Subscribe

City News

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...

Inside the Latest Issue

The July issue of Toronto Life features the monster cottages of Muskoka versus the resistance. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.

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...

Watch Toronto Life ’s Sarah Fulford talk #TorontoIsFailingMe on Global

Watch Toronto Life’s Sarah Fulford talk #TorontoIsFailingMe on Global

This month's cover story on Toronto's inner suburbs and what it's like to live in them hits newsstands today, and this...

#TorontoIsFailingMe: My parents worked round-the-clock to lift us out of poverty

#TorontoIsFailingMe: My parents worked round-the-clock to lift us out of poverty

My parents fled Sri Lanka as refugees from the civil war, arriving in Canada 30 years ago. My brother, Gobi, was born in 1981. I...

The Yorkville Swindler: How Albert Allan Rosenberg scammed his way into high society

The Yorkville Swindler: How Albert Allan Rosenberg scammed his way into high society

Looking back, it does seem unlikely that a Swiss billionaire baron would be seeking love on the Internet, but when Antoinette met...

#TorontoIsFailingMe: I want to teach kids that this neighbourhood isn't a curse

#TorontoIsFailingMe: I want to teach kids that this neighbourhood isn’t a curse

I grew up in a five-bedroom townhouse in the Edgeley Village community housing complex. My whole life I had neighbours and...

Rob Ford, who lied about everything all the time, accuses John Tory of lying

Rob Ford, who lied about everything all the time, accuses John Tory of lying

Before being elected mayor, Rob Ford enjoyed a weird sort of moral high ground. His outsider status on city council meant he had...

#TorontoIsFailingMe: I moved to Mississauga to get away from gang life

#TorontoIsFailingMe: I moved to Mississauga to get away from gang life

I was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in 1988. My mother moved to Canada a year later, and my father followed soon after. But they left...

#TorontoIsFailingMe: I ran against Rob Ford and suffered the consequences

#TorontoIsFailingMe: I ran against Rob Ford and suffered the consequences

My parents came to Toronto from Somalia during the civil war. I’m the fourth of nine children: eight girls and one boy. I still...

#TorontoIsFailingMe: My brother was killed outside a bar, and everyone assumed he was in a gang

#TorontoIsFailingMe: My brother was killed outside a bar, and everyone assumed he was in a gang

My father, Tsehaie Berhane, fled Asmara, Eritrea, in the ’80s during the war with Ethiopia. He was a professor, and the...

#TorontoIsFailingMe: I tried to improve my neighbourhood and got arrested

#TorontoIsFailingMe: I tried to improve my neighbourhood and got arrested

In 1989, when I was nine, my parents fled the escalating civil war in Somalia, moving me and my two siblings to Windsor. I fit in...

Memoir: I was friends with my dad—until I found out he was secretly dating my mom

Memoir: I was friends with my dad—until I found out he was secretly dating my mom

I grew up the product of a no-strings arrangement: in 1986, my mom found herself single, in her mid-30s and wanting to have a...

Ten things Patrick J. Adams can’t live without

Ten things Patrick J. Adams can’t live without

The boyish wonder stars in the hit legal drama Suits, set in Manhattan, shot in Toronto, and back on the box this month

Cost of Living

These North York points enthusiasts earn $370,000 a year. How do they spend it?

These North York points enthusiasts earn $370,000 a year. How do they spend it?

“We try to maximize our rewards by using various credit cards plus PC Optimum”

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”

Urban Diplomat

Dear Urban Diplomat: My family takes Mother’s Day more seriously than Father’s Day

Dear Urban Diplomat: My family takes Mother’s Day more seriously than Father’s Day

She gets flowers, gifts and breakfast in bed; I get a lousy grill brush. Am I wrong to feel slighted?

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