the most if they get into the many public special programs from a young age. Ontario's olympic athlete training+schooling programs are amazing from what I hear. French immersion schools will only accept students from the ground floor. Public magnet gifted programs still exist in some school districts. The friends who stayed in Toronto proper have their kids in private schools or a public French immersion program. I think folks in Toronto are more open minded because with the exception of a very few tiny WASP enclaves, black people do belong as much as Asian people, as much as any other person of color in any given neighborhood. On a regular basis you will have a greater chance of encountering genuinely kind people who for some unfathomable reason are thinking about your best interests (vs just thinking about themselves). Your kids will probably not grow up being fearful, untrusting, or expect less from themselves or any other person, regardless of race. I suspect that downtown Toronto is still considered very safe after dark. My parents had no issues with me going down there with my friends to shop, play, or for special events. There is the occasional encounter with the mentally ill but there are so very many people on the downtown streets at night that it is was not a problem and probably still not a problem. Toronto is a remarkably clean and proud city. Good luck.