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Malcolm Johnston

Malcolm Johnston is the editor-in-chief of Toronto Life, a role he took on in 2022 after more than 11 years at the magazine. He has worked as a writer and features editor, with a strong focus on investigative journalism and in-depth reporting on the people, politics and culture shaping Toronto.

Latest from Malcolm Johnston

Editor's Letter: How a GTA teen pulled off a $46-million crypto heist

Editor’s Letter: How a GTA teen pulled off a $46-million crypto heist

Plus, insights from a cranky starchitect, the strange allure of homesteading, and more in this month's issue

Letter From the Editor: The triumphant return of dining out

Letter From the Editor: The triumphant return of dining out

Restaurants give us a chance to escape the daily grind and breathe in the energy of the city

A word from Toronto Life' s new editor-in-chief

A word from Toronto Life’s new editor-in-chief

In this month’s issue: a cheat sheet on getting the most out of a re-emergent Toronto, the cheese-slinging geniuses behind the Cheese Boutique, a brave woman married off to her cousin at age 17, and much more…

"We didn't engage with the truckers and that seemed to make them even angrier": what it was like to escort health care workers through the protest

“We didn’t engage with the truckers and that seemed to make them even angrier”: what it was like to escort health care workers through the protest

"I got DMs from several adult children of health care workers saying things like, 'My mom is working a shift on Saturday. I told her to look out for your signs' "

Inside the hunt for Christine Jessop's real killer

Inside the hunt for Christine Jessop’s real killer

It took 36 years, three police forces and a massive search of DNA databases to finally, definitively, crack the case

A Q&A with George Springer, the brand-new, very expensive and finally healthy Toronto Blue Jay

His record-setting deal marks a turning point for the Blue Jays from pretenders to contenders

"I'm delivering food so people don't have to put themselves at risk. The least they could do is say thanks"

“I’m delivering food so people don’t have to put themselves at risk. The least they could do is say thanks”

What it's like to be an Uber Eats driver right now

"It's like finishing a marathon, then getting told to run another one": How an infection control practitioner is adjusting to the second wave

“It’s like finishing a marathon, then getting told to run another one”: How an infection control practitioner is adjusting to the second wave

Lauren Parsons is an infection control practitioner at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital. Over the last six months, she’s worked...

Classroom confessional: "The kids are scared—not just of Covid itself but of another lockdown"

Classroom confessional: “The kids are scared—not just of Covid itself but of another lockdown”

Laura Thomson, a Toronto middle school teacher, on what it's been like to be back in class during this turbulent time

Adventures in real estate: “We turned our back alley into a turfed-out kids’ paradise”

Adventures in real estate: “We turned our back alley into a turfed-out kids’ paradise”

Our only regret is that we didn’t think of creating it sooner

I worked as a Loblaws cashier at the height of the pandemic. It didn't go well

I worked as a Loblaws cashier at the height of the pandemic. It didn’t go well

"The soap dispenser in the men’s employee washroom ran out in my second week, and remained empty, despite requests to fill it, for all of May and the better part of June"

"We were caught in no-man's land between four countries, none of which wanted us": How a family of four became stranded in Cuba

“We were caught in no-man’s land between four countries, none of which wanted us”: How a family of four became stranded in Cuba

What happens when a French-American family on sabbatical in Toronto heads to Cuba for a vacation

Q&A: John Tory said we could have nice things without paying higher taxes

Q&A: John Tory said we could have nice things without paying higher taxes

Then he got re-elected and promptly broke his promise. What gives?

Q&A: Ontario education minister Stephen Lecce

Q&A: Ontario education minister Stephen Lecce

In the OSSTF standoff, the buck stops with him

I was paralyzed after getting mugged on the beach in Thailand. Five years later, I'm walking in a marathon

I was paralyzed after getting mugged on the beach in Thailand. Five years later, I’m walking in a marathon

"I yelled for help over and over but no one heard me. I started screaming in sheer panic. I began praying, God help me, help me."

Q&A: Eileen de Villa, Toronto's medical officer of health, on dealing with Doug Ford's cuts

Q&A: Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, on dealing with Doug Ford’s cuts

Measles is back, anti-vaxxers are on the march, but she’s still optimistic

Q&A: Karina Gould, Canada’s minister of democratic institutions, on defending our elections

Q&A: Karina Gould, Canada’s minister of democratic institutions, on defending our elections

She’s putting Russia, China, Facebook, Twitter and Google on notice

Q&A: Mayoral contender Jennifer Keesmaat on her plan to oust John Tory

Q&A: Mayoral contender Jennifer Keesmaat on her plan to oust John Tory

And why, after leaving city hall in frustration, she wants to go back

The accidental ascent of Andre De Grasse

The accidental ascent of Andre De Grasse

How a skinny kid from Markham found himself on the brink of becoming the fastest man on earth

Q&A: Andrea Horwath on parenting, dating and dealing with Doug Ford

Q&A: Andrea Horwath on parenting, dating and dealing with Doug Ford

She’s spent her career in third place. Now she’s the leader of the Opposition, which could be a wild ride

The state of the condo market

Real Estate News

The state of the condo market

A real estate roundtable

Q&A: Hank Idsinga on the pressure of leading the highest-profile serial killer case since Bernardo

He’s the detective spearheading the Bruce McArthur investigation

Q&A: Dan Doctoroff on building the neighbourhood of tomorrow

Q&A: Dan Doctoroff on building the neighbourhood of tomorrow

He’s the head of Sidewalk Labs, the Google sister company creating an Internet-based smart community on the waterfront. Privacy watchdogs aren’t pleased

Q&A: New Bachelor Canada Chris Leroux on his televised search for a soulmate

Q&A: New Bachelor Canada Chris Leroux on his televised search for a soulmate

He thought the concept was absurd. Then he met the women

Summer Camp Guide

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Summer Camp Directory 2026

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

Wines of the World

Wines of the World: Rediscover your favourites from Toronto Life’s Best Restaurants

Wines of the World: Rediscover your favourites from Toronto Life’s Best Restaurants

From cabernet and merlot to icewine and chardonnay, these wines are primed to pair and delight

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