Sankofa Square’s revenue is significantly down
The square’s interim manager says this summer’s FIFA World Cup is expected to generate more business
A new report from CityNews says that Toronto’s Sankofa Square is bringing in less money than the space has generated in the past.
City budget documents reviewed by CityNews show that the square’s revenue has dropped considerably over the last year, even though it operates several streams of income, including prominent billboard advertising, corporate events and concerts.
The number of days with commercial bookings went from 71 in 2024 to 22 in 2025.
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Some wonder whether Sankofa Square’s name change last August may have caused confusion among advertisers (it had previously been Yonge-Dundas Square), or if the space being used for protests has turned business away.
Marnie Grona, the square’s interim general manager, says it’s likelier due to widespread economic uncertainty brought on by US tariffs.
“Advertising, working with our different partners, that was understandably down early in the year as businesses were trying to figure out some of the international situations that were going on,” Grona said. “Some of the bigger advertisers were holding off on some of the digital advertising in the square. Some of our corporate branding activations that would normally take place in the square, those were down.”
Grona mentioned a new strategic plan for the space, including smaller event bookings, and said the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Toronto is expected to bring more business.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
