2023

Dec 27 2023: the year in charts ↗ Newsletter Dec 26 Why fixing Toronto's construction mess shouldn't take a Christmas miracle ↗ Star Dec 18 A long December Council meeting ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Dec 18 Why student housing may be key to unlocking Toronto's waterfront ↗ Star Dec 12 Toronto’s pricey and ineffective new plan for snow clearing is a warning about privatizing city services ↗ Star Dec 11 The rise of TTC delays, minute by minute ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Dec 5 With the Gardiner, Doug Ford buys a boondoggle — let’s at least make sure he makes it a nice boondoggle ↗ Star Dec 4 The police chief to mayoral candidate to lobbyist pipeline ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Nov 28 This week’s Scarborough byelection has big stakes for local voters, Mayor Olivia Chow — and the whole city ↗ Star Nov 27 New deal on the block ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Nov 21 TTC promises Scarborough ‘fast and reliable’ service to make up for missing SRT. Don’t count on it ↗ Star Nov 20 Mayor Olivia Chow's first Council Scorecard ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Nov 14 Why Doug Ford could — and should — fund Toronto’s nonpolice crisis response service ↗ Star Nov 13 Council adopts big plans but still needs big money ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Nov 7 Massive overhaul of the Toronto Port Lands is already something to see. Just don’t plan to take the TTC ↗ Star Nov 6 Logging cabin lobbying ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Oct 30 It's my party and I'll donate if I want to ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Oct 24 Toronto’s ‘traffic agents’ may help cars move, but there’s a more effective way to ease congestion ↗ Star Oct 23 Putting the fun back in fundraising ↗ Newsletter Oct 17 How hard data — and blunt questions — could bring real change to Olivia Chow’s city hall ↗ Star Oct 16 Council puts a cap on it ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Oct 10 October's very own City Council meeting ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Oct 10 Toronto’s vacant home tax once looked like an empty gesture — now it looks like a windfall ↗ Star Oct 3 Sad spectacle of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT may be the tip of the iceberg ↗ Star Oct 2 Uber's uberlobbying: a retrospective ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 26 How Doug Ford’s new planning rules have made things worse for Toronto’s housing crisis ↗ Star Sep 25 The rush for the doors ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 19 Uber, Airbnb impacts show it’s time for Olivia Chow to push back against Big Tech ↗ Star Sep 18 Toronto's toxic supply ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 12 Toronto’s last core services review was a disaster. So why do it again? ↗ Star Sep 11 Landing the financial plan ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 5 Short-term lobbying on a long-term plan ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 4 Olivia Chow must move fast to meet new affordable housing goal ↗ Star Aug 29 Rename Dundas Street? Host the World Cup? Axing those won’t fix Toronto’s budget crisis. Here’s what will ↗ Star Aug 28 Playter time for Intersection Inspection ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Aug 22 There’s a gravy train for corporations at city hall. Olivia Chow should put a stop to it ↗ Star Aug 21 How to dismantle a budget bomb ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Aug 15 How Mayor Olivia Chow could finally jolt Toronto Hydro into action on climate change ↗ Star Aug 14 Olivia's Eleven ↗ Newsletter Aug 8 Who's lobbying the new mayor? ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Aug 7 Wanted at Toronto city hall: TTC board members who actually ride the TTC ↗ Star Jul 31 City Hall's short game: reserve funds pile up as Toronto struggles to spend capital budget ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jul 24 Council moves onward to the Olivia era ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jul 18 Refugees forced to live on the streets of Toronto is a national disgrace. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals should wear it ↗ Star Jul 17 A midsummer week's Council meeting ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jul 11 As Olivia Chow takes office, John Tory leaves her with staggering budget baggage. But it’s not all bad news ↗ Star Jul 10 New mayor, same problems ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jul 4 🕵️ An investigation: John Tory and the case of the curiously-timed endorsement ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jul 4 If Olivia Chow is going to raise property taxes, here’s why she should look toward her mayoral challengers for ideas ↗ Star Jun 27 A by-election, in charts ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jun 27 Olivia Chow’s to-do list: Housing, a gaping budget hole — and dead raccoons ↗ Star Jun 24 Next stop: new mayor ↗ Newsletter Jun 20 Yes, Olivia Chow is a candidate from the ’90s. But that’s not a bad thing ↗ Star Jun 19 Meet TorontoBot: Torontoverse’s AI-powered municipal budget analyst ↗ Torontoverse Freelance Jun 19 The writing on the wall spells just one name ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jun 13 Why this neighbourhood’s fight over a modular housing site should be a mayoral election issue ↗ Star Jun 12 Go Bloor West, young cyclist ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jun 6 Olivia Chow’s property tax plan might add up, but she needs to show us the math ↗ Star Jun 5 Behind the scenes of City Hall's quixotic quest to investigate two social media accounts ↗ Newsletter May 30 Why mayoral candidates banking on a ‘new deal’ for Toronto are doomed to fail ↗ Star May 29 Before you vote for the candidates, see how the candidates voted ↗ Subscribers Newsletter May 23 House league scores ↗ Subscribers Newsletter May 23 Which candidates for mayor are actually offering real talk on Toronto taxes? So far, too few ↗ Star May 16 Council’s debate on drinking in parks was silly. Here’s what that means for Toronto’s mayoral election ↗ Star May 15 Toronto Council and the multiplex of madness ↗ Subscribers Newsletter May 9 City hall is flush with success at getting park washrooms open earlier. Here’s what that might mean for the mayor’s race ↗ Star May 8 Council's chickens come home to roost ↗ Subscribers Newsletter May 2 Scarborough is about to get another raw deal on transit. These mayoral hopefuls should share the blame ↗ Star May 1 No vacancy (or at least less vacancy than everyone expected) ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 25 Anti-bike lobby peddles misleading stats — and a bogus idea for fixing Toronto’s traffic ↗ Star Apr 24 High rents, hi homelessness ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 18 Why hundreds of TTC buses sit idle at rush hour despite millions in government funding ↗ Star Apr 17 Matlow's money and Bradford's bucks ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 11 How much could becoming mayor of Toronto cost — ten dollars? ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 11 Pick a fighter: Toronto’s next mayor needs to do battle with Doug Ford and Justin Trudeau ↗ Star Apr 4 Doug Ford knows it’s not about ‘defunding the police’— it’s about keeping Toronto’s spending under control ↗ Star Apr 3 Here we go again ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Mar 28 Want to be Toronto’s next mayor? Show us your budget ↗ Star Mar 27 Let the sunshine in ↗ Newsletter Mar 27 Toronto’s tragic tale of trash: Why the city’s litter bins are often overflowing — or missing ↗ Torontoverse Freelance Mar 21 How much is a safer transit worth to the TTC? A little over a toonie ↗ Star Mar 20 Municipal Moneyball ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Mar 14 Toronto city hall promised much better snow-clearing — so where is it? ↗ Star Mar 13 A good scorecard, not a long scorecard ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Mar 7 The number of parking tickets has plunged in cash-strapped Toronto. Why the lax enforcement? ↗ Star Mar 6 Last chance lobbying ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Feb 28 TTC invites a ‘death spiral’ with its service cuts — but few at Toronto city hall seem to care ↗ Star Feb 27 Little boxes — and they all look just the same ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Feb 21 John Tory's parting shot ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Feb 21 Sorry, Doug Ford — Toronto has tried conservative governance at city hall, and it’s not working ↗ Star Feb 13 The big problem with John Tory’s budget? It’s short one John Tory and $1.5 billion ↗ Star Feb 13 The end of Tory's story ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Feb 7 If you really wanted to help Toronto, you’d buy a new home. Here’s why ↗ Star Feb 6 Vacant tax, crowded lobbying ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 31 TTC stations with fewer employees look like ghost towns. Is it any wonder transit violence increases? ↗ Star Jan 30 What's equity worth at Toronto City Hall? ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 24 Toronto’s big gamble: The city is putting aside millions for World Cup 2026 — despite a cash crunch ↗ Star Jan 23 Revising, revolving and revolting revenues ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 23 Toronto’s photo radar program has generated a lot of money, but isn’t slowing traffic like it used to ↗ Torontoverse Freelance Jan 17 Forget Ford and Trudeau. City hall has only itself to blame for why Toronto’s roads are bad — and getting worse ↗ Star Jan 16 The 2023 Budget Launch Spectacular ↗ Newsletter Jan 10 John Tory’s reckless budget strategy risks giving Toronto a future with bad roads and less TTC service ↗ Star Jan 9 Budget announcements versus budget numbers ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 3 The lobbyists who met the mayor ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 3 Transit in Toronto has never felt so broken — it’s time for the TTC board of directors to demand better ↗ Star