Toronto’s Best Tweeters: top Twitter feeds from local entertainers, athletes and media personalities
Toronto’s Twitter-happy celebrity set supplies a constant stream of bon mots, feuds and photo scandals, so choosing our favourite social media mavens meant scrolling through thousands of tweets. We settled on 10 notables whose 140-character missives are both funny and revealing. Some are native Torontonians, others have moved here more recently and one or two have only a tenuous tie to the city (but are just too good to pass up). Here, a list of 10 Twitter virtuosos, and why we chose them.
THE MAPLE LEAF
Name: Joffrey Lupul (@JLupul)
Number of Followers: 162,615
Follow because: From cooking queries to koans on Beyoncé and Oprah, Lupul is the Leaf with the most colourful Twitter feed
Guilty of: Posting blurry pics
Sample tweet: “Wearing too much cologne is a much bigger mistake than wearing none at all.” (December 21)
THE INTERVIEWER
Name: George Stroumboulopoulos (@strombo)
Number of Followers: 311,318
Follow because: His newsfeed is flowing with well-curated links, focusing on entertainment, culture, and federal politics
Guilty of: Too many grainy, pouty selfies. Way too many
Sample tweet: “How do u break into a high security bank vault? Build a 130 foot tunnel underground without anyone noticing, obviously http://tiny.cc/5d04qw” (January 19)
THE INSTAGRAMMER
Name: Paulina Gretzky (@PaulinaGretzky)
Number of Followers: 225,284
Follow because: The eldest offspring of The Great One is nominally a model and singer—but she’s best known for the racy photos in her feed. There’s also the occasional mention of family time with Wayne and faux-ugly duckface shots. But mostly there’s boobs
Guilty of: Photos that belong on Rich Kids of Instagram. And too many bikinis
Sample tweet: “Baby I’m A Put On A Show Kind Of Gurl http://say.ly/FhQ4sro” (October 26)
THE BLUE JAY
Name: Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19)
Number of Followers: 293,541
Follow because: He shares behind-the-scenes dirt, including photos with teammates and details of his workout regime, occasionally tweets en Español and retweets cute fan tributes
Guilty of: The occasional humblebrag about how tough he is—not that we blame him. If we took ice-baths on the reg, we’d brag too
Sample tweet: “#IloveItWhen my #DominicanDrivingSkills allow me to bypass 50 cars at traffic jams without disturbing anyone #DontHate” (February 1)
THE ACTRESS
Name: Sarah Gadon (@sarahgadon)
Number of Followers: 2,983
Follow because: The Cronenbergs’ favourite starlet “resisted as long as [she] could” before joining Twitter, but now tweets prettily composed pics and Toronto-centric culture news several times daily
Guilty of: Cryptic two-word photo captions
Sample tweet: ”Dried mango is the beef jerky of the fruit world” (December 17)
THE CITY HALL INSIDER
Name: Josh Matlow (@JoshMatlow)
Number of Followers: 6,093
Follow because: He’s one of only a few councillors active on Twitter, offering his take on city issues, Toronto-centric observations and occasionally really funny gags
Guilty of: Tweets that sound like campaign soundbites
Sample tweet: “Hollywood secret: Actor/Comedian Steve Martin has been working as a Toronto city councillor for past 7 years under the alias ‘John Parker’.” (February 14)
THE NEWS JUNKIE
Name: Jian Ghomeshi (@jianghomeshi)
Number of Followers: 162,171
Follow because: He’s on top of the headlines and live-tweets everything from the Superbowl to the Grammy Awards. Jian, do you ever leave your phone in your pocket?
Guilty of: Blowing up your newsfeed. In a good way
Sample tweet: “Great victory for Frank Ocean tonight. Strong album. But unfortunately that live performance was (very) out of tune.#Grammys” (February 10)
THE ACTIVIST
Name: Margaret Atwood (@MargaretAtwood)
Number of followers: 377,836
Follow because: Canada’s ever-active queen of literature shares pushes good reads and good causes, loves all things zombies and doesn’t shy away from a Twitter feud
Guilty of: Re-tweeting anyone who asks. But maybe that’s sweet?
Sample tweet: “Climate queasy: won’t be easy. Jobs: we need! Gals: heed! Immigrants: freed! Assault guns: not fun! TParty ain’t got me on the run! #sotu140” (February 12)
THE COMEDIENNE
Name: Mae Martin (@TheMaeMartin)
Number of followers: 10,444
Follow because: The Toronto-born comic’s act includes bits about erotic Harry Potter fan fiction and songs about panic attacks in the shower. Her Twitter feed has the same freewheeling humour
Guilty of: Freaking out way too much about the end of the world
Sample tweet: “If I have water in my ears when I put my headphones in will I electrocute my brain? If so I want to be listening to the Spice Girls.” (February 18)
THE TEEN DREAM
Name: Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)
Followers: 34,666,566
Follow because: Everyone else does. And just when you think Canada’s Golden Boy is strictly PG, he throws some shade at Patrick Carney of the Black Keys or tweets a shirtless video
Guilty of: Saccharine tweets pandering to fans and grammar mistakes. (“Alot” is not a word, Justin.)
Sample tweet: “up real early today for a LONG DAY of rehearsals. and now a blizzard is coming. no issue. Im Canadian” (February 8)
. Here, a list of 10 Twitter virtuosos, and why we chose them.
THE MAPLE LEAF
Name: Joffrey Lupul (@JLupul)
Number of Followers: 162,615
Follow because: From cooking queries to koans on Beyoncé and Oprah, Lupul is the Leaf with the most colourful Twitter feed
Guilty of: Posting blurry pics
Sample tweet: “Wearing too much cologne is a much bigger mistake than wearing none at all.” (December 21)
THE INTERVIEWER
Name: George Stroumboulopoulos (@strombo)
Number of Followers: 311,318
Follow because: His newsfeed is flowing with well-curated links, focusing on entertainment, culture, and federal politics
Guilty of: Too many grainy, pouty selfies. Way too many
Sample tweet: “How do u break into a high security bank vault? Build a 130 foot tunnel underground without anyone noticing, obviously http://tiny.cc/5d04qw” (January 19)
THE INSTAGRAMMER
Name: Paulina Gretzky (@PaulinaGretzky)
Number of Followers: 225,284
Follow because: The eldest offspring of The Great One is nominally a model and singer—but she’s best known for the racy photos in her feed. There’s also the occasional mention of family time with Wayne and faux-ugly duckface shots. But mostly there’s boobs
Guilty of: Photos that belong on Rich Kids of Instagram. And too many bikinis
Sample tweet: “Baby I'm A Put On A Show Kind Of Gurl http://say.ly/FhQ4sro” (October 26)
THE BLUE JAY
Name: Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19)
Number of Followers: 293,541
Follow because: He shares behind-the-scenes dirt, including photos with teammates and details of his workout regime, occasionally tweets en Español and retweets cute fan tributes
Guilty of: The occasional humblebrag about how tough he is—not that we blame him. If we took ice-baths on the reg, we’d brag too
Sample tweet: “#IloveItWhen my #DominicanDrivingSkills allow me to bypass 50 cars at traffic jams without disturbing anyone #DontHate” (February 1)
THE ACTRESS
Name: Sarah Gadon (@sarahgadon)
Number of Followers: 2,983
Follow because: The Cronenbergs’ favourite starlet “resisted as long as [she] could” before joining Twitter, but now tweets prettily composed pics and Toronto-centric culture news several times daily
Guilty of: Cryptic two-word photo captions
Sample tweet: ”Dried mango is the beef jerky of the fruit world” (December 17)
THE CITY HALL INSIDER
Name: Josh Matlow (@JoshMatlow)
Number of Followers: 6,093
Follow because: He’s one of only a few councillors active on Twitter, offering his take on city issues, Toronto-centric observations and occasionally really funny gags
Guilty of: Tweets that sound like campaign soundbites
Sample tweet: “Hollywood secret: Actor/Comedian Steve Martin has been working as a Toronto city councillor for past 7 years under the alias ‘John Parker’.” (February 14)
THE NEWS JUNKIE
Name: Jian Ghomeshi (@jianghomeshi)
Number of Followers: 162,171
Follow because: He’s on top of the headlines and live-tweets everything from the Superbowl to the Grammy Awards. Jian, do you ever leave your phone in your pocket?
Guilty of: Blowing up your newsfeed. In a good way
Sample tweet: “Great victory for Frank Ocean tonight. Strong album. But unfortunately that live performance was (very) out of tune.#Grammys” (February 10)
THE ACTIVIST
Name: Margaret Atwood (@MargaretAtwood)
Number of followers: 377,836
Follow because: Canada’s ever-active queen of literature shares pushes good reads and good causes, loves all things zombies and doesn’t shy away from a Twitter feud
Guilty of: Re-tweeting anyone who asks. But maybe that’s sweet?
Sample tweet: “Climate queasy: won't be easy. Jobs: we need! Gals: heed! Immigrants: freed! Assault guns: not fun! TParty ain't got me on the run! #sotu140” (February 12)
THE COMEDIENNE
Name: Mae Martin (@TheMaeMartin)
Number of followers: 10,444
Follow because: The Toronto-born comic’s act includes bits about erotic Harry Potter fan fiction and songs about panic attacks in the shower. Her Twitter feed has the same freewheeling humour
Guilty of: Freaking out way too much about the end of the world
Sample tweet: “If I have water in my ears when I put my headphones in will I electrocute my brain? If so I want to be listening to the Spice Girls.” (February 18)
THE TEEN DREAM
Name: Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)
Followers: 34,666,566
Follow because: Everyone else does. And just when you think Canada’s Golden Boy is strictly PG, he throws some shade at Patrick Carney of the Black Keys or tweets a shirtless video
Guilty of: Saccharine tweets pandering to fans and grammar mistakes. (“Alot” is not a word, Justin.)
Sample tweet: “up real early today for a LONG DAY of rehearsals. and now a blizzard is coming. no issue. Im Canadian” (February 8)
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Why not just say “google famous people in Toronto and see if they have tiwtter accounts, but also add Mae Martin”?