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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

"It will cost us about a million dollars not to operate this year": Camp Arowhon director Joanne Kates on the devastating decision to close summer camps

“It will cost us about a million dollars not to operate this year”: Camp Arowhon director Joanne Kates on the devastating decision to close summer camps

“Before lockdown, we'd ordered one of those giant inflatable water toys. So that's $20,000 gone”

"Mobile is the way of the future": A Q&A with the owner of Grocery Neighbour, the new supermarket on wheels hitting Toronto's streets soon

“Mobile is the way of the future”: A Q&A with the owner of Grocery Neighbour, the new supermarket on wheels hitting Toronto’s streets soon

Is this the future of grocery shopping?

"People are out water-skiing, they’re planning tennis tournaments. We’re concerned." The owner of a Muskoka marina on how he's bracing for the long weekend

“People are out water-skiing, they’re planning tennis tournaments. We’re concerned.” The owner of a Muskoka marina on how he’s bracing for the long weekend

Ben Hatherley, the owner of Gordon Bay Marine, has received legal threats, offers of free Leafs tickets and more from antsy cottagers who say they need to get to their summer getaways—or else

Q&A: Saad Rafi, Toronto's recovery czar, on coming out of retirement to guide the city to its new normal

Q&A: Saad Rafi, Toronto’s recovery czar, on coming out of retirement to guide the city to its new normal

Just when he thought he was out... they pulled him back in

"We opened on April Fools' Day": How one Toronto restaurateur managed to start a new business in the middle of a pandemic

“We opened on April Fools’ Day”: How one Toronto restaurateur managed to start a new business in the middle of a pandemic

Opening a restaurant is risky even in the best of times

How and when will the province re-open? Rod Phillips, Ontario's recovery czar, has some answers

How and when will the province re-open? Rod Phillips, Ontario’s recovery czar, has some answers

A conversation about the path to the next normal with the chair of the province’s jobs and recovery committee

"We're issuing fewer warnings and more tickets": Sergeant Jesse Weeks on how police are enforcing social distancing

“We’re issuing fewer warnings and more tickets”: Sergeant Jesse Weeks on how police are enforcing social distancing

“There was a lot of confusion around the rules at first. And I get it. There is definitely room for interpretation”

Q&A: David Frum on Trump’s pandemic response and what it means for the U.S. election

Q&A: David Frum on Trump’s pandemic response and what it means for the U.S. election

“He is the worst human being ever to occupy the office, and that includes slave owners”

“Before homeschool, we had Dad School, which was really hard”: Toronto kids reflect on their online classes so far

“Before homeschool, we had Dad School, which was really hard”: Toronto kids reflect on their online classes so far

“When this is all over, I am most excited to go to the library”

"'We hit $142,000 in donations and have delivered more than 1,500 meals": How Feed the Frontlines TO is helping to keep restaurants open and health care workers fed

"‘We hit $142,000 in donations and have delivered more than 1,500 meals”: How Feed the Frontlines TO is helping to keep restaurants open and health care workers fed

Since March 24, they've delivered more than 1,500 meals

"We saw a major shift": How did Covid-19 impact the real estate market? We asked TREB's senior analyst

Real Estate News

“We saw a major shift”: How did Covid-19 impact the real estate market? We asked TREB’s senior analyst

Jason Mercer says the market will recover quickly from Covid-19. It's just a matter of when that recovery will start

"Stop being selfish": Should Torontonians head to cottage country during the pandemic? We asked the mayor of Muskoka Lakes

“Stop being selfish”: Should Torontonians head to cottage country during the pandemic? We asked the mayor of Muskoka Lakes

Locals would obviously prefer to self-isolate at their lakeside retreats. But Phil Harding says that's a bad idea

“I had to learn the sign for Covid-19”: A Q&A with Christopher Desloges, who became an overnight celebrity as Doug Ford’s sign-language interpreter

“I had to learn the sign for Covid-19”: A Q&A with Christopher Desloges, who became an overnight celebrity as Doug Ford’s sign-language interpreter

The hardest job he ever had was signing for Whoopi Goldberg

"A lot of us are dealing with zero revenue right now": A Q&A with Andrew Oliver of SaveHospitalityCA on the help restaurants need to outlast the pandemic

“A lot of us are dealing with zero revenue right now”: A Q&A with Andrew Oliver of SaveHospitalityCA on the help restaurants need to outlast the pandemic

The group is acting as unifying voice for restaurants across Canada

“I lost 80 per cent of my business in 48 hours”: A Q&A with Joe Rutherford, the Toronto dog walker fighting for a rent freeze

“I lost 80 per cent of my business in 48 hours”: A Q&A with Joe Rutherford, the Toronto dog walker fighting for a rent freeze

“One idea that makes sense to me is that the government would subsidize losses incurred by landlords”

How accurate is Run This Town, the new Rob Ford movie?

How accurate is Run This Town, the new Rob Ford movie?

A spoiler-filled breakdown of what’s fact and what’s fiction

Q&A: Workin' Moms star and creator Catherine Reitman

Q&A: Workin’ Moms star and creator Catherine Reitman

She’s learning to love life as a celebrity, even if it means getting mobbed at Starbucks

"There’s nothing awkward about not drinking": a Q&A with the co-founder of Toronto’s new alcohol-free happy hour

“There’s nothing awkward about not drinking”: a Q&A with the co-founder of Toronto’s new alcohol-free happy hour

It's happy hour without the hangover

A Q&A with Adam Colquhoun, a professional shucker, on oyster dos and don'ts for holiday party season

A Q&A with Adam Colquhoun, a professional shucker, on oyster dos and don’ts for holiday party season

And the real reason oysters are an aphrodisiac

Q&A: Brock McLaughlin, a Toronto-based marketing guru, on his tattoo of Baby Yoda drinking White Claw

Q&A: Brock McLaughlin, a Toronto-based marketing guru, on his tattoo of Baby Yoda drinking White Claw

The $300 ink job got Jimmy Fallon talking

Q&A: Art dealer David Heffel on auctioning off a Picasso—one of the most expensive paintings in Canadian history—for $9.1 million

Q&A: Art dealer David Heffel on auctioning off a Picasso—one of the most expensive paintings in Canadian history—for $9.1 million

“I think the painting sold at a fair price”

Q&A: Harnarayan Singh, co-host of Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi, on Don Cherry's infamous "you people" rant

Q&A: Harnarayan Singh, co-host of Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi, on Don Cherry’s infamous “you people” rant

“I can't tell you how often I've had to justify my Canadianness”

Q&A: Steven Pelton, the CEO of Second Cup, on the coffee chain's move into cannabis

Q&A: Steven Pelton, the CEO of Second Cup, on the coffee chain’s move into cannabis

The Second Toke?

Q&A: How Olympian Adam van Koeverden kayaked his way to Parliament

Q&A: How Olympian Adam van Koeverden kayaked his way to Parliament

He’s back in the spotlight as a Liberal MP, with plans to make a splash in Ottawa

Summer Camp Guide

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Discover our top-rated summer camps for kids of all ages

Best New Restaurants

Toronto Life ’s Best Restaurants returns for its 10th-anniversary edition on June 8

Toronto Life’s Best Restaurants returns for its 10th-anniversary edition on June 8

General admission tickets are now on sale for Toronto’s biggest culinary night, featuring top chefs, restaurants and drinks

Big Stories

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it

When Sami and June Suomalainen died, it fell to the executor of their wills, a lawyer they hardly knew, to sell their million-dollar midtown home and split the proceeds among their inheritors. Seven years and six lawsuits later, the beneficiaries haven’t seen a cent

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026

This year’s list includes a 150-square-foot omakase counter, a Parisian brasserie in the Annex, Korean comfort food, Filipino karaoke and a Summerhill seafood spot that’s reinventing the raw bar

Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team

Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team

After years of false starts, months of nail-biting negotiations between the league and the players’ union, and an 11th-hour scramble to build a roster, Toronto finally has its own major-league women’s basketball team. Now it just has to live up to the hype

Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska

Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska

Slowikowska is the first Canadian to join the cast of Saturday Night Live in more than 25 years. She’s also this season’s breakout star. Now all she has to do is keep crushing it

Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer

Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer

The man who represented the infamous drug lord is unapologetically flashy—he has a Lamborghini and two Maseratis and wears $1,200 Louboutins. But did he become an accomplice to his client’s crimes? Deepak Paradkar says he was just doing his job. The FBI says he crossed a line

The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?

The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?

We’re not over it, but they are. Six months after that devastating defeat, the Jays take the field once more, bent more than ever on winning the World Series. Dispatches from the dugout

My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press

My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press

My dad was the infamous Rolex Killer. The news of his crimes nearly broke me. And ever since, my family has been hounded by reporters, podcasters and true crime fanatics—a whole new circle of hell

Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin

Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin

Larry David is the indisputable king of brutal honesty. But if anyone comes close, it’s Robby Hoffman, the suddenly everywhere comic from whom no group is safe

Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?

Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?

Pamela Sugiman, a former arts dean at Toronto Metropolitan University, was a key player in the school’s push for diversity, equity and inclusion. When the backlash against DEI arrived, she was demoted. The school says it was a coincidence. She disagrees

City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?

City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?

Scenes from the rent-for-life revolution

This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI

This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI

It’s hard out here for a 20-something

The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market

The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market

Desperate wannabe parents are betting their life savings on unproven treatments and false promises

Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI

Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI

Last spring, a chatbot convinced Allan Brooks that he had discovered a revolutionary mathematical theory. He says it nearly destroyed him

Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world

Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world

Homegrown innovations that will transform lives for the better

293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband

293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband

When Valentino was abducted, I knew three things: he’d been taken by his father, he was somewhere in India and I would not rest until I found him

The Violent Life of a Tow Truck Driver: How an unremarkable profession turned Toronto into a war zone

The Violent Life of a Tow Truck Driver: How an unremarkable profession turned Toronto into a war zone

The towing industry has been hijacked by criminals and kingpins who fleece customers, beat up dissenters and shoot their enemies. Inside the brutal turf war for the city’s wrecks

Street Fight: Inside the battle raging over Toronto multiplexes

Street Fight: Inside the battle raging over Toronto multiplexes

If this city stands any chance of solving the housing crisis, it will need buildings with multiple units in residential neighbourhoods—a move that has many residents saying, “Anywhere but here!”

Just Listed

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent

As luxury buyers become increasingly focused on wellness, privacy, and long-term livability, a new generation of custom homes is emerging – one defined less by excess and more by thoughtful design

For Sale: 171 Durant Ave

For Sale: 171 Durant Ave

This rare property features 2 houses on 1 lot

For Sale: 50 First Avenue

For Sale: 50 First Avenue

A testament to time presiding over one of Uxbridge's most storied streetscapes, this magnificently preserved circa 1880 residence commands its prominent corner lot with the quiet confidence of a true architectural landmark

For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive

For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive

A commanding architectural statement in prestigious Stonegate–Queensway, this newly completed custom residence by Bali Homes Group presents a refined interpretation of contemporary luxury living

For Sale: 75 Queen Street

For Sale: 75 Queen Street

Guelph is having a moment