The Chosen One - At just 23, Scottie Barnes is shouldering the weight of an impatient, basketball-mad city, a hit-and-miss team, and his own colossal ambitions. What it’s like to be the face of the franchise—and its best chance at salvation.

Dividing Line - The Bloor Street bike lane has become Toronto’s most contested strip of concrete, igniting fights over congestion, safety and the future of downtown. How a few kilometres of pavement turned the city into a battlefield.

Brave New Year - Fly a glider, perform a striptease, zipline across Niagara Falls, commune with the dead, swear off social media, climb an ice waterfall and other antidotes to doomscrolling—as described by people who dared to try them.

Famous - A viral earworm about a breakup turned the Beaches into Toronto’s hottest export. Inside the pantythrowing, stage-diving, all-girl rock band seducing fans around the world.

Holiday Gift Guide - The year’s most coveted loot, from bargain-basement deals and steals to the splurgiest of splurges.

Cost of Living - What Torontonians earn and how they spend it.

Small Space, Big Ambition - Torontonians are tapping into any available space—backyards, garages, even patches of Lake Ontario— to design stylish, affordable homes in a city where land is in short supply. Here’s how creative families are living large in fewer square feet.

Locked Away - For nearly 50 years, the Ontario government incarcerated kids accused of infractions as minor as truancy, drinking or shoplifting in so-called training schools. The abuse I endured almost destroyed me—until one person decided I was worth saving.

A sneak preview of Poilievre’s Toronto.

Fancy mall food is finally a thing.

A bold next step for Chinese-food king David Schwartz...

The Cult of Wellness
A growing cohort of Torontonians are swapping the coke-fuelled, booze-soaked club scene for cold plunges, sobriety and superfood smoothies. Inside the expensive, obsessive, addictive quest for a perfect life. 
By Olivia Stren

Turf War
For 148 years, the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club was an ivy-covered bastion of civility with a roster of like-minded, blue-blooded members. Then an old-money-versus-new-money clash erupted.
By Sarah Treleaven

Michelin Men - The new $680-a-head restaurant everyone’s talking about has three giant egos in the kitchen and one very rich benefactor calling the shots. If they don’t self-destruct, they may well produce something spectacular. Inside the making of LSL By Mark Pupo.

We Bought a Starter Castle - Plenty of people dream about living in a French château, an Italian villa or an English castle. These four families made it a reality Interviews by Emma Johnston-Wheeler, Maddy Mahoney and Katie Underwood.

Who Earns What
Groceries, rent, inflation, shrinkflation—Toronto has never been more expensive. What better time than now to obsess over other people’s incomes? Our gawk-worthy 2024 salary survey.
By Anthony Milton

The Battle for Leslieville
Last summer, when a stray bullet killed a mother of two near the South Riverdale safe-consumption site, it ruptured the neighbourhood. A year later, tensions are high, neither side will back down and the opioid crisis rages on By Navneet Alang

The Best New Restaurants, Sins of a Small-Town Doctor, What’s making and shaking the city’s self-image, A maximalist Hamilton happy place with handpainted murals, disco balls and retro panache

The Perilous Lives of International Students 

They come here for the promise of an education and a better future. Then they discover the target on their backs By Simon Lewsen

Bawdy Language

In two years, she’s published two runaway bestsellers, sold film rights to Prince Harry and Meghan, finished a third book—which hits shelves this month—and is well into her fourth. How Carley Fortune is reinventing the bodiceripper, one blockbuster at a time By Arisa Valyear

The Case of the Missing $30 Million

Before he died, William Waters transferred his considerable fortune to his wife’s caregiver. His lawyers say she coerced him. She says they were having an affair. The untold story of a scandalous estate battle By Luc Rinaldi

Work Less, Live More
The 40-hour workweek sucks. Ambition is overrated. Life is short. Confessions from the new and intentionally underemployed labour force Interviews by Rebecca Gao and Isabel B. Slone

Saving Sila
Yara Abualjedian was nine months pregnant when the bombing started in Gaza. Her husband, Ahmad, was in Canada, 9,000 kilometres away, with no way to reach her. Then she went into labour. A story about love and perseverance in a time of war Interviews by Andrea Yu

The Great Pretenders
Karima Manji wanted it all for her twin daughters, Amira and Nadya. And she found a way to help them get it: financial aid earmarked for Indigenous kids. The fact that they weren’t remotely Indigenous wasn’t going to stop her 
By Sarah Treleaven

One Holy Mess
Over almost two decades, a garden off Weston Road was, according to a cluster of Catholics, the site of multiple miracles. The developer who bought the site plans to build condos. The worshippers think he’s the devil in disguise.
By Nicholas Hune-Brown

Work Less, Live More
The 40-hour workweek sucks. Ambition is overrated. Life is short. Confessions from the new and intentionally underemployed labour force.
Interviews by Rebecca Gao and Isabel B. Slone

Saving Sila
Yara Abualjedian was nine months pregnant when the bombing started in Gaza. Her husband, Ahmad, was in Canada, 9,000 kilometres away, with no way to reach her. Then she went into labour.
A story about love and perseverance in a time of war 
Interviews by Andrea Yu

The Secret City
Dozens of insider tips and tricks that make urban life easier, cheaper, faster, slower, tastier, smarter and way more fun.

The Good Liar
Carolyn Krebs (alias Carolyn Goodman, alias Marian Linton) may be the city’s most hated landlord. She ignores work orders, falsifies documents and evicts tenants without cause. How one woman is making a killing off a system that’s too broken to stop her. 
By Rachel Browne

The Most Influential of 2023
This year’s No. 1? Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of artificial intelligence, because when he says AI poses an existential threat to humanity—that the doomsday clock is one minute to midnight and ticking—everyone pays attention. Plus, dozens of other Torontonians whose brains, connections and clout keep this city humming.

Where the Wild Things Were
At 888 Dupont, the rent was dirt cheap, the rules were nonexistent and the parties were legendary. Now, with demolition underway, former tenants share their wildest memories of the city’s most storied art squat..

The Best Places to Live Now
Our largely scientific, slightly incendiary, totally comprehensive ranking of all 158 neighbourhoods, in descending order of awesomeness. Plus, stats galore on the safest areas, top-rated school zones, best transit hubs, and more. Cue the quibbling.

The New Face
Blame Zoom, AI filters, TikTok. Facial alteration has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the $16-billion medical spa market. Toronto providers have never been busier, and their clients have never been younger. 
By Christina Frangou

The Inside Job
Robert Konashewych was a young cop with expensive tastes, two girlfriends and a mountain of debt. Heinz Sommerfeld was a dead man with a large unclaimed estate. Problem, meet solution.
By Katherine Laidlaw

The Insatiable Janet Zuccarini
After nearly three decades building her food empire in Toronto, she’s launching an 8,000-square-foot, $7-million hotspot in LA this fall—all while mourning her husband, Robbie Robertson. Opening a restaurant in 2023 is brave. Running a dozen of them is bonkers.
By Katrina Onstad

THE NEW AGE OF CHEATING
Professors are baffled.
Universities are panicking.
The system is unravelling.
Inside the AI revolution on campus
by SIMON LEWSEN

I started a popcorn business in prison: a memoir.

Where to eat, drink and party at TIFF..

Internet Famous
TikTok turned Josh Richards from an ordinary small-town teen into a multimillionaire, CEO and venture capitalist. How to make a fortune via bedroom eyes, 10-second lip syncs and a signature ’do
By Katrina Onstad

Big Little Lie
Noam Tomaschoff grew up an only child in a tight-knit family of three. At 31, he discovered that his parents had been keeping a shocking secret—and the surprises just kept coming
Interviews by Andrea Yu

The Making of a Superstar
Before she became a global phenomenon, Shania Twain was dreaming big in Toronto while flipping burgers, hawking jeans and fronting cover bands. Today, the queen of country pop is touring the world with a new album, but she’s still nostalgic about the city that made her By Stéphanie Verge

Urbs vs. Burbs
A backyard or a neighbourhood park? An hour on the GO or a 15-minute walk to work? A micro-condo or a roomy detached? Buying a home or renting for life? The debate around where—and how—to live in the GTA is white hot. Here, five Toronto families fiercely defend their choices Interviews by Alex Cyr and Andrea Yu

Where to Eat Now
Instead of more smash burgers and fried chicken, the past year gave us a profusion of splurgy dining destinations. The message: go big or stay home. Our annual ranking of the city’s best new restaurants.
By Liza Agrba, Alex Baldinger and Rebecca Fleming

Epic Fail
In 2022, the TDSB merged two high schools into one crumbling, crowded building. Within weeks, students were brawling in the halls. Teachers refused to come in to work. Parents yanked their kids out of class. Inside York Memorial’s descent into chaos. 
By Danielle Groen

Welcome to Your Future Home
Net-zero buildings. Car-free neighbourhoods. Rooftop farms. Smart-home everything. An optimist’s guide to the totally green, actually affordable, Jetsonesque near future of real estate.

Promised Land
Doug Ford’s recent decision to earmark swaths of the Greenbelt for development prompted widespread outrage—plus pockets of praise—across the GTA. But what do the people who live and work on the land think about it? 
By Christopher Katsarov Luna

True Grit
Baseball got Alek Manoah through a turbulent childhood, and he grew up to be a big-hearted bruiser with an electric fastball. He’s a good friend to have and a fierce enemy to face. In other words, just what the Jays need right now By Malcolm Johnston

The Toronto Booze Poll
Canada’s new alcohol guidelines recommend no more than two drinks a week. How realistic are they? We partnered with the Angus Reid Group to find out what Torontonians consume, our favourite ways to imbibe, who’s going dry—and other surprising habits of a tipsy city.

Star Wars
Jordan Bitove and Paul Rivett promised to lead the Toronto Star into a golden era, but their big egos and clashing visions nearly tore the company apart. Inside the battle for control of the country’s largest newspaper By Jason McBride

The Guru of Mount Nemo
On a quiet country road just outside of Toronto, a charismatic martial arts teacher built a megamansion for his entourage of disciples. For 15 years, he preached peace and love. Then, one morning, the police stormed in and secrets came spilling out By H.G. Watson

Funny People
Untold stories from the early years of Second City—an oral history featuring Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas, Robin Duke and Rick Moranis By John Semley

Brave Heart
Nobody believed that my charming husband was secretly abusive. Then, one harrowing night, he almost killed me, so I ran. Eight years later, I’m still fighting for justice By Ciro Muiruri

Give Me Shelter
Renting in Toronto is a nightmare: prices are soaring, bidding wars are out of control, square footage is shrinking—and it’s only getting worse. Dispatches from the housing crisis.

White Lies
When my dad died, I found a new family in a whitepower gang. I spent years dressing like a skinhead, fighting strangers and committing petty crimes. Inside the twisted world of Toronto’s white supremacist movement.
By Lauren Manning

The 50 Most Influential of 2022
This year’s No. 1? The ubiquitous Simu Liu, who skyrocketed to superstardom and is using his newly acquired powers for good. Plus dozens of other Torontonians whose brains, connections and clout keep the city humming.

The Fight of My Life
When my wife and daughter were killed in Iran’s downing of Flight PS752, my life was thrown into total darkness. I will do whatever it takes to bring the corrupt regime to justice. The death of Mahsa Amini only intensified my resolve.
By Hamed Esmaeilion

The Homecoming Club
They traded Toronto for more square footage outside the city. Then what? In a nutshell, they hated it—and they’re moving back. Five families tell their stories.

The Ferrari Fugitive
Josh Cartu collected race cars, hung out with celebrities and bounced between luxury villas in his private jet. But behind the playboy façade was a dark secret: he and his brothers had thousands of jilted investors and an army of investigators on their tail By Brett Popplewell.

No, Chef - Exorbitant overhead. Underpaid, overworked staff. A toxic work culture. The restaurant industry is broken. These insiders told us how to fix it.

Contract Killers - In 2018, a family-run developer started selling pre-construction townhouses for $400,000. Three years later, they gave buyers a shocking ultimatum: pay $100,000 more or lose your home. Anatomy of a real estate nightmare.

The New Hollywood North
No matter where you live, what genres you love or which streaming services you subscribe to, it’s impossible to avoid the tidal wave of film and TV talent flowing from Toronto right now. Up close and personal with the city’s new superstars.

The Death Cheaters
The members of Longevity House are united by two things: a willingness to hand over $100,000 and a burning desire to live forever. Inside the weird world of cryotherapy, biocharging and fecal transplants.
By Courtney Shea

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Toronto Life - February 2025

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