Actor promoting his directorial debut California Schemin’ at the city’s film festival is reported to have been punched by another drinker
The actor James McAvoy was assaulted in a bar in Toronto, it has been reported.
According to People magazine, McAvoy was “sucker punched” by another visitor to Charlotte’s Room bar on Monday evening, two days after the premiere of his directorial debut, California Schemin’, at the Toronto film festival.
Continue reading...Pact will help international students finish their studies amid Harvard’s legal battle with Trump administration
Harvard University and the University of Toronto and have announced a plan that would see some Harvard students complete their studies in Canada if visa restrictions prevent them from entering the United States.
The pact between the two schools reflects the tumultuous and “exceptional” politics of the postsecondary world during the second term of Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Organizer points to president’s anti-diversity push as companies join Adidas and Clorox in withdrawing support
In another blow to one of the largest celebrations of LGTBQ+ people in North America, Pride Toronto has unexpectedly lost two more major corporate sponsors, just weeks before the festival in a setback the festival’s organizer says is direct result of Donald Trump’s campaign to eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the US.
Google and Home Depot both announced their plans to abandon the festival in the form of one-line emails, said Kojo Modeste, the executive director of the Canadian event.
Continue reading...UBC and others report spike in interest from US citizens as Trump withholds funds and revokes foreign student visas
More students living in the United States are applying to Canadian universities or expressing interest in studying north of the border as Donald Trump cuts federal funding to universities and revokes foreign student visas.
Officials at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Vancouver campus said the school reported a 27% jump in graduate applications as of 1 March from US citizens for programs starting in the 2025 academic year, compared with all of 2024.
Continue reading...Police say suspects are male, with one in a black balaclava seen fleeing the scene at the Piper Arms in a silver car
Three suspects are at large after a mass shooting at the opening night of a pub in Toronto that left a dozen people injured, Canadian police say.
The shooting at the Piper Arms pub near Scarborough town centre in eastern Toronto happened at 22:39pm on Friday local time (03:39 GMT).
Continue reading...Canadian event loses three sponsors who also do business in the US to avoid being seen as supporting LGBTQ+ rights
Pride Toronto, one of the largest celebrations of LGTBQ+ people in North America, is reeling from the loss of three major sponsors who have pulled funding after Donald Trump’s purge of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes in the US.
Kojo Modeste, the executive director of the Canadian event said that the sponsors who also do business in the US are seeking to avoidbeing seen as supporting LGBTQ+ rights.
Continue reading...Accident at Pearson, Canada’s busiest airport, sent 21 to hospital including three in critical condition on Monday
Footage has emerged of the fiery plane crash at Toronto’s Pearson airport on Monday, showing the Delta Air Lines jet skidding along the runway and then flipping over, as a wing rips off and the tail is engulfed in flames. The crash, which occurred at Canada’s busiest airport, sent 21 people to the hospital, including three in critical condition.
Soon after the crash, mobile phone clips captured the harrowing moments when passengers escaped through the plane’s upside-down doors and into the bitter cold. Blasts of fire retardant hung in the air and some of the passengers stood dazed in the snow. Others unleashed a string of expletives as they processed the unfolding chaos.
Continue reading...Judge says Nygard, 83, ‘used his wealth and power’ to commit four convicted assaults in Toronto
The former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of four counts of sexual assault in attacks on women in his Toronto office building that in some cases date back for decades.
The 11-year sentence is reduced to take into account time he has already spent behind bars. Nygard has about 6.7 years left to serve and will be eligible for full parole after one-third of that.
Continue reading...Ratio of refused visitor visas to approved ones was higher in recent months than any point since height of the pandemic
Canada is taking steps, both official and unofficial, to curb the number of people coming to the country, highlighting the way in which immigration has become a political flashpoint ahead of a federal election.
According to figures obtained by Reuters, the ratio of refused visitor visa applications to approved ones was higher in recent months than at any point since the height of the pandemic. Immigration officials rejected more applications than they approved in January, February, May and June 2024.
Continue reading...Rapper films muddy water pouring through 50,000 sq ft home, quipping ‘this better be espresso martini’
The Toronto mansion of rap superstar Drake has been seriously flooded following record-breaking storms in the city.
He shared footage on Instagram of ankle-deep muddy water rushing into an area of his home, with the caption “this better be espresso martini”.
Continue reading...Demand far outstripped supply for six lotteries amid rising rents in city with scarcity of affordable options
Toronto inhabitants fed up with rising rents are flooding city-run lotteries for affordable housing in new developments, but the chance of being selected for a subsidized unit is often less than 1%.
One new development in the city’s West End recently offered a random public draw to allocate 135 units with rents pegged to income ceilings that would cost hundreds of dollars less than market rates. Nearly 12,500 people entered the draw for the homes aimed at middle-income earners in the Galleria on the Park development.
Continue reading...Destroyed artefacts in St Anne’s Anglican church include unique paintings by Group of Seven art collective
An early morning fire at a Toronto church has destroyed both a historic site and rare paintings by an acclaimed group of Canadian artists, leaving the city reeling from a “heartbreaking” loss.
Fire crews responded on Sunday to a blaze engulfing St Anne’s Anglican church, a national historic site in the city’s Little Portugal neighbourhood.
Continue reading...Sol Mamakwa gave first-ever Indigenous-language speech to Ontario provincial legislature, following rule change
A First Nations lawmaker in Ontario has addressed the province’s legislature in Anishininiimowin, in a “historic” milestone that repudiates a centuries-long colonial “war” on Indigenous languages.
Sol Mamakwa, a New Democratic party member from the community of Kingfisher Lake First Nation, rose on Tuesday to give the province’s first-ever Indigenous language speech in Queen’s Park, telling colleagues the moment left him feeling “thankful and proud”.
Continue reading...Incident comes the day after a shooting outside the rapper’s home in which a security guard was seriously injured
A man has been arrested after trying to gain access to Drake’s Toronto mansion, the day after a security guard at the property was seriously injured in a shooting.
“Officers were called after a person attempted to gain access to the property,” Toronto police said in a statement. “The person was apprehended under the Mental Health Act, and they were taken to receive medical attention.”
Continue reading...Organizers focus on second-most popular shopping day in cities including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters waved the pan-Arab colors flag and wore the symbolic Palestinian keffiyeh in a series of coordinated “No Xmas as Usual in a Genocide” rallies and marches across the US on Saturday.
Organizers with Shut It Down for Palestine said the organization had focused its protests on the second-most popular shopping day of the year – the day before Christmas Eve – as part of ongoing civic and commercial disruptions. Organizers said they planned to “organize actions to boycott, disrupt and rally at commercial centers”.
Continue reading...Police say Kenneth Law, 58, sent at least 1,200 packages containing lethal substances to addresses in more than 40 countries
A Canadian man who allegedly helped more than a dozen young people across the province of Ontario kill themselves by mailing them poison has been charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder, police said on Tuesday.
Kenneth Law, 58, had previously been charged with 14 counts of counseling or aiding suicide.
In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...Airline and armoured car company locked in bitter lawsuit over who is to blame for one of Canada’s largest ever heists
A brazen gold heist at Toronto’s main airport, in which thieves seized nearly C$24m ($17m) worth of gold bars and cash, is still unsolved after more than half a year.
But the airline and armoured car company that handled the cargo are now locked in a bitter lawsuit over the theft, with each saying the other is to blame for one of Canada’s largest ever heists.
Continue reading...Progressive political leader vowed to raise low property taxes and support people facing unaffordable housing
A woman who arrived in Canada as a 13-year-old immigrant has been elected as the first Chinese-Canadian mayor of Toronto, vowing to pursue a more progressive approach in Canada’s largest city after ending more than a decade of conservative rule.
Olivia Chow, 66, emerged victorious from a record field of 102 candidates after promising to raise the city’s low property taxes and do more to support tenants facing a housing affordability crisis.
Continue reading...Former police chief, comedian and rescue dog Molly among those vying to replace John Tory, who resigned in February over an affair
More than 100 candidates, including a former police chief, a comedian and a dog, are all vying for the chance to be mayor of Canada’s largest city.
One hundred and two prospective mayors formally registered before Friday’s deadline as candidates in the mayoral byelection at the end of June.
Continue reading...Activists hopeful as Canada’s largest school district takes first step towards banning caste discrimination
When Vijay Puli arrived in Toronto with his wife and baby daughter, he thought they had finally left behind the discrimination, violence and social rejection they had faced in India.
Puli identifies as a Dalit, a member of a group who in India are considered to be at the very bottom rung, often deemed “untouchable”.
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