Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, Toyne earned a bachelor's degree in music composition from the University of Western Ontario. He pursued graduate studies in composition at the University of British Columbia, graduating with a master's degree in 1999. Immediately thereafter, he was selected to hold one of the coveted composer-participant positions at the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles. There, while writing and conducting several new works, he had the opportunity to study with such jazz and film artists as Jerry Goldsmith, Jack Smalley, Manny Albam, Michael Abene, Bob Florence, Jim McNeely, John Clayton (bassist), Alf Clausen and Horace Silver. This experience was pivotal in broadening Toyne's compositional scope to encompass not only a classical twentieth century idiom, but also jazz, blues and popular music.
