In the past year, the top jobs at seven of the GTA’s most venerable institutions have gone to imported overachievers. Not that there’s anything wrong with putting non-Canadians at the helm, but a little knowledge of the local landscape must surely be a plus. How high are their Toronto IQs? We quizzed them all to find out.
Arrived: October 2015 from Cleveland, where he ran the Indians Past visits to Toronto: 6 Local cred: Has knowledge of Toronto’s art galleries because his wife is an artist Current ’hood: North York
Damn, I can picture it but I don’t know the name. ✗ (Queen’s Park)
False. Of course I get the pop-culture one right. ✓
I know Bayview and Don Mills. I would say Senlac. ✓
No idea. I just know the ACC. The Leaf Dome? ✗ (Maple Leaf Gardens)
One’s the Don. I don’t have any idea of another one. Queen’s? ✗ (Humber, Rouge)
Rob Ford. ✓
There’s the North, as in We the North, or T.O. ✓
GRADE: 57% = D+
Arrived: July 2015 from Newcastle, where he was the founding director of Sage Gateshead music school Past visits to Toronto: 5 Local cred: Has seen more than 100 theatre shows in Toronto since arriving Current ’hood: Trinity Bellwoods
Something to do with that roof—was it SkyDome? ✓
New city hall has Nathan Phillips Square. Old city hall doesn’t have a square. ✓
White. I actually saw one on the tree outside my house last week. ✓
In Oxford, there’s a late-night train we called the Flying Fornicator. I’m guessing it’s a late-night bus for people who’ve had a few too many drinks. ✓
It wasn’t true, but Rob Ford said it. ✓
I somehow imagine he’s bigger than that. False. ✓
T.O. ✓
GRADE: 100% = A+
Arrived: March 2016 from Salem, Massachusetts, where he was deputy director of the Peabody Essex Museum Past visits to Toronto: 15 Local cred: Has worked with numerous U of T grads over the years Current ’hood: Yorkville
I’m going to go with Steeles Avenue. ✓
The Michael-Lee Chin Crystal? Daniel Libeskind. ✓
True. ✓
Was it Rob Ford? ✓
They made it very far. I think Kansas City eliminated them in the American League finals. ✓
There’s the extension of the Yonge-Spadina line. ✓
I know there are a number. Is the Big Smoke one? ✓
GRADE: 100% = A+
Arrived: April 2016 from Honolulu, where he was director of the Honolulu Museum of Art Past visits to Toronto: 20+ Local cred: Married his Toronto-born husband, Will Scott, at Osgoode Hall Current ’hood: Little Italy
Green, because of all of the parks. ✗ (Good)
Mississauga. ✓
The Raptors are basketball, the Leafs are hockey, so, soccer? ✗ (Lacrosse)
Lawren Harris and Frank Gehry. ✓
Mr. Ford. ✓
True! We just bought a place between College and Dundas. ✓
The Capital of Upper Canada? But actually: YYZ. ✓
GRADE: 71% = B-
Arrived: October 2015 from Salt Lake City, where he was president of soccer club Real Salt Lake Past visits to Toronto: 5 Local cred: First visited the city at age 14 for a soccer tournament Current ’hood: Yonge and Eg
Canadian National. I looked that up after I saw it sticking above the clouds during a flight. ✓
The Toronto Maple Leafs—though they haven’t won in a long time. ✗ (Argos)
He’s a former mayor. ✓
Yellow. ✗ (Orange)
Bullshit. ✗ (Gravy Train)
False. ✗ (True)
The Big Smoke. ✓
GRADE: 42% = F
Arrived: December 2015 from London, where he was associate director of the Globe Theatre Past visits to Toronto: 10 Local cred: Directed three shows at Stratford before joining Shaw Current ’hood: Niagara-on-the-Lake
Oh, that’s easy: Trius, Inniskillin, Stratus. ✓
McMaster. ✓
Martha Burns, Paul Gross, Fiona Reid, Tom McCamus. I could go on. ✓
I think that’s very unlikely. False. ✓
Oh, there’s a board in the park with a whole list. No, you got me. ✗ (Marilyn Bell)
Whenever I talk to anyone in Britain about Toronto, they say, “Oh, Rob Ford!” ✓
T-Dot. ✓
GRADE: 85% = A
Arrived: January 2016 from San Francisco, where he was president of Communitas Development Past visits to Toronto: 10 Local cred: Has worked with Toronto-based KPMB Architects Current ’hood: Church and Wellesley
I’ve biked there; it’s the park past the Hearn at the end of Leslie Street. ✓
$141 ✓
It’s the area code beyond city limits. ✓
I’m a Canadiens fan, but my daughter is a diehard Maple Leafs fan. False. ✓
Was it that reporter who was in court, Jian Ghomeshi? ✗ (Rob Ford)
Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York and I guess there’s got to be an East York, too. ✓
I don’t know, Badgertown? ✗ (False)
GRADE: 71% = B-
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