What Toronto Life readers loved and loathed in our July issue

Running Man

Katrina Onstad’s portrait of Doug Ford raised loads of eyebrows. Readers reacted to her suggestion that he’s setting his sights on Ottawa (he’s taking French lessons, after all) with a mix of applause and horror (mostly horror): “We’re fucked,” “Le sigh,” “Better than Poilievre” and “Oh hell no,” for starters.

“Katrina Onstad’s first-rate piece almost got me to like Doug Ford. I didn’t think that was possible. Missing from the story was an important historical note. Years ago, it was common knowledge that the Ontario Tories did not want a Ford of any stripe to be a part of their club. Nevertheless, Doug Ford inserted himself into the leadership when he beat Christine Elliott on a technicality back in 2018. I find it ironic that the party that didn’t want him now needs him more than ever.” —John Corcelli, Toronto

“Congrats on being the first, to my knowledge, to recognize Premier Ford’s ultimate political goal. I have a love/hate relationship with Doug and his entire political machine. When I first viewed your July cover, my thoughts immediately went to the Seinfeld phrase: ‘He’s a loathsome, offensive brute, yet I can’t look away.’ We could do worse than having Doug Ford as our prime minister, and for me the saving grace to this man’s political ambition is that he means well.” —Daniel Kowbell, Mississauga

“I don’t see a viable path to Doug Ford becoming prime minister. But then again I didn’t see a viable path to Ford becoming OPC leader and premier; the pieces just fell into place. Everything I thought I knew about politics got upended by the populist insurgency that began with Ford’s younger brother.” —Elegant-Tangerine-54, Reddit

“Do not underestimate him. He’s scandal ridden and corrupt but excellent at retail politics. He’s not weighed down by so-con ideology, and he could take a position very close to Carney’s while also offering the country a change in government after a long Liberal run. His biggest challenge will be reining in the western conservatives, but winning has a way of shutting people up.” —halcyon_aporia, Reddit

“He has his fiefdom in Ontario. Federal politics would provide higher scrutiny and make it harder to grift. Why put up with the added stress of having to please the other provinces when he can continue being king of Ontario?” —lopix, Reddit

“Ford consistently has one of the worst approval ratings of any premier. Nevertheless, the mainstream media presents this narrative of Ford as an insurmountably popular populist. If Ford made the jump to federal politics, all his flaws would be amplified. The lack of French but also his obsession with local politics and niche issues. Then again, Ford’s whole life and career has been a story of failing upward, so he could also waltz into office without a fight.” —Griffeysgrotesquejaw, Reddit

“I don’t give a shit about Doug Ford’s personality, his family or his Captain Canada shtick. He is hell-bent on destroying the province’s public services and selling them off to whoever donates the most to his party. That’s it.” —oldman1982, Reddit

“Whenever I think of this deceitful, manipulative, self-interested dirtbag as PM, a little piece of my soul withers and dies. And he’d absolutely win if he ran.” —shellfish-allegory, Reddit

“I didn’t vote for Doug Ford. I’ll never vote for him. But, while reading your feature, I felt that I actually didn’t mind the man until he said, ‘People don’t care about the Greenbelt.’ I spent hours in freezing weather protesting in front of my MPP’s office because I definitely care about the Greenbelt. So do thousands of others who did the same, along with all those who signed petitions, called their MPPs and sent letters. Don’t kid yourself, Mr. Ford: you were forced to backtrack because people care passionately about the Greenbelt.” —Linda Jansma

“‘People don’t care about the Greenbelt’? Sad? Mad? Appalled? My emotions are running wild after reading this comment from Doug Ford. His statement is so far from the truth it’s sickening.

“Maybe Ford and his circle of developer friends don’t give a monarch’s butt about the Greenbelt, or the environment in general, but for him to speak for all the people of Ontario is outrageous. Many fine politicians and people I know and have worked with would probably agree with me—Bonnie Littley, Elizabeth May, Mark Holland, Janet Pelley and the late Dan McDermott, to name a few good ones. Many professors of ecology and environmental studies at York University and the University of Toronto who taught the past few generations of Canadians how important our planetary systems are would probably agree as well.

“No matter how much money someone can make by destroying the Greenbelt, they can’t take it with them when they go.” —Bernadette Zubrisky

“Your article quotes Doug Ford saying, ‘I love Olivia’ in reference to his relationship with Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. What was omitted in the article was Ford’s prediction before the mayoral election that if Chow were to win, it would be ‘an unmitigated disaster’! How things change in the world of politics—irony abounds!” —Jeffrey Manly

“Your piece about Doug Ford is unsurprising. A magazine that caters to the Toronto elite would of course be blind to the ways Ford has affected people who require social services.

“Ford is interested in making the lives of his business partners better—that’s all. To say that his recent win was a result of more support is deceptive; voter turnout was under 43 per cent. This was the strategy behind calling a winter election, when people who struggle would have difficulty getting to the polls. His claim that people don’t care about the Greenbelt is a reflection of how little he cares about the environment and ensuring that we preserve what little green space we have left. He is what my grandmother would have called a charlatan in the truest sense of the word.” —Jennifer Awe

“The feature article on Doug Ford was a balanced, insightful and interesting read—for the most part. Inexplicably, Katrina Onstad determined that it was important for her to refer to the premier’s wife and his four daughters as ‘all the miniskirted women in his life.’ That single, vile sentence diminished the quality and integrity of the entire article.” —Julie Robinson

“The only reason he’d be learning French is to make a run for the CPC leader position.” —50s_Human, Reddit

“Maybe he just wants to be able to communicate better with the Franco-Ontarian communit—bwahaha, sorry, can’t keep a straight face writing that.” —AtriusMapmaker, Reddit

“Ford’s learning French? Shit shit shit shit. Edit: merde merde merde merde.” —pheakelmatters, Reddit

“Oh…Doug Ford can’t have a chance at being our PM, right? RIGHT?” —Altruistic-Hope4796, Reddit

“It would be catastrophic for Canada—worse than PP.” —joan_is_jammin, Threads

“Ford may be the only one able to turn the CPC back to the PCP. Bring it back to the centre, flush out the radical righties. They have zero chance with PeePee.” —snakefish, Threads

“I hope this happens. In my estimation, Doug Ford is the only one who can deal with Trump. A bully up against another bully. Ford would never have caved to Trump. And Trump would not have even tried it. We need a true leader for Canada now! Let’s make this happen.” —anna_pizz, Threads

“Yes, we Canadians will go from a Harvard-educated economist to a man who sold drugs in high school and whose highest level of education is a high school diploma.” —nirmalasubraj, Threads

“Good God in heaven, the horror of that gangster with his hands in the federal coffers.” —ledrewbob, Threads

“The NDP need to find their Zohran Mamdani, to use a current example—an outspoken socialist who is working for the citizenry.” —Ryuzakku, Threads

“Doug Ford is chronically, criminally corrupt. His government is under multiple investigations. He’s also a racist, an ableist and an entitled, privileged, power-­grabbing dolt. Enough said.” —@Zebra5555555, X

Fat Chance

Daniel Drucker’s memoir about the impacts of his discovery of GLP-1—the active ingredient in Ozempic—elicited mostly praise but also a big no thanks.

“I started taking Ozempic instead of Metformin for my Type 2 diabetes at the suggestion of my doctor. Within a week, I felt nauseous and didn’t want to eat. I like food and cooking but lost interest in both. So…what a drug! Feel crappy, stop eating, lose weight. Never again!” —David Chalmers, Toronto

“Excellent piece about Dr. Daniel Drucker and his groundbreaking work and career.” —@uoftmedicine, X

“A great line from Dr. Drucker in this article: ‘To be able to prove to the world that obesity was a treatable medical problem and not some sort of moral failing was a relief, plus the medical community could finally recommend something that could really help their patients.’” —Zep-9252, Reddit

“I know obesity isn’t a moral failing, but it’s hard overcoming years of negative experiences. It’s good to be reminded from the point of view of someone who has spent his life researching these issues.” —Illustrious_Olive_38, Reddit

Web of Lies

Sarah Treleaven’s deep dive into the online relationship between an accountant and his cam girl—bankrolled entirely by stolen funds—exposed the hazards of interactive sex sites like OnlyFans, Chaturbate and MyGirlFund. Readers were riveted.

“What an interesting story. None of the characters had any idea what to do with the golden goose. It made me curious as to what the ultimate impact was. Given a $13-million fraud, I have to imagine some critical things like research, hospital supplies and doctor wages had to get cut to offset the lost funds. Such a shame.” —TurbulentMeet3337, Reddit

“Millions embezzled from a major university, a cam girl up north, dreams of real estate riches, warning signs ignored over and over—this story has it all, and then some.” —The Sunday Long Read

“As a certified public accountant and former internal auditor, I have to ask: What the fuck? The university did not have the first clue about the most basic, elementary guidelines of management.” —JessyBelle, Reddit

“All that money, and she doesn’t have anything to show for it.” —notaquarterback, Reddit