This City

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All the latest about Toronto this week

May 24, 2023

In today’s edition of This City: inside one Toronto high school’s descent into chaos. Plus, the non-profit seeking millions to keep Kensington Market affordable, our no-politics mayoral candidate questionnaire with Josh Matlow, the creator bringing the African diaspora to the city’s biggest art gallery, and more. Visit torontolife.com for all our coverage on the city.

Our top stories

epic fail In 2022, the Toronto District School Board consolidated two high schools into one crumbling, crowded building. Within weeks, stressed-out 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.

“Everything I love here was fought for”

A decade ago, Kensington Market resident Dominique Russell started to notice that the neighbourhood was changing, becoming less stable for long-term renters. Then came the Airbnbs. That’s when Russell co-founded the Kensington Market Community Land Trust, a non-profit dedicated to preserving affordable rental space in the market. The KMCLT recently put in a successful bid to buy two Victorian homes. Now, it has a month to raise $2 million and close the deal.

“coffee is my biggest vice”

Long hours, combative colleagues and mean tweets: running Toronto is brutal work. And yet, the slate of contenders is longer than the line to eat at Alo. For voters who can’t make up their minds based on hot-button issues like TTC safety and affordable housing, we present the ultimate tiebreaker: a questionnaire covering every topic other than politics. Here’s Josh Matlow on his favourite fast food item, the last book he read and his biggest pet peeve.

“The AGO used to feel so out of reach”

In 2017, when Josef Adamu launched Sunday School in his mom’s basement, he wasn’t sure if anyone would pay him to tell stories about the Black diaspora. Now, his company, which specializes in art directing and brand campaigns, has far surpassed his expectations. Earlier this month, Sunday School returned to Adamu’s home city with its first major Toronto show, Feels Like Home. Adamu spoke to us about representing the city’s Black community at its biggest art institution.

What to read, watch and listen to in May

You can’t Ask That (CBC Gem)

“This documentary series offers insight into the lives of people who are often misunderstood by society. Folks with physical and neurological differences answer anonymous questions from the internet—all with humour, candour and authenticity.”
—Recommended by Cihang Ma,
actor and comedian

TL Insider presents:

Exclusive Access to the Salvador Dali Exhibit

Discover the magic of Divina Dalí, a journey into the surreal world of artist Salvador Dalí, in an exclusive Insider Gala on May 29—featuring a guided tour by exhibit curators over wine and culinary tastings from Milou. Divina Dalí is a multi-sensory adventure into Dante’s poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy through Dalí’s surrealist vision. Get tickets here.

TL Insider presents

Our current issue

June 2023: Where to eat now

After two years of takeout and home cooking, Toronto diners are keen to splurge on caviar, seafood towers and prime cuts of beef. And this is all happening at a time when chicken breasts are going for $23 a kilogram and we’re price-matching at supermarkets like it’s a bloodsport. The message, in short, is that if people choose to dine out, they’re going big. In our June issue, 20 restaurants where we’re more than happy to put our money where our mouths are. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.