Raising chickens in Toronto has been illegal since 1987 (the previous bylaws were hold-overs from the cities more agrarian past).

There was a movement by two city counselors to re-examine that ban in 2012 given the increasing interest in urban poultry - but it was voted down unanimously by the cities licensing and standards committee.

It's unlikely however that this will change in the near future as there's been recent negative publicity around the increasing number of urban chickens throughout north america being abandoned and turned over to shelters due to individuals underestimating the work involved in their care and feeding and/or the ratio of a chicken's egg-laying years relative to it's total lifespan.

Some additional reading:

• Toronto's backyard bylaw isn't eggs-actly effective, and urban poultry lovers are crying fowl
• No (legal) backyard chickens for Toronto anytime soon as city committee defers study
• Hipster farmers abandoning urban chickens because they're too much work