Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2026 i Toronto Life

Doug Ford has ordered government employees back to the office five days a week, starting January 5. As leader of more than 16,500 workers—IT experts, policy analysts, even veterinarians—how do you feel? Incredulous. My members have worked three days a week in the office since April of 2022. Five days feels like a return to the Stone Age. When did you realize your pyjama-bottom days were ending? Honestly, the premier’s announcement was a complete shock. My members have a contractual right to request flexible work, and more than 6,000 of them have recently asked for as much. But the Ontario public sector employer never consulted us. Meaning you think this is the province barrelling its agenda forward, procedural requirements be damned? Yes. Had a proper consultation occurred, we could have…

How the country’s oldest corporation came to its bitter end IN 1670, when King Charles II incorporated the Hudson’s Bay Company (originally and convolutedly known as the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay), he founded a mercantile empire that would stretch across more than one-third of what is now Canada. Over the next three centuries, the Bay morphed from a trading empire into a retail one, with a constellation of 101 stores across the country at its height and a signature striped blanket as iconic as maple syrup and hockey. Over the past year, the future of the Bay and whatever it means to Canada—if anything—has been decided minute by minute. After filing for creditor protection in March, the company has steadily liquidated its assets…

RENATA FAST, a defensive hockey player for the Toronto Sceptres and Team Canada, never thought she’d leave her hometown of Burlington—until she moved into a two-bedroom condo near King and Shaw with her husband, Paul Geiger, in 2021. “I fell in love with the friendliness of the neighbourhood,” she says. “You don’t feel overwhelmed by the city here.” With the PWHL season in full swing and the Winter Olympics imminent, Fast has a breakneck schedule, training in Etobicoke, playing home games at the Coca-Cola Coliseum and travelling for away games. But, when she’s not on the ice, she often hangs out in Liberty Village. Here, she takes us on a tour of her favourite haunts. For post-practice fuel BRODFLOUR “I didn’t really know about Brodflour for the first six months…

“Are you kidding me?” That was the response we got when we asked family and friends to divulge their foodie secrets for this month’s sprawling cover story, “The Incredible Edible Bucket List” (page 23). Evidently, giving up one’s local mom-and-pop was akin to ratting out a loved one. Yet we persisted. And we relied heavily on Rebecca Fleming, our encyclopedic food and drink editor, and Suresh Doss, the GTA-traipsing food spelunker and host of the CBC’s new show Locals Welcome. Over six decades in business—Toronto Life celebrates its 60th birthday this year—we’ve gotten to know the city’s food scene extremely well. And we love it when restaurants featured in our annual Best New Restaurants issue find themselves booked solid once the list drops. But those are usually sit-down spots with…

CREATED BY The robots are here at UHN, and more are on the way. UHN’s Sprott Department of Surgery is home to Canada’s largest robotic surgery program, and once the new surgical tower is built at Toronto Western Hospital, UHN will also have the country’s largest concentration of surgical robots under one roof. These machines aren’t replacing surgeons—they’re amplifying them by extending expert capabilities to benefit patients in new ways that go beyond the most sophisticated surgical teams. As home to some of the only robots of their kind in Canada, UHN’s advanced technology also enables surgeons to train the next generation in pioneering techniques reshaping health care. “Using robotics allows surgeons to push the boundaries of surgery even further, decreasing the severity of surgery, making procedures less invasive and…

“Kevin O’Leary, thespian” is the career pivot nobody saw coming. Did earning millions in your sleep start to get boring? [1] I’ve been an investor for many years, and I’ve been able to observe all kinds of different managers: CEOs, CFOs, CIOs. Over time, I’ve started to see a common attribute in the most successful ones: they spend about 20 to 30 per cent of their day outside of their comfort zone—doing something they don’t know how to do, that they’ve never done before. They run the risk of failing, but they force themselves to do it anyway, whether it’s skateboarding, painting or playing the cello. [2] It doesn’t matter what, just that they are in unfamiliar territory. I was recently talking with an extremely successful watchmaker named David Candaux.…

A book for burnt out careerists Life After Ambition: A “Good Enough” Memoir by Amil Niazi Out January 6 BOOKS Amil Niazi’s bracingly honest essays on work and motherhood (“The Mindfuck of Midlife” comes to mind) have made her a cult favourite in certain corners of the web. The Toronto writer and New York Magazine columnist is now a mother of three, and her new memoir builds on her confessional oeuvre. Life After Ambition chronicles her experience of grinding toward a higher salary only to run head first into the pandemic, re-evaluate her life and say farewell to ambition altogether. With her trademark humour and wit, Niazi writes about her journey out of striving and into life itself. We caught up with her to talk about letting go of the…

YOUR $79 ANNUAL membership gives you VIP perks like front-of-the-line entry to cultural events, private dining experiences, and invitations to some of the most compelling thought leadership panels and fireside chats with the city’s most interesting people. Don’t just read about the best of the city—experience it! A seafood celebration with Cascabel BBQ TL Insiders kicked off the night at Reposado Bar and Lounge with a welcome cocktail before enjoying a seafood feast from Cascabel Mexican BBQ. On the menu were grilled oysters, shrimp and lobster empanadas, zarandeado-style shrimp tostadas and a fire-roasted whole branzino served family-style. The evening ended on a sweet note with horchata panna cotta while guests soaked up the festive, interactive vibes of a one-night-only Mexican Independence Day celebration. Toronto Life Insider neighbourhood tours, sponsored by…

“Going back to the office is a return to the Stone Age”—DAVE BULMER, P. 14 TORONTO’S MUSEUMS ARE ON A TEAR. Over the past few years, private donors have injected piles of cash into the city’s arts institutions. Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss gave $35 million to the AGO’s new contemporary wing. The Hennick Family Foundation contributed $50 million to blow open the ROM’s cavernous crystal atrium. And the Radlett Foundation donated $9 million to the Gardiner Museum’s new lobby and Indigenous gallery (shown here). All those zeroes mean that the buildings housing our precious treasures can be every bit as breathtaking as their contents.…

The Buyers: Anna Cianni, 29, who works in film, and Ethan Solomon, 27, an account executive at a legal software company. The Story: After nearly six years as a couple, Anna and Ethan were ready to move in together. They’d been saving money by living with their respective families while watching the market closely. By November of 2024, Toronto’s glut of condos had created a buyer’s market, so they decided it was time. On their wish list were two bedrooms, a south-facing view, and above all, a kitchen built for cooking and hosting—a rarity in the city’s condos. They set a budget of $750,000 and began their search. 1 Yonge Street near Finch Listed at $699,000 Unsold IN THEIR first few months of hunting, Anna and Ethan saw roughly 20…

Remember those desk calendars that encouraged you to learn a new word every day? Consider this a more fun, more delicious version. Instead of helping you increase your vocabulary, we’re taking your palate on a year-long journey—from Oakville to Whitby and as far north as Aurora—one musttry dish at a time. Buckle up. WEST 1 Pho Ngoc Yen’s short rib pho, a silky and slightly sweet beef bone broth loaded with braised and deeply spiced AAA Canadian short rib offset by a pile of fresh cilantro, basil and green onion. $30. 1090 Kamato Rd., unit 18–19, Mississauga, ngocyenrestaurant.com 2 Jambalaya poutine from RD’s BBQ. $20. 71 Rosedale Ave. W., unit 5A, Brampton, rdsbbq.com 3 Vanilla soft serve with a rainbow flavour burst from Tom’s Dairy Freeze. From $5.20. 630 The…

“I’d just sit at my desk and sob after eight hours of writing”—AMIL NIAZI, P. 66 Reformd Neighbourhood: Entertainment District Who Goes Here: The mat-Pilates-is-for peasants crowd Best Perk: Flattering selfie lighting Bougie Factor: 4/5 What It Costs: $34 per visit or $360 a month for unlimited classes The punishing Pilates-adjacent workout known as Lagree has a cult following. It’s long been rumoured to be the secret behind toned, firm celebrity bodies—at least pre-Ozempic. The draw is as much status as sweat: you’re not just working out; you’re joining a sect, and each muscle quake is a revelation. Reformd, Sweat and Tonic’s new Lagree studio, leans into that devotion. It’s housed in a super-luxe 6,000-square-foot space with a private lobby, heated floors in the change rooms and fancy toiletries. In…

What happens when you get political bigwigs, pro athletes, art stars, literary icons and tech titans in a room together? On November 14, Toronto Life celebrated the launch of its 2025 Most Influential issue with all of the above, plus a killer DJ, fine wine, and steak tartare bites catered by Oliver and Bonacini. Editor-in-chief Malcolm Johnston and publisher Jason Maghanoy played host to more than 200 guests in a room filled with some of the city’s most high-wattage luminaries. Here’s what went down. WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO…