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Courtney Shea

Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”

Latest from Courtney Shea

"I'll probably focus on the crust": What this Toronto chef will be looking for as a judge at Ontario's Best Butter Tart Festival

“I’ll probably focus on the crust”: What this Toronto chef will be looking for as a judge at Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival

Romain Avril is heading to Midland to help crown the province’s king or queen of tarts

The city just hired 50 goats to combat invasive plants. We have questions

The city just hired 50 goats to combat invasive plants. We have questions

Question one: Are we fresh out of weed whackers?

What the cluck? An Etobicoke poultry supplier is suing Popeyes for $35 million

What the cluck? An Etobicoke poultry supplier is suing Popeyes for $35 million

Are Ontario garages providing safe haven for chicken bootleggers?

Cue the outrage—Mayor Olivia Chow wants Toronto to support Pride by boycotting Home Depot

Cue the outrage—Mayor Olivia Chow wants Toronto to support Pride by boycotting Home Depot

More fallout from the festival's loss of corporate sponsors

Sceptres superstar Sarah Nurse is leaving Toronto for PWHL Vancouver

Sceptres superstar Sarah Nurse is leaving Toronto for PWHL Vancouver

Let the weeping begin

Ryan Reynolds is producing a doc about Canadian comedy legend John Candy—and it's opening TIFF

Ryan Reynolds is producing a doc about Canadian comedy legend John Candy—and it’s opening TIFF

Finally, the late great Toronto comedian gets his flowers

Pickering’s scandal-plagued city councillor just lost her court case to recoup wages. Now, she owes an additional $30,000

Pickering’s scandal-plagued city councillor just lost her court case to recoup wages. Now, she owes an additional $30,000

Remember Lisa Robinson, the white woman who called herself a “modern-day slave”?

The Toronto Catholic District School Board is begging students to stop blowing up their laptops

The Toronto Catholic District School Board is begging students to stop blowing up their laptops

Introducing the Chromebook Challenge: a TikTok craze that is—quite literally—fire

SOS: Jacob Elordi is missing from Guillermo del Toro's first Frankenstein trailer

SOS: Jacob Elordi is missing from Guillermo del Toro’s first Frankenstein trailer

An urgent dispatch from concerned fans of hot monsters

Why did Kanye just thank Drake for getting Trump to pardon a convicted gang leader?

Why did Kanye just thank Drake for getting Trump to pardon a convicted gang leader?

It all goes back to a party at—where else?—Drake’s Bridle Path mansion

Two more corporate sponsors have abandoned Pride Toronto—and it's giving anti-DEI

Two more corporate sponsors have abandoned Pride Toronto—and it’s giving anti-DEI

Someone pass the premium-grade power hose: Home Depot is washing off the pink

Bono’s man crush on Mark Carney is the good news we need

Bono’s man crush on Mark Carney is the good news we need

But, as far as aging-rocker bromances go, our PM’s got options

“I am a Harvard student until someone tells me I’m not”: A Torontonian on Trump's attack on international students

“I am a Harvard student until someone tells me I’m not”: A Torontonian on Trump’s attack on international students

For Scarborough's John Gobin, acceptance to Harvard Law was a golden ticket. Now, thanks to Trump's vendetta against the Ivy League institution, his future—and those of thousands of students—hangs in the balance

Weirdly, Niagara-on-the-Lake is dropping “wine county” from its tagline

Weirdly, Niagara-on-the-Lake is dropping “wine county” from its tagline

And you’d have to be wasted to support their reasoning

"Coexistence isn't working": Coyotes killed her dog. Now she wants them gone

“Coexistence isn’t working”: Coyotes killed her dog. Now she wants them gone

Liberty Village resident Ruby Kooner’s dog was fatally ambushed by two local coyotes. She wants the province to relocate the animals—but not everyone agrees

Annie Murphy is going full woo-woo for Nine Perfect Strangers

Annie Murphy is going full woo-woo for Nine Perfect Strangers

The Schitt’s Creek alum dishes on Nicole Kidman’s aura, who among her celeb co-stars has done ayahuasca and why she’s leaving behind “Ew, David”

"We love a good drama queen or king": This guy is bringing a Summer House –inspired reality series to Muskoka

“We love a good drama queen or king”: This guy is bringing a Summer House–inspired reality series to Muskoka

Cue the boozy parties, exclusive barbecues and long days spent gossiping on the lake. If producer Lafe Jordan has his way, cottage country is about to turn into a reality TV set

"Maybe it's too fun for Toronto": Why this former Liberal MP is defending Doug Ford's Ontario Place megaspa

“Maybe it’s too fun for Toronto”: Why this former Liberal MP is defending Doug Ford’s Ontario Place megaspa

One-time downtown MP Adam Vaughan turned heads when he joined Therme, the European company tasked with redeveloping Ontario Place. Here, he explains his controversial choice to work on the project he once opposed

“One of our regulars got the logo tattooed on her butt”: The new owners of Squirly’s on bringing a beloved Queen West dive bar back from the dead

For once, nostalgia triumphed over condo developers

Anchor Man: Fox News host John Roberts on Trump, the trade war and the American psyche

Anchor Man: Fox News host John Roberts on Trump, the trade war and the American psyche

If Fox News seems an unlikely landing spot for a guy who got his start pumping out Platinum Blonde on MuchMusic, you probably haven’t heard his thoughts about joining the notorious network, the Canada–US relationship and what he misses most about Toronto

“Death is a very entrepreneurial thing”: David Cronenberg on his new film, The Shrouds

“Death is a very entrepreneurial thing”: David Cronenberg on his new film, The Shrouds

The cult favourite horror director is back with a sexy new techno drama that doubles as a romantic tribute to his late wife. A conversation with the Baron of Blood

"Here, there’s still a sense that people are willing to listen": Why U of T sociology professor Jerry Flores moved his family from Washington State to Toronto

“Here, there’s still a sense that people are willing to listen”: Why U of T sociology professor Jerry Flores moved his family from Washington State to Toronto

Growing up in a low-income neighbourhood in LA, Flores experienced institutional racism and systemic injustice first-hand. Eight months after Trump was elected, he and his family had moved to Canada

"It started to feel a bit too much like Europe in the 1930s": Music producer Bob Ezrin on why he moved from Nashville to Toronto

“It started to feel a bit too much like Europe in the 1930s”: Music producer Bob Ezrin on why he moved from Nashville to Toronto

Ezrin has worked with the likes of Pink Floyd, Kiss and Alice Cooper. Here, he discusses how the US has deteriorated in the wake of Donald Trump’s second ascent to the White House

“I do my own talking points, thank you very much”: The biggest dunks and disses from the federal leaders' debate

“I do my own talking points, thank you very much”: The biggest dunks and disses from the federal leaders’ debate

Ah, federal elections—an opportunity for men to insult each other on a stage

Best New Restaurants

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2025

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2025

This year’s list includes a Korean Ecuadorian diner, a supper club that showcases regional Chinese dishes tweaked with seasonal Canadian ingredients and a Parkdale chaat house that makes a mean Pakistani Sloppy Joe. It’s official: fusion is in

Big Stories

Sex worker and Anora consultant Andrea Werhun’s journey from strip clubs to Hollywood

Sex worker and Anora consultant Andrea Werhun’s journey from strip clubs to Hollywood

Andrea Werhun’s dream was to be a writer, but there was a lot more money in sex work. She told herself she’d quit soon, then spent years working as a stripper. In 2022, Sean Baker hired her as a consultant on his Oscar-sweeping film. Now she’s stepping into her own spotlight

Game Over: Inside fallen Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter’s sports betting scandal

Game Over: Inside fallen Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter’s sports betting scandal

As the pivotal member of a notorious betting ring, Porter was playing for another team. The story of a cheater, his bookmakers and the wager that brought them all down

Megan Savard for the Defence: Meet the lawyer representing a player at the centre of the Hockey Canada trial

Megan Savard for the Defence: Meet the lawyer representing a player at the centre of the Hockey Canada trial

She’s fierce, shrewd and relentless. And she doesn’t just want to win—she wants to dismantle the prison system altogether

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2025

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2025

This year’s list includes a Korean Ecuadorian diner, a supper club that showcases regional Chinese dishes tweaked with seasonal Canadian ingredients and a Parkdale chaat house that makes a mean Pakistani Sloppy Joe. It’s official: fusion is in

Inside the rise and fall of the Vaulter Bandit, the 21st century’s most notorious bank robber

Inside the rise and fall of the Vaulter Bandit, the 21st century’s most notorious bank robber

To fellow tourists he met around the world, Jeffery Shuman was a semi-retired developer with a bright smile, an even tan and a fat wallet. In truth, he was a legendary bank robber on the run from the Toronto police and the US Marshals

Anchor Man: Fox News host John Roberts on Trump, the trade war and the American psyche

Anchor Man: Fox News host John Roberts on Trump, the trade war and the American psyche

If Fox News seems an unlikely landing spot for a guy who got his start pumping out Platinum Blonde on MuchMusic, you probably haven’t heard his thoughts about joining the notorious network, the Canada–US relationship and what he misses most about Toronto

Trump's Loss, Toronto's Gain: Meet the artists, professors, scientists and other luminaries ditching the US and moving north

Trump’s Loss, Toronto’s Gain: Meet the artists, professors, scientists and other luminaries ditching the US and moving north

They’re coming from Big Law, the Ivy League, arts institutes and beyond, brimming with smarts and energy and united by a common cause: avoiding the carnage of Donald Trump. True tales from the brain gain

Dancing Queens: Patrons, staff and performers share their wildest memories of Crews and Tangos, Toronto’s most storied drag bar

Dancing Queens: Patrons, staff and performers share their wildest memories of Crews and Tangos, Toronto’s most storied drag bar

Crews and Tangos has been enforcing the rules of the Village for more than 30 years: wear what you want, kiss who you want, but don’t forget to tip the drag queens. With a condo development looming, we asked around for tales from the iconic spot

The Joy of Sex with Strangers: A Toronto hotwife’s adventures in ethical non-monogamy

The Joy of Sex with Strangers: A Toronto hotwife’s adventures in ethical non-monogamy

Three months ago, I was a suburban mom in a monogamous relationship. Now I’m sleeping with people I meet online—with my husband’s blessing—and we’ve never been happier. Don’t judge us until you’ve read our story

The Scandal, the Firing and the Fallout: Anatomy of a Bay Street fiasco at RBC

The Scandal, the Firing and the Fallout: Anatomy of a Bay Street fiasco at RBC

Nadine Ahn was a high-ranking executive at the bank. Ken Mason, her subordinate, was rapidly promoted. Then someone claimed to see them canoodling at the Royal York, tipped off HR and triggered an inquisition

Edward the Conqueror: The unlikely ascent of Canada’s telecom king

Edward the Conqueror: The unlikely ascent of Canada’s telecom king

Edward Rogers was dismissed as a meddling nepo baby—until he muscled out his siblings, acquired his competitors, cornered the telecom market and became the dominant force in Canadian sports

Lady Parts: Inside Meredith MacNeill and Jennifer Whalen’s new show, Small Achievable Goals

Lady Parts: Inside Meredith MacNeill and Jennifer Whalen’s new show, Small Achievable Goals

The Baroness von Sketch Show alumnae have elevated joking about women’s issues to an art. Their new show takes aim at menopause. How funny is that?

Murder in the Blue Mountains: The story behind the killing of Ashley Schwalm

Murder in the Blue Mountains: The story behind the killing of Ashley Schwalm

Ashley and James Schwalm had what seemed like a fairy tale life—two wonderful children, fulfilling careers and a gorgeous home close to the private ski club where they’d fallen in love. Then Ashley’s remains turned up in a burned-out car at the bottom of a ditch, and all signs pointed to her husband

Dark Horse: Inside the fall of Eric Lamaze, Canada’s most famous equestrian

Dark Horse: Inside the fall of Eric Lamaze, Canada’s most famous equestrian

For years, Lamaze was the world’s top-ranked show jumper, living an enviable life filled with fancy cars, international travel and adoring fans—the kind of life a person might do anything to protect

Buy Canadian

An all-Canadian wine festival is coming to Fort York

An all-Canadian wine festival is coming to Fort York

Elbows Up aims to make it easier (and cheaper) to buy Canadian-made bottles

This Toronto Italian restaurant is launching a pasta tasting menu made with all-Canadian ingredients

This Toronto Italian restaurant is launching a pasta tasting menu made with all-Canadian ingredients

It’s Amano Trattoria’s elbows-up moment

A high-tech greenhouse in King City is sticking it to Trump’s tariffs

A high-tech greenhouse in King City is sticking it to Trump’s tariffs

How to reduce our reliance on American farmers? Rely on robot ones instead

"We felt disconnected from the outdoors before": What St. Lawrence Market North vendors think of their new home

“We felt disconnected from the outdoors before”: What St. Lawrence Market North vendors think of their new home

And what locally made and grown goods they’re selling