3 h. ago What the Toronto Eaton Centre looked like when it was under construction

The CF Toronto Eaton Centre might be the place where you now shop for holiday gifts, back-to-school sales, and vacation outfits, but what many people don't know is the complex history behind its construction. Before it became Canada's busiest mall, the Eaton Centre was actually the focus of contentious public debates, major architectural innovation and a dramatic transformation of downtown Toronto's streetscape in the 1970s. The shopping centre occupies land once owned almost entirely by the Eaton's department chain, which had revolutionized the Canadian retail industry after its founding by Timothy Eaton in the 19th century. View of the Eaton Centre construction in 1975. Photo: City of Toronto Archives.By the mid-20th century, Eaton's owned most of the land bounded by Yonge, Queen, Bay and Dundas streets, excluding Old City Hall and the Church of the Holy Trinity. However, as operations continued to move to suburban locations in the 1960s, Ea...

Other

3 h. ago Canada's oldest annual fair is in Ontario but it's not the CNE

Friday marks the kickoff of this year's Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), thought of as the biggest, best and most legendary festival in all of Canada.While the annual 18-day event replete with classic midway rides, nostalgic carnival games and more ostentatious snacks than you could ever imagine does boast a long, rich history at a whopping 146 years old, it is not actually the oldest of its kind in the country.That title belongs to a far lesser-known fair well outside Toronto in historic Williamstown, Ontario.Just under four hours' drive from the big city, this quaint little town of less than 500 people is the sort of place one might simply pass by on the way to somewhere else.But, it is home to a handful of sites well worthy of visiting, especially for history buffs — including the eponymous grounds where the Williamstown Fair takes place each August.Founded all the way back in 1808 and brought to its current location i...

Other

3 h. ago U.S. tourist gives Toronto rave review and here's what they loved

When you're caught up in the grind of everyday life, it's easy to forget how great Toronto really is, but sometimes, all it takes is a fresh perspective to fall back in love with the place we call home. Last year, over 26.5 million visitors made their way to Toronto, contributing a massive $8.8 billion in spending and leading to a total economic impact of $13 billion. However, beyond those impressive numbers, there are always personal stories — such as one recently shared to Reddit that reminds us locals why the city continues to draw so many people in. The post on the Toronto subreddit from an American visitor has gone viral, racking up over 1,500 upvotes and more than 200 comments. It comes from a Louisville, Kentucky resident who recently visited the city with their family. "I know there are several other threads in this Toronto subreddit from Americans who visit there and are impressed. So I hope you can a...

Society

3 h. ago Is Fraser Downs closure the death knell for Horse Racing in B.C.?

After the City of Surrey killed its lease agreement with Great Canadian Entertainment, Horse Racing looks to be dead in Cloverdale. Is Hastings Park next?

Events

8 h. ago Letters to the Sun: No regrets about leaving the city for the suburbs 

Letters to the Sun: No regrets about leaving the city for the suburbs 

Other

8 h. ago Elephant in the room: still one massive unknown about Connor McDavid's new contract

Until Connor McDavid signs a new contract with the Edmonton Oilers, nothing is certain. But according to numerous credible sources, hockey insiders like Bob Stauffer, Elliotte Friedman and Frank Seravalli, we can expect McDavid to sign sometime before Edmonton’s training camp starts in September, most likely on a deal ranging from three-to-five years. But there’s […]

Other

9 h. ago Temporary memorial for Lapu Lapu Festival victims being moved next week

Items at the roadside memorial will be moved by city staff to the new location. The city said anyone who wishes to retrieve items from the memorial can do so before Wednesday.

Events

10 h. ago Au revoir, Carrie: retour sur la grande finale de la série «And Just Like That...»

Les inconditionnels de «And Just Like That...» et de «Sex and the City» ont dû dire au revoir au personnage de Carrie Bradshaw jeudi soir.

Sport

11 h. ago University of Toronto ranked among top 25 schools in the world

A prestigious academic ranking has named three universities in Canada among the top 100 in the world.ShanghaiRanking Consultancy released its 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) on Friday. This year, more than 2,500 institutions were considered for the annual list, including 28 universities in Canada.The ARWU, which began in 2003, examines several factors when ranking schools, including the number of Nobel Prizes, Fields medalists, highly cited researchers, and papers published in Nature or Science produced by the school.Additionally, it also looks at universities with a significant amount of papers indexed in the Science Citation Index-Expanded, Social Science Citation Index and the Web of Science.Each of those criteria is weighted, and schools are given a score out of 100. The best 1,000 schools of the 2,500 schools considered are published.The universities in Canada that made it on to the top 100 list are the University of To...

Society

11 h. ago North American Indigenous Games withdraws Calgary's hosting rights for the 2027 Games

The hosting society accused Tourism Calgary of withholding committed operational funding from the City of Calgary.

Economics

11 h. ago North American Indigenous Games withdraws Calgary's hosting rights for 2027

The hosting society accused Tourism Calgary of withholding committed operational funding from the City of Calgary.

Economics

12 h. ago Advance vote for Spruce Woods byelection begins in Brandon Saturday

Election Day is Aug. 26, but the elections office opens in Brandon at 8 a.m. Saturday for advance voting.

Politics

12 h. ago Opinion: Alberta's COVID vaccine limits go against ethical health

“Making COVID-19 vaccines accessible to those Albertans at highest risk of severe outcomes will reduce hospitalizations and deaths in those populations and help curb the spread of COVID-19,” Alberta’s Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services, Aug 12. 2025. Dissect these words carefully — because if your scalpel is too blunt — you will miss […]

Science

13 h. ago Spirit Halloween already opening stores in Ontario in the middle of summer

It might only be mid-August, but it seems Halloween fanatics in Ontario are already gearing up for the spooky season. Although the autumn holiday is still 77 days away, American retailer Spirit Halloween has prematurely begun opening stores across the province, which, depending on where you fall on the Halloween-loving spectrum, could be considered either exciting or early to a fault. As expected, the early rollout already sparked elation (and an equal amount of confusion), with costume planning apparently well underway for a large portion of shoppers.     View this post on Instagram           A post shared by Spirit Halloween (@spirithalloween)As of Aug. 15, locations now open include Spirit Halloween on King Street and in North York, Erin Mills, Bramalea City, Stoney Creek, Upper James, and Niagara Falls.More stores are expected to open later this month in areas like St Clair A...

Other

13 h. ago Grocery giant reveals it's opening a new store in Toronto amid closure of two others

Whole Foods, the health-focused supermarket chain with somewhat of a cult following, has just confirmed the closure of two of its Toronto stores — but, alongside the less-positive news, the company has shared that it will be opening a new outpost in the city to make up for it.Staff at the Leaside and Yonge-Sheppard locations of the American purveyor of organic, good-for-you groceries and pre-made meals found out early on Friday morning that their workplaces were set to close later this month; on August 22, to be exact, a Whole Foods spokesperson confirmed to blogTO after our initial reporting on what were, earlier this morning, just rumours."Like any retail business, we regularly evaluate each of our stores and make decisions to position the company for long-term success," a company representative told us over email around 11 a.m."We are committed to supporting all impacted team members and making any transition as seamless as possible, and l...

Other

13 h. ago Toronto Blue Jays star Daulton Varsho talks about his future with the team and the city

Toronto Blue Jays Daulton Varsho opened up this week about his potential long-term future in the city.Varsho, who joined the team in a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks after the 2022 season, spoke on an episode of the 6ix Inning Stretch podcast released Wednesday with former Blue Jays player Whit Merrifield and Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn.One of the topics broached was Varsho's future in Toronto. He is currently on a one-year deal, with one more year of arbitration eligibility after this one and the opportunity to hit free agency for the first time in his career in 2027."There are a lot of different things that go into it," Varsho told the hosts. "You want to think about your family and what's best for them, and where I want to be, and obviously Toronto is a great place to play. They treat the families really well."Varsho has been swinging for the fences this season, as 12 of his 29 hits have been homers, in just 33 ga...

Other

13 h. ago Ontario allows more density, building height near Toronto transit

TORONTO — Ontario’s housing minister says the province has approved a plan for Toronto to allow higher and denser buildings near transit stations. Rob Flack says the changes to Toronto’s official plan will allow for 1.5 million more homes throughout the city over the next 25 years. He says that having more people living near […]

Other

13 h. ago City of Vancouver to move temporary memorial for Lapu Lapu victims to cemetery

Mourners have placed flowers, signs and other materials near 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street since the April 26 incident that killed 11 people.

Events

14 h. ago Brampton mayor Patrick Brown says public servants must return to office full

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown says he plans to follow the province’s lead and require city employees to return to in-office work full time next year. The provincial government announced Thursday that public servants will be required to be in the office four days a week beginning Oct. 20, and ramp up to five days a […]

Other

14 h. ago Man who allegedly hurled a Subway sandwich at D.C. cop charged with assault

'F--k you! You f---ing fascists! Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!' Sean Charles Dunn allegedly yelled in officers' faces.

Events