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City News

There goes the neighbourhood: Top three reasons for plummeting real estate sales

Attention, homeowners: the starting gun for the Great Real Estate Meltdown of 2008 has now been sounded. It actually went off...

$100,000 worth of sunshine

Everyone has their take on Ontario’s public sector salary disclosure records, also known as the Sunshine List, which names...

How I spent my Earth Hour

At eight o’clock every night, I sit in a rocking chair with my son on my lap and read him stories by the light of an electric...

Schadenford: The arrest of Rob Ford, city hall hoser

Poor Rob Ford . If only he’d slept beside a machine all his life like those Orientals from the Orient, he probably wouldn’t be...

Richard Florida: from celebrity academic to budget highlight

Being Richard Florida comes with some nice perks. Your name really does turn up everywhere, including in government budget...

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.

Flaherty vs. McGuinty: Top Five Theories

Why is Jim Flaherty going out of his way to pick a political fight with Dalton McGuinty over Ontario’s business tax rate? It’s...

Toronto, Canada’s new political orphan

Paul Wells was first out of the gate with the bull’s eye analysis of Monday’s by-election results, which is that Toronto is...

Make the mayor accountable—give him a political party

The Globe scored an exclusive with Mayor David Miller, and the result is a headline plucked from a 2005 time capsule: the mayor...

Toronto Centre, this is your wake-up call

Good morning to the riding of Toronto Centre. It’s Monday, the forecast calls for sunny skies and temperatures around O°C, and...

I am battery recycling’s nemesis

Wednesday’s Globe and Mail was up in arms over a proposal by Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, chair of the public works...

The genius of Dwight Duncan

Mayor David Miller has, for years, repeated that cities need “revenues that grow with the economy.” The unfortunate reality is...

Pricing Toronto’s roads: Looks like I have some ’splainin’ to do

Toronto Life ’s April issue is now on newsstands and includes a column by me that lays out the case for road tolls in the...

Snow expected. Better put the army on alert

Winter brings not only snow, but snow-induced anarchy. Never was a Canadian city so ill prepared for that thing that happens every...

Rob Ford insults while the rest of the council wastes time

City council met this week. The highlights: half a dozen members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty stormed the council...

Memo to John Tory: Unleash the asshole within

Memo to John Tory: Unleash the asshole within

I recently got turned on to a blog called Ottawa Watch and found this enjoyable little post about the “asshole factor” in...

A message from our political leaders: Don’t pay attention to politics

A message from our political leaders: Don’t pay attention to politics

I was away last week, but before I left, the big story was a WWE-style war of words between “Pencil Neck” McGuinty and Jimmy...

Goodbye Black, Hello Spectator

As The Trial of Conrad Black morphs into a blog that might better be titled The Incarceration of Conrad Black (sources for...

Radler’s prison bound

A Canadian Press story reminds us that today is the day David Radler reports to prison at the Moshannon Valley Correctional...

The elephant in the room is a party animal

This blog will be on hiatus for the rest of this week. This means that there’s no point in checking out my take on tomorrow’s...

Flaherty v. McGuinty: Many cans of whoop-ass later

Hot on the heels of Wednesday’s melancholy post about the rotten economy comes the news that federal finance minister Jim...

Hollinger three: Circling the drain

With Conrad Black et al. jointly asking for an “emergency” stay to keep them out of prison—at least until the appellate...

Toronto road toll report day

The board of Metrolinx meets today. Among the issues sure to be discussed: road tolls, which are discussed in Green Paper #4...

A (vague) new plan for Toronto’s future

Ask a panel for unanimity and you get vagueness. The mayor’s fiscal review panel—made up of blue-chip businessmen, academics...

House poor indeed

Anyone who feels trapped by their mortgage will want to read the cover story in the March edition of Toronto Life (which, alas, is...

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