55 h. ago This viral Toronto singer is making waves and was even noticed by SZA

Toronto-born singer Christina Smith thinks of her breakthrough in the classical music industry as a "happy accident.""My mom would play a lot of classical music in the house, so it kind of became part of our daily life," she tells blogTO. "We'd be on the bus, and she used to think I was screaming until she realized there were actually matching pitches with some of the songs that we've heard on the radio. And that's when she realized that I gravitated towards classical music."Smith said singing classical music immediately felt "natural" to her.Smith, a Toronto-based Caribbean-Canadian making waves as an opera performer, moved back to Kingston, Jamaica, when she was 11. Upon realizing her talents, she recalls people asking her to sing genres like gospel, but she says she couldn't "belt to save my life." That's when she worked with a vocal teacher who gave her the chance to sing opera and other genres of classical music, confirming her mother's suspicions: hitt...

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5 d. ago Ward 3 Coun. Peter Cuddy will ask city planning staff and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority for reports on the three, 14

A three tower, 402-unit residential development pitched for Highbury Avenue north will face stiff opposition from the city politician representing the area.

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1 week ago Canada's population standstill rattling Vancouver's housing industry

Douglas Todd: With a cyclical downturn in big-city real estate, the development industry is urging politicians to bring back domestic investors and foreign buyers.

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1 week ago Politicians crossed the line in firing of York Region paramedic: CUPE Ontario

TORONTO — CUPE Ontario is calling out City of Vaughan politicians for overreach in the firing of a long-serving York Region paramedic and for subjecting a dedicated employee to trial by social media. Katherine Grzejszczak, a member of CUPE 4900, was fired last week for a comment she made on Facebook in support of an […]

Politics

3 w. ago McCAUGHEY: Democrats prefer embracing crime to preventing it

Pro-crime Democrats are propelling New York toward anarchy and financial ruin.  The seven candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for Gotham’s mayor unanimously oppose increasing penalties for fare-beaters. That includes frontrunners Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani. Their refusal to crack down on fare beaters disqualifies them for the city’s top job.  These politicians do not regard […]

Events

3 w. ago Goodbye parking lots, hello housing? City politicians await builders' pitches

Developers will be able to pitch their ideas for housing on a city-owned parking lot in Old East Village this summer after politicians were urged to slow the process down and do more consultation. Initiated by Mayor Josh Morgan through a strong mayor order last year, city hall staff had begun looking at the potential […]

Politics

3 w. ago MANDEL: She helped accused killer escape, gets house arrest with gym time

No wonder so many have lost confidence in the criminal justice system. The love-struck woman who helped an accused killer escape after an innocent mom was killed outside a Leslieville safe-injection site was sentenced this week to house arrest — with a lot of time allowed for her to head out to GoodLife Fitness every […]

Events