Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #386! LOBBYIST WATCH returns! A look at an attempt to elevate Toronto’s waterfront transit plan, Weston’s park problem, FIFA prep, and more. Plus: the TTC Board talks fences, AI and drones with new security push toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/lobbyist-w...

Further to the “squeaky wheel problem” thing, there’s one guy who has basically been waging war against these food stalls for several months. You can read his correspondence with the city here: www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis... (PDF)

Gift link 🎁 www.thestar.com/gift-redeem?...

My @thestar.com column: City Hall has a “squeaky wheel” problem, where a small number of haters and complainers get outsized influence over city decisions. This summer, they’re likely to come for the Church Street pedestrianization project. Let’s not let them win. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

We’ve gotten used to it, I guess, but the one-third override part of the strong mayor powers is just terrible policy-making. Just plain feels gross and undemocratic. Would be more defensible if they had just given mayors some broader executive powers. www.thestar.com/news/gta/dou...

Look at me, motivating people. www.thestar.com/news/gta/for...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #385! Olivia makes it official! The mayor is running for mayor, again. Plus: your complete recap of the May Council meeting, with notes on a car-free Church Street, the island airport, e-bike wrangling, and more toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/after-mara...

Popular day for incumbents to make a decision, apparently. Councillor James Pasternak has filed for re-election too. So far, he’s running opposed. It’s early. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/2026-candi...

Mayor Olivia Chow makes it official: she’s running for mayor for a third time. Press release confirming her run touts her work hiring cops, speeding up Gardiner construction, freezing TTC fares, expanding school food, etc.

Council’s meeting was so inexplicably, bafflingly long that my app at live.cityhallwatcher.com called it quits and failed to capture the last couple of hours of coverage. I’ve fixed the issue. (I think!) You can now view the complete compiled thread here: live.cityhallwatcher.com/may-20-2026-2

Toronto Council meets today! The agenda includes free AC units, Church Street pedestrianization plans, the island airport, and more. It will get started shortly. I will post various things that happen. Meeting stream is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVDQ...

My @thestar.com column this week: Told ya so. Told ya so. Told ya so. The data since Doug Ford banned speed cameras is definitive. Speeds are up significantly across the city as drivers seemingly aren’t worried about police enforcement. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #384! Council returns this week for a meeting about pedestrian streets, keeping cool and — of course — the island airport. Plus: a look at the speeding data since Ford banned speed cameras. You won’t be surprised! toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/council-se...

Imagine the level of grumbling that led to this motion re: Bike Share on the island. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

"At the event, Chow thanked the councillors and called Bradford (who is considered Chow’s political rival and is currently running for mayor) 'the muscle' of the team, Nunziata 'the brains,' and designated herself 'the mouth.’” www.torontotoday.ca/local/events...

From Safe Parkside: look what happened on Parkside Drive after Premier Doug Ford banned speed cameras.

City announces the names of the two electric ferries coming soon: Lady of the Quays and Toronto Islander. Zzzz. www.toronto.ca/news/new-ele...

Not your imagination - seems there are way more potholes this year (via @graphicmatt.com ) datawrapper.dwcdn.net/zQYBX/3/

Another incumbent councillor has registered for re-election: Councillor Vince Crisanti is now added to the big board. That’s three. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/2026-candi...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #383! The annual ROAD WARRIOR report looks at the councillors spending the most time behind the wheel. Plus: other office expense notes, complete council attendance records, and this year’s pothole problem. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/how-do-cit...

The Port Authority has submitted a letter to the Planning & Housing Committee re: Ookwemin Minising requesting that future residents agree to “warning clauses” about noise from the airport. Also suggests buildings be designed so windows can stay closed. www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis...

Sound the gong. Xiao Hua Gong, AKA Edward Gong, has registered to run for mayor again. His campaign in 2023 was most notable for deploying approximately twenty bazillion signs across the city. He got 0.41% of the vote. My candidate tracker is here: toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/2026-candi...

My @thestar.com column: City Council has an attendance problem. Councillors are missing votes and risking quorum. But an election year offers a simple opportunity to fix things: vote out some of the frequent no-shows, elect some new reps who care more about the job. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #382! It’s got the official launch of City Hall Watcher’s handy candidate tracker, telling you who’s in so far for this fall’s municipal race. Plus: LOBBYIST WATCH has airport lobbyists, robots, and the car czar. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/celebrate-...

It’s officially official.

In other muni election news, Chiara Padovani, who came a VERY close second to Councillor Frances Nunziata in 2022 — she lost by 94 votes — , says she’ll be “among the first in line” to register to run in York-South Weston tomorrow morning.

One weird trick for making TTC streetcars less slow: tell operators it’s okay to go faster. stevemunro.ca/2026/04/29/t...

Councillor Gord Perks is retiring, but his facepalm gif will never quit. www.thestar.com/news/gta/gor...

"We go through everyone she might be thinking of until it becomes clear: she’s getting Brad Bradford mixed up with Brad Bradford.” www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

My @thestar.com column: Two little words are raising the stakes for this fall’s municipal election: “opt out.” Councillors are increasingly getting the ability to opt their wards out of change. It’s made councillors more powerful — and your vote even more important www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Councillor Moise has put an item on tomorrow’s Community Council agenda that'd pedestrianize part of Church St this summer. Staff have posted a list of concerns, including overcrowding, lack of staff resources, and potential for “high-volume of public complaints” secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Decided/Leaning Ontario PC support in the 416 (Toronto), per Liaison Strategies crosstabs: Oct 14-15: 43% Dec 5-7: 40% Jan 19-21: 38% Feb 20-22: 36% April 25-26: 28% Bigger MOE so exercise caution, but sure looks like a fast drop. Here’s their latest: press.liaisonstrategies.ca/ontario-ford...

Councillor Matlow says the softball league that plays at Little Norway Park has drafted provincial Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria, so he can "witness firsthand the negative impact of his half-baked expropriation plans." They’ve even made him a rookie card: “The Prince of Pavement.”

Council meets today! It's the final meeting before election season officially kicks off on May 1. The agenda includes soccer, jet skis, hot dogs, and renter protections. A real hearty mix. You can watch live on YouTube. I will post happenings in this very long thread. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQP-...

My @thestar.com column: Freedom for frankfurters! After 24 long years, Toronto Council could finally end a moratorium on new downtown hot dog carts this week. It’s another sign that our famously stodgy city might actually be loosening up. That’s a good thing. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Check your inbox: It’s City Hall Watcher #380! Council meets this week! They’ll have debates about hot dogs, the FIFA fan fest, jet skis, and more. I’ve got you covered with a full agenda rundown, plus some news about Toronto’s pedestrian streets policy toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/as-electio...

Mayor Chow and Premier Ford are hanging out this morning to announce some Ontario Line updates, including the official station names. “Corktown” becomes “Distillery District.” “Riverside-Leslieville” becomes “Leslieville.” “King-Bathurst” becomes “King West.” "Queen-Spadina" becomes “Chinatown."

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #379! Charts about moving around Toronto, looking at the usage (and growth) of rideshare, transit and Bike Share. Plus: a new vision for the Ex, streetcar stops, and tickets for those jerks who park in bike lanes. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/how-toront...

Notable chart included in a new TTC Board report about improving streetcar speeds, comparing stop distance and average speeds on Toronto routes versus surface rail routes in other cities. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Good @rzaichkowski.bsky.social post about the latest news on the plan for downtown Yonge Street. It’s been pushed back and scaled down, with an earlier proposal for “pedestrian priority zones” removed. Compromise defeats ambition, again. www.twowheeledpolitics.ca/2026/04/wtf-...

My @thestar.com column this week: With Metrolinx not involved, the Waterfront East LRT is a big opportunity to dunk on the provincial transit agency and prove there’s a better, more affordable, and more transparent way to build transit. Please don’t screw it up. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #378! And it’s FREE. LOBBYIST WATCH returns, with details on island airport lobbying taking off, TTC security tech, jet ski rentals and smart speedbumps. Plus: transit signal priority and, at last, hot dog carts toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/yet-anothe...

Annoying TTC thing: the city wrapped up their construction work at Queen & Broadview weeks early (yay) but the 504 and 501 streetcars aren’t going to return to their normal routing until May 3, because that’s the start of the next “board period.” Why run an unnecessary diversion for a month?

My @thestar.com column: There’s lots of disagreement about Toronto transit projects, but damn near everyone can agree about one thing: electrifying and increasing GO Train service is a great idea. It’s a real shame Doug Ford’s government has screwed it up again. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #377! Your complete recap of Council’s March meeting, with the most quotable quotes and a look at what the decision on city-run grocery stores means. Plus: a quick take on today’s big dev changes announcement. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/council-vo...

Carney, Ford, Chow and at least one determined heckler with a megaphone are on scene today to announce a 50% cut to development charges for the next three years. Lost Municipal revenue to be offset by an $8.8 billion federal/provincial fund for infrastructure.

Part of today’s federal-provincial-municipal announcement: a funding agreement, at last, for the Waterfront East LRT. $3 billion divided three ways. news.ontario.ca/en/backgroun...

For some weekend listening, I’m on the latest ep of @spacingradio.bsky.social reviewing my Eglinton LRT experience with @glynbowerman.bsky.social and Tricia Wood. Hear about my initial reaction, my bone to pick with the Golden Mile, and the lessons learned along the way. spacing.ca/toronto/2026...

Oh geez. Um. Good luck, Ottawa!

Quick table of the top Sunshine List earners at the City of Toronto and its agencies. Departing TTC CEO Rick Leary tops the list, earning nearly $600K plus benefits. The top-earning cop was Rhoel Ong, a staff sergeant who somehow made about $390K. (Full Top 100 here: datawrapper.dwcdn.net/eVgqy/1/)