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During an Election, Silence is Golden: Just Ask John Tory
Political engagement may be at an all-time low, but Toronto Mayor John Tory isn’t complaining. Just ask him: the less said, the better. Why else would he have refused all but a couple of invitations...
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As Municipal Elections Loom, it's Time to Reform Urban Governance in Canada
Like Hazel McCallion before her, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has dedicated much of her election campaign to the struggle to pull her city out of the regional government that, she insists, keeps...
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Ford's New Housing Legislation Forgets Hard Environmental Lessons of the Past
So, the civic election is over and Toronto has a handful of new progressives on council, though probably not enough to make a difference. Still, it’s much needed fresh blood at the table. Even better,...
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Opening the Greenbelt has Nothing to Do with Affordable Housing
The first thing to understand about Doug Ford’s decision to release 7,400 acres of the Greenbelt for development is that it has nothing to do with solving the affordable housing crisis.Despite what...
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Can Workplace Culture Save the Downtown Office? It Should Certainly Try
The data tells a disturbing story: downtowns across North America are having a tough time recovering from the pandemic. The result has been a “hollowing out” of urban cores. According to a recent...
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The Airport Experience is a Disaster, It's Time for Their Entire Design to...
It’s airlines that create the mess, but airports that must clean it up. As international travel descends into an endless grind of cancelled flights, delayed arrivals, missed connections, and lost...
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The Mixed Legacy Hazel McCallion Leaves Behind in Mississauga
The death of Hazel McCallion last week at the age of 101 came as a shock to her army of admirers, many of whom believed she would live forever. Alas, we must all shuffle off this mortal coil, but by...
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John Tory's Resignation is an Opportunity for Toronto to Dream Again
The irony was hard to miss; just weeks after being named Toronto’s first “strong mayor,” John Tory was forced to step down after the Toronto Star revealed he had had an “inappropriate relationship”...
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Toronto Transit Has Gone From Bad to Worse, And So Will Congestion
For a nation that wouldn’t exist but for transportation -- in Canada’s case, the transcontinental railway -- the failure to grasp the importance of mobility and access verges on tragedy.That failure...
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Barcelona Has Found the Right Balance with its Cars, Why Can’t Toronto?
No one would ever accuse Barcelonans of not loving their cars. Indeed, the city has the highest rates of auto-ownership in Europe. Though they’re not hooked on pick-up trucks and SUVs like North...
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Mayoral Election a Second Chance to Turn the Fantasy of Toronto into a Reality
Not often does a city get a second chance to choose a mayor. Toronto got the rare opportunity in February when the incumbent, John Tory, resigned suddenly after his affair with a female staffer was...
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“Prime, Prime Real Estate”: Ford's Focus on Development Kills What We've...
Architecture is more than buildings. It plays a large role in our civic, social, and cultural life. That’s why our failure to honour the past will leave us without a clear sense of who we are and...
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Allowing Multiplexes a Sign Toronto Has Finally Woken Up to Reality
Though residents of what’s now called “Old Toronto” might have wondered what the fuss was all about, in a seismic move last week council approved new planning rules that will bring the city closer to...
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Trading Character for Condos: Toronto Residents Increasingly Feel Like They...
Until a week or two ago, the east side of Spadina between D’Arcy and St. Andrew streets, was home to a nondescript one-storey building that for decades housed a number of small shops and restaurant of...
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Aging In Place: Toronto Couple Ups Long Game By Adding Elevator, Suite for...
We grow old. We grow old. Whether we wear our trousers rolled or try to deny a future foretold, death and decline await us. Yet for many, accepting the reality of old age barely goes beyond...
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Leaving Neverland: Toronto’s Election A Chance For The City To Finally Grow Up
No matter the issue, the glaring question in next week’s mayoral by-election, though unspoken, couldn’t be simpler: are Torontonians ready to embrace the big city they inhabit? Or will they continue...
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Chow Win A Clear Sign Toronto Voters Are Happy To Ignore Ford
If Olivia Chow was the big winner in Toronto’s mayoral by-election, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was the big loser. His candidate, former police chief Mark Saunders, came in a distant third, attracting...
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Toronto Is Broke, But Targeted Taxes Could Fix It
It goes without saying; Toronto is broke. So what else is new? As former mayor John Tory used to say, usually that means crawling, “like a boy in short pants,” to Queen’s Park or Ottawa to plead for...
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Not Just Toronto: Canada’s Major Cities Can’t Get Public Transit Right
What is it about public transit in Canada? From Toronto and Ottawa to Edmonton and Montreal, safe, convenient and reliable mass mobility eludes us. We just can’t seem to get it right. It’s no surprise...
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If Developers Won’t Build Affordable Housing, The City Of Toronto Has To
By now it should be clear, the development industry is not going to solve the country’s housing crisis. It has no interest in building anything that doesn’t make a profit. Only government can deliver...
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