Addressing Toronto’s Female Ginkgo Trees - by Councillor Josh Matlow, seconded by Councillor Mike Colle

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The decision

2026-05-20 · Toronto City Council · adopted

As filed

City Council on May 20 and 21, 2026, adopted the following: 1. City Council direct the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry to provide recommendations on the impacts of City-owned female ginkgo trees with a focus on community health and safety, as part of the ongoing Tree By-Law Review and report back in 2027.

The vote

Introduce Motion without Notice · Carried, 18-3

For (18)Amber Morley, Chris Moise, Dianne Saxe, Frances Nunziata, Jamaal Myers, James Pasternak, Josh Matlow, Lily Cheng, Michael Thompson, Mike Colle, Neethan Shan, Nick Mantas, Olivia Chow, Parthi Kandavel, Rachel Chernos Lin, Shelley Carroll, Stephen Holyday, Vincent Crisanti

Against (3)Alejandra Bravo, Ausma Malik, Gord Perks

Absent (5)Anthony Perruzza, Brad Bradford, Jon Burnside, Paul Ainslie, Paula Fletcher

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On the agenda

As the city filed it

Concerns from residents about the health and nuisance impacts of City-owned female ginkgo trees have increased in recent years. The noxious smell produced by the fruit creates undue hardship for nearby residents and surrounding communities. In addition, the hazardous residue left by the rotting fruit prevents residents from conducting proper maintenance and increases potential safety hazards. The City of Toronto does not intentionally plant female ginkgo trees but has no policy to address erroneously planting female ginkgo trees which begin producing fruit later in life.

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This motion requests that the City's female ginkgo tree population be explicitly addressed in Environment, Climate and Forestry's Tree By-Law Review. Reason for Urgency: Ongoing nuisance impacts of female ginkgo trees across the City.

Staff recommended

Councillor Josh Matlow, seconded by Councillor Mike Colle, recommends that: 1. City Council direct the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry to provide recommendations on the impacts of City-owned female ginkgo trees with a focus on community health and safety, as part of the ongoing Tree By-Law Review and report back in 2027.

On the record

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