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Deep Dives

The Secret City: Insider tips that make life in Toronto easier, cheaper, tastier and way more fun

The Secret City: Insider tips that make life in Toronto easier, cheaper, tastier and way more fun

Prominent Torontonians divulge the hush-hush venues, one-of-a-kind treats and city hacks they leverage to get the most out of the GTA

The wildest stories from the legendary 888 Dupont art squat

The wildest stories from the legendary 888 Dupont art squat

The rent was dirt cheap, the rules were nonexistent and the parties were legendary. Now, with demolition underway, former tenants share their favourite memories of the city’s most storied artists’ space

Toronto's 25 Rising Stars of 2023

Toronto’s 25 Rising Stars of 2023

Our inaugural list of the up-and-comers shaping our city and the world

Why Geoffrey Hinton is sounding the alarm about AI

Why Geoffrey Hinton is sounding the alarm about AI

He spent half a century developing artificial intelligence. Now, he worries that his life’s work could spell the end of humanity. Inside his mission to warn the world

The 50 Most Influential Torontonians of 2023

The 50 Most Influential Torontonians of 2023

Our annual ranking of the people whose courage, smarts and clout are changing the world as we know it

The New Face: How unnatural beauty standards became a multibillion-dollar medical industry

The New Face: How unnatural beauty standards became a multibillion-dollar medical industry

Blame Zoom, AI filters, TikTok. Facial alteration has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the $16-billion medical spa market. Toronto providers have never been busier, and their clients have never been younger

Inside the Latest Issue

The May issue of Toronto Life features the artists, professors, scientists and other luminaries moving north to avoid the carnage of Trump. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.

Merchant of Death: The case of Kenneth Law and the shadowy online network that helps people end their lives

Merchant of Death: The case of Kenneth Law and the shadowy online network that helps people end their lives

After Kenneth Law lost his job as a low-level cook at the Royal York hotel, he found another way to make money: peddling suicide kits on the internet. Now, he’s been linked to the deaths of over 100 people around the world—and their grieving families want justice

Toronto Neighbourhood Rankings: The best places to live in 2023

Toronto Neighbourhood Rankings: The best places to live in 2023

A semi-scientific guide to the city’s 158 neighbourhoods

Bad Builder: Inside Toronto's epidemic of renovation fraud

Bad Builder: Inside Toronto’s epidemic of renovation fraud

He said his name was Mike Borac and that he could build homes faster and cheaper than anyone else. By the time his clients realized his promises were too good to be true, their money was gone

The Insatiable Janet Zuccarini: Inside the food empire of Toronto's most consistent restaurateur

The Insatiable Janet Zuccarini: Inside the food empire of Toronto’s most consistent restaurateur

After nearly three decades building her restaurant empire in Toronto, Janet Zuccarini is launching an 8,000-square-foot, $7-million hotspot in LA this fall—all while mourning her husband, Robbie Robertson. Opening a restaurant in 2023 is brave. Running a dozen of them is bonkers

The Inside Job: A crooked cop, a dead man and an $800,000 estate fraud

The Inside Job: A crooked cop, a dead man and an $800,000 estate fraud

Robert Konashewych was a young police officer with expensive tastes, two girlfriends and a mountain of debt. Heinz Sommerfeld was recently deceased with a large unclaimed estate. Problem, meet solution

The Kickstarters: Meet the mentors who helped launch Toronto's biggest stars

The Kickstarters: Meet the mentors who helped launch Toronto’s biggest stars

Every successful actor has that special someone—a voice coach, a drama teacher, a best friend—who was there in the beginning. Here, 14 behind-the-scenes superstars

The Killer in Suite 104: Inside the Vaughan condo shooting

The Killer in Suite 104: Inside the Vaughan condo shooting

At their luxury high-rise in Vaughan, Doreen and John Di Nino endured years of harassment from their neighbour, Francesco Villi. His worst vitriol was reserved for the condo’s board, of which John was president. But no one suspected that Villi was plotting their murder

Students are cheating. Professors are panicking. The system is unravelling. Scenes from the AI revolution on campus

Students are cheating. Professors are panicking. The system is unravelling. Scenes from the AI revolution on campus

AI has made it easy for post-secondary students to fake their way to a degree. They argue that ChatGPT is just another study tool. Schools say it spells the end of university as we know it

The fabulous, terrifying, chaotic life of Josh Richards, TikTok's reigning influencer

The fabulous, terrifying, chaotic life of Josh Richards, TikTok’s reigning influencer

TikTok turned Josh Richards from an ordinary small-town teen into a multimillionaire, CEO and venture capitalist. How to make a fortune via bedroom eyes, 10-second lip syncs and a signature ’do

Who broke the TTC? Inside Toronto's public transit disaster

Who broke the TTC? Inside Toronto’s public transit disaster

Toronto used to have one of the best transit systems in North America. Now it’s overcrowded, underfunded, unreliable and dangerous—and it costs us $2.38 billion a year

"At 31, I discovered that my parents had been keeping a shocking secret—and the surprises just kept coming"

“At 31, I discovered that my parents had been keeping a shocking secret—and the surprises just kept coming”

Noam Tomaschoff grew up in a tight-knit family with strong ties to Toronto’s Jewish community. After he took a DNA test on a lark, the story of his life unravelled

Promised Land: Inside the debate raging around the Greenbelt

Promised Land: Inside the debate raging around the Greenbelt

Doug Ford’s U-turn decision to earmark swaths of the Greenbelt for development prompted widespread outrage, plus pockets of praise, across the GTA. But what do the people who live and work on the land think about it?

"We lived in a shelter downtown, and Honest Ed’s was the only store I knew": Shania Twain on her years dreaming big in Toronto

“We lived in a shelter downtown, and Honest Ed’s was the only store I knew”: Shania Twain on her years dreaming big in Toronto

Before she became a global phenomenon, Shania Twain was flipping burgers, hawking jeans and fronting cover bands in Toronto. Today, the queen of country pop is touring the world with a new album, but she’s still nostalgic about the city that made her

Meet the most charming fraudster in GTA real estate

Meet the most charming fraudster in GTA real estate

From a young age, Courtney Wallis Simpson had big plans, and she was ruthlessly ambitious when it came to achieving them. To finance her lifestyle, she hatched a series of property schemes that would cost her victims—more than 100 of them—millions

Epic Fail: Inside York Memorial high school's descent into chaos

Epic Fail: Inside York Memorial high school’s descent into chaos

In 2022, the Toronto District School Board consolidated two high schools into one crumbling, crowded building. Within weeks, stressed-out students were brawling in the halls, teachers were refusing to come in to work and parents were yanking their kids out of class

This man's gun ended up in the hands of a murderer

This man’s gun ended up in the hands of a murderer

The police traced the weapon, raided his workshop and shot him. Two people dead. No problems solved. Inside the impossible gun violence epidemic

How Meeting House megachurch preacher Bruxy Cavey groomed young women for sex

How Meeting House megachurch preacher Bruxy Cavey groomed young women for sex

Inside the scandal that decimated one of the province's fastest-growing congregations

The electrifying life of Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah

The electrifying life of Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah

Baseball got him through a turbulent childhood, and he grew up to be a phenomenal pitcher with a heart of gold. He's a good friend to have and a fierce enemy to face. In other words, just what the Jays need right now

Private School Guide

The Private and Independent School Directory Spring 2025

The Private and Independent School Directory Spring 2025

Big Stories

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

Dividing Line: How the Bloor Street bike lane turned the city into a battlefield

Dividing Line: How the Bloor Street bike lane turned the city into a battlefield

A few kilometres along Bloor has become Toronto’s most contested strip of concrete, igniting fights over congestion, safety and the future of downtown

The Chosen One: At just 23, Scottie Barnes is the new face of the Raptors—and the team’s best chance of salvation

The Chosen One: At just 23, Scottie Barnes is the new face of the Raptors—and the team’s best chance of salvation

Barnes is shouldering the weight of an impatient, basketball-mad city, a hit-and-miss team, and his own colossal ambitions. Does he look worried?

Almost Famous: Inside the Beaches’ rise to rock stardom

Almost Famous: Inside the Beaches’ rise to rock stardom

A viral earworm about a breakup turned the Beaches into Toronto’s hottest export. Now, the panty-throwing, stage-diving, all-girl rock band is seducing fans around the world

"I was nearly beaten to death by my partner. The case was dismissed because it took too long to get to trial"

“I was nearly beaten to death by my partner. The case was dismissed because it took too long to get to trial”

How an overburdened justice system is failing survivors of intimate partner violence

Brave New Year: The ultimate try-anything-once bucket list for 2025

Brave New Year: The ultimate try-anything-once bucket list for 2025

For inspiration on wonderful, wild and even some slightly reckless experiences to enjoy in the year ahead

The stars of the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres on finally having a league of their own

The stars of the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres on finally having a league of their own

After kicking off a new chapter for hockey with the PWHL, Natalie Spooner, Sarah Nurse and Blayre Turnbull are blazing a trail for women in sports

The 50 Most Influential Torontonians of 2024

The 50 Most Influential Torontonians of 2024

Our annual ranking of the people whose courage, smarts and clout are changing the world as we know it

Buy Canadian

“There’s more attention now on shopping close to home”: How Broadfork Produce is connecting Toronto’s top chefs with Ontario farmers

“There’s more attention now on shopping close to home”: How Broadfork Produce is connecting Toronto’s top chefs with Ontario farmers

And the west-end supplier is opening to the public soon

The US tariffs are coming for your espresso martini

The US tariffs are coming for your espresso martini

With Kahlúa no longer available at the LCBO, Toronto bartenders are getting creative

These Ontario-made booze collaborations are coming to a restaurant near you

These Ontario-made booze collaborations are coming to a restaurant near you

Toronto bars and restaurants are partnering with their favourite distillers, winemakers and brewers to produce custom-made drinks. Here, nine crushable new concoctions

"We have over 100 cases of American wine trapped at the LCBO": Toronto's Grape Witches on what it's like to run a bottle shop during a trade war

“We have over 100 cases of American wine trapped at the LCBO”: Toronto’s Grape Witches on what it’s like to run a bottle shop during a trade war

It’s not as simple as taking sides when you’re a small business