All of what you said makes sense in the context of being a relatively, financially mobile, single person.
Having a children and home that isn't the size of a shoebox is the norm in most regions of Canada, and should not be considered a luxury. So yeah, it is that Toronto is expensive, if you want these things out of life.
To put it in perspective, the murder rate of 2.9 per 100,000 makes Winnipeg about as dangerous as San Jose, CA or Raleigh, NC.