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How to make and lose money, from an investment advisor and a professional poker player

How to make and lose money, from an investment advisor and a professional poker player

Anyone can work for money, but some people have ways of making money work for them, instead. Here, two very different approaches...

Someone's going to pay thousands of dollars for Rob Ford's crack-confession tie

Someone’s going to pay thousands of dollars for Rob Ford’s crack-confession tie

Rob Ford started putting all sorts of crap (sorry, "memorabilia" ) from his office on eBay last week, but it doesn't get any...

McMansion Wars: Inside the nasty neighbour-versus-neighbour feuds of Forest Hill

McMansion Wars: Inside the nasty neighbour-versus-neighbour feuds of Forest Hill

In the spring of 2009 , 212 Vesta Drive—a four-bedroom 1930s Tudor on a 40-foot-wide lot—went up for sale. It was a pretty...

Q&A: Sam Mizrahi, the developer who snagged Toronto's most coveted piece of real estate

Q&A: Sam Mizrahi, the developer who snagged Toronto’s most coveted piece of real estate

There’s not a developer in Canada who wouldn’t pay dearly for the rights to the southwest corner of Yonge and Bloor, and last...

Dear Urban Diplomat: do we have to disclose our black-mould discovery?

Dear Urban Diplomat: do we have to disclose our black-mould discovery?

Dear Urban Diplomat, My wife and I blew our budget on a detached home and during a minor reno found black mould in the...

Inside the Latest Issue

The June issue of Toronto Life features the best new restaurants of 2026. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.

Try as we might, we can't ignore Rob Ford—and neither should John Tory

Try as we might, we can’t ignore Rob Ford—and neither should John Tory

Promises, promises. John Tory assured us he would make city hall boring again. He even held up boredom as an ideal, the grand...

Inside the nasty, bizarro, contemptible, gobsmackingly screwed-up soap opera that is the TDSB

Inside the nasty, bizarro, contemptible, gobsmackingly screwed-up soap opera that is the TDSB

The evening of Wednesday October 29 was possibly the most absurd in the history of the Toronto District School Board. The board of...

Rob Ford gets kicked out of council chambers for (what else?) not apologizing for doing something wrong

Rob Ford gets kicked out of council chambers for (what else?) not apologizing for doing something wrong

It started as most things do with Rob Ford : with a dispute over a vanishingly small amount of money. At today's city council...

"We got our LCBO, so we're good": Liberty Villagers on their neighbourhood's bad rap

“We got our LCBO, so we’re good”: Liberty Villagers on their neighbourhood’s bad rap

Liberty Village takes a lot of flack, and it's easy to see why. It's a heavily developed condo community that's cut off from the...

Memoir: I was terrified of having my son circumcised

My son was born last spring— a jarring six weeks early, after more hours of labour than I care to remember. At six pounds, three...

Dear Urban Diplomat: how do I get my Ford-hating coworkers to stop mocking me?

Dear Urban Diplomat: how do I get my Ford-hating coworkers to stop mocking me?

Dear Urban Diplomat, I’m a supporter of the Fords. When people badmouthed them at work, I stood up for them. Now that Tory’s...

Dear Urban Diplomat: should I call the cops on my neighbour, the parking-permit cheat?

Dear Urban Diplomat: should I call the cops on my neighbour, the parking-permit cheat?

Dear Urban Diplomat, Two doors down from our semi, there’s an older—but able-bodied!—man who runs a contracting business...

Rob Ford has a sibling we've never heard of who's "a Muslim," he says

Rob Ford has a sibling we’ve never heard of who’s “a Muslim,” he says

On Wednesday, the media learned that Rob Ford may, at one point in time, have briefly been contemplated as an assassination target...

Ten things Ron Sexsmith can’t live without

Ten things Ron Sexsmith can’t live without

The melancholy singer-songwriter releases his new album, Carousel One, next month. Here, the 10 things he can’t live without My...

Puckheads: Inside the crazed arenas of the GTHL

Puckheads: Inside the crazed arenas of the GTHL

Sometimes during my 11-year-old son’s hockey games, usually in the second period when the play has settled into a rhythm but...

A sidewalk canvasser on how to win over strangers, and other unsolicited advice

A sidewalk canvasser on how to win over strangers, and other unsolicited advice

Canvassing uncaring passersby, washing high-rise windows and breaking up drunken fights could stress a person out, but these three...

Dear Urban Diplomat: am I a bad person for leaving my newspaper on the subway?

Dear Urban Diplomat: am I a bad person for leaving my newspaper on the subway?

Dear Urban Diplomat, I’m new to the city, and I read Metro during my morning commute. Am I littering if I leave my used copy on...

Toronto is the best city to live in, according to the Economist

Toronto is the best city to live in, according to the Economist

The Economist has periodically named Toronto one of the world's "most livable" cities, but to our knowledge this is the first time...

The birthplace of the Lee's Palace mural: inside Al Runt's studio

The birthplace of the Lee’s Palace mural: inside Al Runt’s studio

For a certain kind of aging hipster, Toronto isn’t complete without a mural by Al Runt spilling over the wall of some club or...

Q&A: Jasmeet Singh, the biggest GTA celebrity you've never heard of (unless you've heard of Jus Reign)

Q&A: Jasmeet Singh, the biggest GTA celebrity you’ve never heard of (unless you’ve heard of Jus Reign)

It was only around five years ago that Jasmeet Singh, then a bored summer school student living in Guelph, posted his first...

The Relentless Robert Deluce: Porter's founder wants jets on the waterfront. Who's going to stop him?

The Relentless Robert Deluce: Porter’s founder wants jets on the waterfront. Who’s going to stop him?

His plans to bring jets to the Island airport have made him Public Enemy Number One. But Robert Deluce isn't used to failure—and...

Deputy police chief Peter Sloly on running to succeed Bill Blair, and the first item on his agenda if he does: race

Deputy police chief Peter Sloly on running to succeed Bill Blair, and the first item on his agenda if he does: race

As deputy police chief, you are frequently mentioned as a favourite to succeed Bill Blair. Do you want the job? William Blair is...

#TorontoIsFailingMe: My seniors' group safeguards the mall

#TorontoIsFailingMe: My seniors’ group safeguards the mall

I came to Canada from Trinidad in 1963. When I retired from my job at the Ministry of Transportation 14 years ago, a couple of...

Why an end to police carding is only the beginning

Why an end to police carding is only the beginning

I was asked, in November, to join a panel on police relations with young Torontonians. Early on in the event, police chief Bill...

Cost of Living

This 22-year-old venture capitalist is on track to make $180,000 this year. How does he spend it?

This 22-year-old venture capitalist is on track to make $180,000 this year. How does he spend it?

“I love a good bargain, so I shop at No Frills”

This globetrotting couple earns a combined $287,000 a year. How do they spend it?

This globetrotting couple earns a combined $287,000 a year. How do they spend it?

“Groceries are our biggest monthly expense after rent”

This Doctors Without Borders marketer earns $100,000 a year. How does she spend it?

This Doctors Without Borders marketer earns $100,000 a year. How does she spend it?

Manpreet Badyal moved from Delhi to Vancouver to Toronto in search of success

How a Gen Z finance enthusiast in Forest Hill spends her money

How a Gen Z finance enthusiast in Forest Hill spends her money

Business analyst and budding TikTok investment guru Chaeeun Lee hopes to visit 50 countries before she turns 30

This policy analyst and stand-up comedian makes $83,000 a year. How does she spend it?

This policy analyst and stand-up comedian makes $83,000 a year. How does she spend it?

“Investing in mental health is important. I have an unlimited membership at Othership in Yorkville”

This entrepreneur is on track to make $23,000 this year. How does she spend it?

This entrepreneur is on track to make $23,000 this year. How does she spend it?

“It was hard to accept financial aid from my parents, but it actually brought us closer together”

How an actor, influencer and amateur investor managed to earn a six-figure salary

How an actor, influencer and amateur investor managed to earn a six-figure salary

“My family taught me to invest. It’s probably the wisest advice they’ve ever given me”

Urban Diplomat

Dear Urban Diplomat: What’s the etiquette for EV charging?

Dear Urban Diplomat: What’s the etiquette for EV charging?

Dear Urban Diplomat , What’s the etiquette for EV charging? A few weeks ago, I finally found a spot in my neighbourhood to juice...

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband thinks I'm a hoarder, but I'm a collector

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband thinks I’m a hoarder, but I’m a collector

He’s started quoting Marie Kondo and insisting that I get rid of my “emotional support tchotchkes.” How can I get him to back off?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My condo building has zero tolerance for the slightest noise

Dear Urban Diplomat: My condo building has zero tolerance for the slightest noise

They’ve asked us not to shower after 11 p.m. because of “pipe whistling.” Is this normal?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband bought us a pass to skip the line at the ski hill. Why do I feel guilty for using it?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband bought us a pass to skip the line at the ski hill. Why do I feel guilty for using it?

I can’t help being embarrassed every time I sheepishly walk past the eye rollers in the regular queue

Dear Urban Diplomat: My brother is lying online about Dry January

Dear Urban Diplomat: My brother is lying online about Dry January

He’s preaching the virtues of sobriety on TikTok but still crushing six-packs every weekend, and the hypocrisy is getting on my nerves. Should I call him out?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My co-workers have forgotten how to behave in an office

Dear Urban Diplomat: My co-workers have forgotten how to behave in an office

I actually don’t mind the return-to-office mandate, but it seems like so much working from home has caused my fellow employees’ self-awareness to atrophy

Dear Urban Diplomat: My friends are getting into sober raves, and I just can't see the appeal

Dear Urban Diplomat: My friends are getting into sober raves, and I just can’t see the appeal

How does one cut loose in a well-lit room while the sun is shining and no one is even a little intoxicated?