Two nations paddle event returns
Wikwemikong and Six Nations tourism will reunite for the two nations cultural experience on Manitoulin Island starting Thursday.
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CTV News
15 minutes ago
- CTV News
This Toronto man films his walks around the city for YouTube. He makes ‘well over six figures'
Jonathan Hicks better known as "Johnny Strides" is pictured alongside the TORONTO sign by Nathan Phillips Square (Left: Youtube/JohnnyStrides. Right: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler) Jonathan Hicks spends his days walking Toronto streets with a camera. In just six years, he says the work has made him 'well over six figures,' turning a side hustle into a full-time job. The 44-year-old, better known online as Johnny Strides, has built a YouTube channel with over 136,000 subscribers and more than 46 million views, filming daily walking tours throughout the city. His success comes as Toronto's labour market grows more precarious, with some residents turning to unconventional work to supplement traditional jobs. The challenge is even sharper for young people as Ontario's unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 recently reached 15.8 per cent in June — roughly double the province's overall rate. 'I was working in insurance... doing a global program underwriting (for) big multinational companies,' Hicks said. 'Just before the pandemic hit, I got recruited by another company to do the same job, basically more money, more vacation — and my YouTube channel was just getting monetized.' He says it wasn't long before that new job quickly turned sour. 'I switched jobs and the new job was basically horrible. I went from a great company working there for five years, to an absolute dumpster fire,' he said. 'At that same time the pandemic hit, my views were going up and I remember one month I made $1,500 just doing it part time.' Looking back, he says 'it was just the perfect storm' to pursue this career full time. An unconventional career switch Hicks launched Johnny Strides in 2018 after buying a GoPro. He says early timelapse videos showing the city gave way to narrated walking tours, often running 30 to 45 minutes. 'I focus mainly on walking, cycling, transit videos and livestreams in the city,' Hicks wrote to his YouTube page. 'There's no shortage of content as I record in all weather conditions... morning, day and night.' He says his income from YouTube now far exceeds what he made in insurance but still admits 'Toronto is stupidly expensive.' 'I do have a rent control apartment, so I consider myself kind of lucky that I'm paying $1,100 a month,' he said. 'In terms of the risk management going full time on YouTube, it wasn't that difficult of a decision... because it's a pretty modest rent.' In Toronto, the average household income sits at $129,000, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data. While some creators may not earn as much as much as Hicks, experts say many still put in countless hours to support their entrepreneurial gig. A Statistics Canada survey found that most content creators reported being 'de facto entrepreneurs.' While Hicks says he sometimes works 16-hour days, the survey reveals that on average, respondents spend 15.5 hours per week. Walking through snowstorms and burnout The job doesn't just come with ups but also its fair share of challenges. Hicks recalls filming in a blizzard from Yonge and Eglinton to Dufferin, when his waterproof boots failed. 'My feet were just frozen and soaking… it was way below zero,' he said. 'It looks like a disaster zone. Yet I had thousands of viewers tuned in at once. So there was something exhilarating about it at the same time.' It's those exhilarating moments that Jenna Jacobson, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University says form 'parasocial relationships' with viewers. 'Those videos that are more real, raw and relatable are the ones that often will garner more attention... because it connects to people' she said. She explains that the flipside of that relationship is oftentimes burnout. 'Burnout is very real amongst content creators because there is this constant pressure to be on,' she said. 'Content creators are constantly having to labor at figuring out the best practices to improve their audience engagement. Hicks too acknowledges that it can be difficult to create fresh content. 'I don't want to repackage the same thing over and over again,' he said. 'The good thing is we have four seasons... (and) there's always changes being made.' In his most popular video, he garnered over 2.3 million views featuring a walk with the creator of Tiny Tiny homes Toronto, Ryan Donais. In that instance, both Hicks and Donais walked from the St Lawrence Market over to Yonge and Front Street to preview an early version of the tiny home prototype. 'Enough to keep going' The rise of creators like Hicks mirrors a larger shift in how Torontonians are earning a living. 'The job market is particularly tough right now… unemployment has been increasing in Canada, broadly,' said Obeid Ur Rehman, assistant professor of economics at Toronto Metropolitan University. 'This side hustle sort of concept is very prominent. Having something that's unconventional, that you have some flexibility over is increasing.' Rehman notes that while the work can be rewarding, it comes with risks. 'The platforms and the algorithm — trends change suddenly. As a result, income can decline very suddenly,' he said. Hicks says he's aware of the gamble, but for now, he's sticking with YouTube. 'Not having a boss and working for yourself is pretty awesome,' he said. 'I love the community. That in itself is rewarding enough to keep going.'
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
‘Well over six figures': How this Toronto man built a career touring the GTA on camera
Jonathan Hicks better known as "Johnny Strides" is pictured alongside the TORONTO sign by Nathan Phillips Square (Left: Youtube/JohnnyStrides. Right: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler) Jonathan Hicks spends his days walking Toronto streets with a camera. In just six years, he says the work has made him 'well over six figures,' turning a side hustle into a full-time job. The 44-year-old, better known online as Johnny Strides, has built a YouTube channel with over 136,000 subscribers and more than 46 million views, filming daily walking tours throughout the city. His success comes as Toronto's labour market grows more precarious, with some residents turning to unconventional work to supplement traditional jobs. The challenge is even sharper for young people as Ontario's unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 recently reached 15.8 per cent in June — roughly double the province's overall rate. 'I was working in insurance... doing a global program underwriting (for) big multinational companies,' Hicks said. 'Just before the pandemic hit, I got recruited by another company to do the same job, basically more money, more vacation — and my YouTube channel was just getting monetized.' He says it wasn't long before that new job quickly turned sour. 'I switched jobs and the new job was basically horrible. I went from a great company working there for five years, to an absolute dumpster fire,' he said. 'At that same time the pandemic hit, my views were going up and I remember one month I made $1,500 just doing it part time.' Looking back, he says 'it was just the perfect storm' to pursue this career full time. An unconventional career switch Hicks launched Johnny Strides in 2018 after buying a GoPro. He says early timelapse videos showing the city gave way to narrated walking tours, often running 30 to 45 minutes. 'I focus mainly on walking, cycling, transit videos and livestreams in the city,' Hicks wrote to his YouTube page. 'There's no shortage of content as I record in all weather conditions... morning, day and night.' He says his income from YouTube now far exceeds what he made in insurance but still admits 'Toronto is stupidly expensive.' 'I do have a rent control apartment, so I consider myself kind of lucky that I'm paying $1,100 a month,' he said. 'In terms of the risk management going full time on YouTube, it wasn't that difficult of a decision... because it's a pretty modest rent.' In Toronto, the average household income sits at $129,000, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data. While some creators may not earn as much as much as Hicks, experts say many still put in countless hours to support their entrepreneurial gig. A Statistics Canada survey found that most content creators reported being 'de facto entrepreneurs.' While Hicks says he sometimes works 16-hour days, the survey reveals that on average, respondents spend 15.5 hours per week. Walking through snowstorms and burnout The job doesn't just come with ups but also its fair share of challenges. Hicks recalls filming in a blizzard from Yonge and Eglinton to Dufferin, when his waterproof boots failed. 'My feet were just frozen and soaking… it was way below zero,' he said. 'It looks like a disaster zone. Yet I had thousands of viewers tuned in at once. So there was something exhilarating about it at the same time.' It's those exhilarating moments that Jenna Jacobson, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University says form 'parasocial relationships' with viewers. 'Those videos that are more real, raw and relatable are the ones that often will garner more attention... because it connects to people' she said. She explains that the flipside of that relationship is oftentimes burnout. 'Burnout is very real amongst content creators because there is this constant pressure to be on,' she said. 'Content creators are constantly having to labor at figuring out the best practices to improve their audience engagement. Hicks too acknowledges that it can be difficult to create fresh content. 'I don't want to repackage the same thing over and over again,' he said. 'The good thing is we have four seasons... (and) there's always changes being made.' In his most popular video, he garnered over 2.3 million views featuring a walk with the creator of Tiny Tiny homes Toronto, Ryan Donais. In that instance, both Hicks and Donais walked from the St Lawrence Market over to Yonge and Front Street to preview an early version of the tiny home prototype. 'Enough to keep going' The rise of creators like Hicks mirrors a larger shift in how Torontonians are earning a living. 'The job market is particularly tough right now… unemployment has been increasing in Canada, broadly,' said Obeid Ur Rehman, assistant professor of economics at Toronto Metropolitan University. 'This side hustle sort of concept is very prominent. Having something that's unconventional, that you have some flexibility over is increasing.' Rehman notes that while the work can be rewarding, it comes with risks. 'The platforms and the algorithm — trends change suddenly. As a result, income can decline very suddenly,' he said. Hicks says he's aware of the gamble, but for now, he's sticking with YouTube. 'Not having a boss and working for yourself is pretty awesome,' he said. 'I love the community. That in itself is rewarding enough to keep going.'
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
New collection of poet John Newlove's letters reveals the man behind the words
Guelph author publishes collection of letters from John Newlove 4 days ago Duration 1:48 "I'd like to live a slower life. The weather gets in my words and I want them dry." Those are the opening lines of The Weather, a poem by John Newlove. He was known as the Poet of the Prairies and he was inspired by the province where he was born. Saskatchewan's Newlove died in 2003, but a new collection of his letters, edited by Guelph author Jeff Weingarten, has been released to shine a light on who he was. Weingarten spoke with CBC K-W's Craig Norris, host of The Morning Edition, about this latest collection of Newlove work called The Weather and The Words. The following interview has been edited for clarity. Audio of the interview can be found at the bottom of this article. Craig Norris: Can you share what is it about John Newlove that has inspired you? Jeff Weingarten: In 1968, Maclean's magazine had published eight poems by John, and they prefaced that publication saying we never published poems and we're only publishing these because they're plain language. Anyone can read them, anyone can love them. And that to me sums up what's great about John's work. It's readable for the scholar, it's readable for the layperson. Anyone can pick up the poems and enjoy them. And the more time you spend with them, the more you'll find to love. There's a bit of an iceberg quality there, where you enjoy that first encounter, but the deeper you go, there's so much more. CN: When did you discover John Newlove? JW: The very first time was as assigned reading in my undergraduate [class] at the University of Toronto. But then a few years went by and as part of my masters I was expected to read very broadly and I came across him again at that point as a major voice of the 60s and 70s. It was a coincidence that while I was reading them, I thought, 'wow, this is really great poetry. I wonder what else he's done.' It turned out his selected poems had just been published that year along with a documentary. So I went through all that and took it as a sign to spend a bit more time with him. CN: Where did you find the letters that are in this book? JW: The majority of them came from the University of Manitoba and Winnipeg. I was there in 2011 for about two weeks, scanning, photographing everything I could get with the idea that one day I'd probably write a book of letters. So I gathered a lot of them from there, but I also had some time at the University of Toronto where they had about 25 per cent of all of his letters. The rest were from archives all over the country. I was emailing archives where I thought John might have written another poem and looked into their archives to see if John had letters there or I'd have friends and colleagues and writers say 'Oh, hey, like I have a couple letters from John if you want to take a look.' So they're from all over. CN: Who was he corresponding with in these letters? JW: A lot of different people, politicians and poets. He wrote letters to famous, well-known writers like Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, George Bowering, Al Purdy, a lot of these writers. They all ran in kind of the same circles and John was actually very good friends with quite a few of them. Atwood and John in particular were quite close for awhile. And so a lot of the letters are between poets and other writers, but publishers as well. He also worked as an editor at McLennan Stewart in Toronto. So he would be writing to poets or novelists as an editor, not as a friend or equal. And then he also has a lot of letters to family, also letters from fan mail students who would write him and ask, 'Where do the poems come from?' CN: How did you go about choosing which letters to include in the book? JW: That was really tough. There were about 3,000 letters I had to work through and I ended up with around 300. My main thing was I wanted the letters to be, I would describe it as kind of like a trinket store. You know, where you walk in and there's a bit of everything and you can pick whatever trinkets off the shelf that appeal to you as a reader. So some of the letters were about was John? What was he doing? How did he write? Some of them were about philosophy, like how did John and his contemporaries think about poems and writing? Others were about literary culture, like what was happening in Canada and Canadian history at that time. But then a lot of them are also about other things like John's struggle with mental illness and his mental health issues. John struggled with addiction and he was severely addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. I really wanted to show lots of different sides of the era and the person. I didn't want this to be just John and who was John as a poet, but who was John as a person? Who was the era? What was the era about? And I feel like the book shows a lot of different sides of people and the time. CN: Do you think that his alcohol addiction impacted his art at all? JW: Not necessarily his writing so much. He was very well known for having a totally tidy workspace and clean desk, clean little perimeter around his desk. No one could cross the perimeter. He lived there to write and no one bothered him. And at the same time throughout his career, as far as I'm aware, he would write sober. But when it came to other things, he worked drunk as an editor, he did talks drunk. He lived as a severe alcoholic and that got him into fights. He would really alienate a lot of people because he could be a pretty aggressive alcoholic when he was drunk, he could be very confrontational. There are letters in the book where he says, you know, I quit on Friday, but I got hired back on Monday after a big falling out with someone. So he had a lot of conflict with people and he alienated himself from a lot of people. CN: What do you think it is about letters that we find so interesting? JW: I say in the introduction to the book that it's like being a bit of a fly on the wall in the past. You get to see things that were never meant for public consumption, right? No one was ever meant to read these. There are poets who one day plan may say, 'Oh, I'm sure someone will read my letters.' They have that ego. But John especially did not have that ego. He writes openly. He doesn't think anyone will ever care about what he said. And so you find out, I think, things that John would never have said publicly about himself, about his family, about his writing. And I think you also get to really see kind of the person stripped bare. But I also think it's important to remember that, culturally, letters serve the function that nothing else could. There were no texts, there were no emails, there were no websites. Long distance calling was completely unaffordable. And many of these writers were so broke they didn't even have phones. A lot of the letters are letters of introduction, like, 'Hey, I read your poem from this issue of that magazine. I'm wondering if you wanna work on something with me.' There's fan mail or begging for money, there are even letters where he's writing to other poets saying, 'Hey, I'm broke, I can't afford groceries, could you send me a check?' So letters fulfilled a function that I think we really, really underestimate how important they were historically to form in community. So it's also like contemporary history.
