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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

Some takeaways from Barack Obama's $10,000-a-table visit to Toronto

Some takeaways from Barack Obama’s $10,000-a-table visit to Toronto

The ex-POTUS was at the convention centre, and he had some stuff to say

This guy is accused of swindling millions of dollars out of unsuspecting Torontonians

This guy is accused of swindling millions of dollars out of unsuspecting Torontonians

The inside story of a $10-million Toronto fraud syndicate

Q&A: Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen on being the country's gatekeeper

Q&A: Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen on being the country’s gatekeeper

As a boy, he fled Somalia for Canada. Now he has the unenviable job of deciding who gets in and who doesn’t

Q&A: Pride Toronto director Olivia Nuamah on the politics of parades

Q&A: Pride Toronto director Olivia Nuamah on the politics of parades

She'll have to manage the desires and demands of BLMTO, councillors, police and countless revellers. Things could get complicated

At home with Josh Donaldson, the Blue Jays' resident hothead

At home with Josh Donaldson, the Blue Jays’ resident hothead

He’s a superstar with one goal in mind: to win a World Series, no matter how many enemies he makes along the way

Q&A: Alex Dagg, the super-lobbyist who's trying to get city council on board with Airbnb

Q&A: Alex Dagg, the super-lobbyist who’s trying to get city council on board with Airbnb

The woman with the tricky task of getting Airbnb the regulations (or lack thereof) it desires

Q&A: Paul Godfrey, the CEO who's presiding over the Postmedia newspaper chain's rapid decline

Q&A: Paul Godfrey, the CEO who’s presiding over the Postmedia newspaper chain’s rapid decline

He says he’s trying to save journalism. It’s not working

Q&A: Doug Ford, whose new book aims to set the record straight on his brother's disastrous mayoralty

Q&A: Doug Ford, whose new book aims to set the record straight on his brother’s disastrous mayoralty

His bombast hasn’t faded since he left city hall—and he wouldn’t mind an opportunity to show them all how it’s done

Q&A: Kellie Leitch, the potential future prime minister who wants to bring President-elect Trump's message to Canada

Q&A: Kellie Leitch, the potential future prime minister who wants to bring President-elect Trump’s message to Canada

A conversation with the Conservative leadership contender about her upbringing, her risky political strategy and what happens next

Q&A: Mitzie Hunter, the new cabinet minister in charge of Ontario's unruly school system

Q&A: Mitzie Hunter, the new cabinet minister in charge of Ontario’s unruly school system

On sex ed, and Black Lives Matter

Q&A: David MacNaughton, Justin Trudeau's man in Washington D.C.

Q&A: David MacNaughton, Justin Trudeau’s man in Washington D.C.

A talk with Canada’s new ambassador to the U.S.

Q&A: Tracey Cook, the licensing and standards chief who took on the cab industry

Q&A: Tracey Cook, the licensing and standards chief who took on the cab industry

She helped legitimize Uber. Now pot dispensary operators are feeling her wrath

Q&A: Mary Ann Turcke, president of Bell Media

Q&A: Mary Ann Turcke, president of Bell Media

On combatting rogue viewers of U.S. Netflix, navigating the new unbundling landscape and reluctantly rubbing elbows with celebs

Q&A: John Tory, one-year veteran of the mayor's chair

Q&A: John Tory, one-year veteran of the mayor’s chair

The mayor on his shifting transit strategy and Toronto's fractious police force

Q&A: Anastasia Lin, the Canadian beauty queen on China's black list

Q&A: Anastasia Lin, the Canadian beauty queen on China’s black list

Her criticism of China’s human rights record is putting her father in danger, but she won’t back down

Q&A: Bill Morneau, new finance minister and the face of Canada's deficit deep-dive

Q&A: Bill Morneau, new finance minister and the face of Canada’s deficit deep-dive

What it’s like to lead the biggest financial gamble in recent memory

Q&A: Gretta Vosper, the United Church minister who doesn't believe in God

Q&A: Gretta Vosper, the United Church minister who doesn’t believe in God

Some of her superiors want to kick the natural-born agitator out of the church. She refuses to go quietly

Q&A: Leen Al Zaibak, Lifeline Syria board member

Q&A: Leen Al Zaibak, Lifeline Syria board member

She worked at Queen’s Park and the World Bank. Her real ambition: to make life better for Syrians. Now thousands of Torontonians are pitching in

Q&A: Jim Karygiannis, the anti-Uber crusader

Q&A: Jim Karygiannis, the anti-Uber crusader

Councillor Jim Karygiannis made his reputation as a strident defender of the traditional taxi. Yet he received thousands of dollars from that same industry. Conflict? He says nah

Q&A: Marco Mendicino, who beat Eve Adams to the nomination, on staying in Justin Trudeau's good books

Q&A: Marco Mendicino, who beat Eve Adams to the nomination, on staying in Justin Trudeau’s good books

You trounced Eve Adams, whom Justin Trudeau parachuted into Eglinton-Lawrence , to win the Liberal nomination. How’d that go...

Q&A: New Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown on what he stands for (and what Snoop Dogg thinks of him)

Q&A: New Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown on what he stands for (and what Snoop Dogg thinks of him)

In private text messages that were leaked to the Globe and Mail , Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown claimed that, in this...

Q&A: Joe Fresh founder Joe Mimran on the worst part of joining Dragons' Den : the clothes

Q&A: Joe Fresh founder Joe Mimran on the worst part of joining Dragons’ Den: the clothes

You left your baby, Joe Fresh, in March, and you’ll become a Dragon this fall. Why the switch? CBC asked me several times over...

Reasons to Love Toronto Now: because the Rogers Centre will rock again

Reasons to Love Toronto Now: because the Rogers Centre will rock again

You have to be absurdly starry-eyed to be a loyal Jays fan in Toronto, but soon (and we’re not just saying this) that optimism...

Q&A: TDSB trustee Michael Ford on being the newest member of the Ford family’s political dynasty

First things first: Mikey or Michael? It’s Michael. Wow, a very stern look just crossed your face. Haha—well, when you’re...

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