Latest news with #FortYork
CTV News
11-08-2025
- CTV News
Woman, 82, has died following hit-and-run in Toronto's Fort York area
A Toronto police cruiser is seen in this undated file image. An 82-year-old woman has died following a hit-and-run late last month in in downtown Toronto's Fort York area. The crash happened on July 27 near Brunel Court and Fort York Boulevard, which is north of Lake Shore Boulevard west and west of Spadina Avenue. Toronto police said they were called to that area just after 10 a.m. for reports of a fail-to-remain collision. Investigators say that an 82-year-old woman was walking across a driveway when she was hit by the driver of a van that fled the scene and was last seen heading towards Fort York Boulevard. The woman was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. She died of her injuries in hospital on Friday. This incident is now the city's second fatal private property collision of 2025. The investigation is ongoing by members of Traffic Services. Local residents, businesses, and drivers, who may have security or dash camera footage of the area or incident, are asked to contact Toronto police at 416-808-1900 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
National Post
08-08-2025
- Politics
- National Post
The redcoats are coming — but this time the Americans invited them
Article content While he's aware of the role soldiers from Fort York played in the War of 1812, Jonathan Cole, who heads the American Bar Association's house of delegates, downplayed any suggestion that inviting redcoats to Monday's session is meant as a commentary on Trump's trade war or his musings about annexing Canada. Article content He noted the ABA's Toronto session has been years in the planning, pre-dating the recent friction between two countries that share the world's longest international land border. Article content 'It's a good chance to work together despite political issues,' Cole said in an interview from Nashville, Tennessee. Article content Fort York's history is a reminder of how 'the two countries have worked together since and have been such great allies,' Cole said. Article content He's excited the honour guard from Fort York is participating. 'They'll present both the American flag and the Canadian flag, and we'll have the national anthems sung for both countries as well before we begin our proceedings.' Article content 'It was an unpleasant business for people in and around York at the time.' Article content Hickey argues the War of 1812 was 'essentially Canada's war of independence — and they won, so it is far better remembered in Canada than in the United States.' Article content Article content There are several ways to see the conflict, he said. Article content 'If you look at what happened on the battlefield and in the peace treaty (of Ghent) it looks like a draw because it was very hard to wage offensive warfare in the North American wilderness and when the United States was on the offensive early in the war they failed to make much headway in Canada,' Hickey said. Article content 'And when the British were in the driver's seat in the last year of the war, they didn't make much headway either.' Article content But overall 'it's a clear British and Canadian victory because the United States went to war to force the British to give up the orders in council, which restricted American trade with the continent of Europe, and also to end impressment — the removal of seamen from American merchant vessels,' Hickey said. 'And neither of those issues was mentioned in the peace treaty' signed in December of 1814. Article content Article content The only way to argue the U.S. benefitted from the conflict is, 'the British had a real problem after the war was over; nobody knew that was going to be the last Anglo-American war. And how were they going to defend Canada next time around from this growing expansionist colossus to the south?' Hickey said. 'They decided that their best tack was to accommodate the United States. And they pursued that policy in the course of the 19th Century, and ultimately it worked. There was a genuine Anglo-American accord by the 1890s. Then it turned into co-belligerency in World War One, and full-fledged alliance in World War Two that continues to this day. So, in the end, the United States got a little more respect for its sovereignty from the British.' Article content
CTV News
28-07-2025
- CTV News
Toronto police looking for suspect in Fort York hit-and-run, victim left with serious injuries
Police tape is shown in Toronto in this file image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy Toronto police are looking for a suspect who allegedly fled the scene of a hit and run in Fort York on Sunday, which left an elderly woman with life-threatening injuries. The alleged incident took place at around 10 a.m. in the Brunel Court and Fort York Boulevard area, police said. An 82-year-old woman was walking across a driveway in the area when she was hit by a white van. The vehicle did not remain on the scene and was last seen driving towards Fort York Boulevard. The woman was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Anyone in the neighbourhood with information, including those with security or dash cam footage, are asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
CBC
13-05-2025
- CBC
2 problem coyotes in downtown Toronto have been euthanized, city says
The City of Toronto says it's made the "difficult decision" to euthanize two problem coyotes in the Fort York, Liberty Village area, where a high number of coyote attacks over the past six months have left multiple pets dead and locals concerned for their safety. In a news release Tuesday, the city said two coyotes had been humanely euthanized over the past few days following comprehensive reviews with external experts. "Toronto Animal Services was able to confirm that one coyote in the area was responsible for multiple negative encounters, and his mate was present during some encounters," the release said. "This has been done as a last resort after all options were exhausted." A third coyote has left the downtown area, according to the release, leaving just one known coyote in the Fort York, Liberty Village area. The remaining coyote has not recently been seen, the city says, and has shown no signs of being habituated to the presence of humans. Since the fall, people in the Fort York and Liberty Village neighbourhoods have raised safety concerns over a rise in coyote attacks, many of them involving pet owners and their dogs. Complaints prompted the city to begin sending regular coyote patrols into the area and create a downtown coyote action plan. The city has also worked to improve lighting in the communities, repair fences, remove food sources and educate locals on how to deter coyotes and protect themselves against attacks. WATCH | Experts recommend ways city can respond to problem coyotes: Here's how experts say Toronto should tackle its coyote problem 2 months ago Duration 2:49 The city has announced plans to address the growing coyote problem in Liberty Village and Fort York, where several dogs have been attacked recently. Greg Ross reports. Despite this, attacks have persisted. Between November 2024 and April 2025, the city says it received 335 reports of coyotes in Ward 10, where Fort York and Liberty Village are located. Citywide, reported coyote attacks on dogs have gone up from 36 in 2019 to 91 in 2024. Since November, the city says two dogs in the Fort York and Liberty Village area have been killed by coyotes. The city continues to support co-habitation of wildlife and humans in the city, Tuesday's release said, but "if animal behaviour changes in a way that jeopardizes public safety, then the City must take action to protect residents." An independent, third-party report released in March found that relocation is not a viable option, as provincial legislation prevents coyotes from being moved more than one kilometre. That report found the prevalence of coyote encounters in the area stems from coyotes becoming conditioned to associate humans in the area as sources of food because of direct or indirect feeding. The report also found that local condo construction, and the redevelopment of nearby Ontario Place, have pushed the coyote population further into surrounding neighbourhoods.
Globe and Mail
10-05-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
The cabinet of civic wonders (some assembly required)
In a thick-walled warehouse in Liberty Village, tokens of Toronto's history rested on a heavy table. An arrowhead thousands of years old, plucked by a child from the earth; a British soldier's crossplate from Fort York, dented perhaps by shrapnel in the explosions of 1813. William Lyon Mackenzie's pocket watch; a flyer for Mahalia Jackson's 1956 Massey Hall concert, presented by the local Grant AME Church. These items had been plucked from Toronto's municipal collection of 1.3 million objects and artifacts to prove a point. 'Some people think that Toronto isn't about anything – that it has no past,' said Karen Carter, the city's director of museums and heritage services. 'We need a place to display these things and show people that there is so much to learn.' Soon her wish may come true, completing a 60-year quest for Toronto to have a dedicated city museum. It would find a home in Old City Hall, a national historic site at Queen and Bay streets. Finished in 1899, E.J. Lennox's rambling Richardsonian-Romanesque pile is now vacant, and the city is working to reimagine its future. The institution and the place are an ideal match. Putting them together will be among the most important things the city has ever done. The question is whether Toronto – its government, its citizens and philanthropists – can accomplish this necessary task. Ms. Carter, who now leads the city's network of 12 museums and historic sites, has a strong, unorthodox vision for the city museum: It should bring together existing community groups and community museums into an association with the city government. They could then share ideas, collections and resources. 'You can't tell a story from just one perspective,' she said. 'So many people from so many places make Toronto work … and artifacts only have meaning if they're connected to people.' They might come together at Old City Hall. The building was finished in 1899, after more than a decade of controversy over its size and lavish construction. (The Globe complained about overspending.) The hall dominated the skyline for half a century: Local architect E.J. Lennox had created a showy, four-sided palace with a bell tower at the head of Bay Street. Its sandstone walls were carved with intricate floral and geometric patterns. Today, its gargoyles still depict a rogue's gallery of local figures, including Lennox himself. By mid-century the building was crowded and seen as obsolete. When Viljo Revell's new, modernist City Hall opened across the street in 1965, there were calls to tear down the old one. Instead, in 1972, provincial courts moved in, and occupied the building until this year. High security generally kept people out. 'I look forward to the day that this is open to the public in a way that you don't have to commit a crime to see it,' Toronto City Councillor Josh Matlow told me recently. Mr. Matlow was leading me through Old City Hall along with local councillor Chris Moise and city staffers including Ms. Carter. This is a place with a complex history. Its basement was a jail; half a century of suffering is baked into it. Upstairs, the former city council chamber and mayor's office were cluttered up with office furniture by the courts. But their bones are still intact, including murals by Gustav Hahn. In the lobby, a stained-glass mural by Robert McCausland, The Union of Commerce and Industry, shows an allegory of the city in 1899. Shipyard workers and builders stand proudly in one corner, representatives of the world's continents in the other. One is an African in a loincloth, holding an elephant tusk. Across the way, murals by George Reid depict scenes from the city's history alongside the names of local notables. In a panel title Staking the Pioneer Farm, a surveyor prepares his instruments to measure out the colonization of the land. Above it is the name of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. Ms. Carter and her curators would surely love to get to work interpreting all this for today's Toronto. The time is right. Old City Hall's future is in question. In January, Toronto City Council allotted $18-million over 10 years for upkeep and future planning. The goal is to find interim uses, such as retail or temporary cultural events, and a longer-term plan, which could include a city museum. However, there's a danger that this opportunity could be swamped by paperwork. Two city departments, Corporate Real Estate Management and the development agency CreateTO, are working on it. But this place is not 'Real Estate.' It is a civic building of great symbolic importance. Toronto's government has spent 15 years studying it, getting nowhere and making bad assumptions. (The most recent proposal would have moved the nearby public library branch from Revell's City Hall, sucking people and energy out of that building. Why not open a second branch?) Old City Hall demands a small, dedicated project team, reporting to the top of City Hall, with dedicated funding and clear, short-term goals. The city's chief planner, Jason Thorne, has launched a 'Beautiful City' initiative. Here is a chance to turn that theme into a physical reality. Mr. Matlow, wisely, is pushing Toronto to move fast and think big. The future of Old City Hall 'has been lost in process for years,' he said. 'The first thing is for work to begin on refurbishing it and, to the greatest extent possible, open its doors to the public.' The building, admittedly, presents a big woolly challenge. It is large – more than 400,000 square feet in total – and it is old. Six years ago, city staff estimated that a full upgrade would cost $225-million in 2020 dollars. But that is absurd. Courts operated here until very recently. The building isn't museum-quality space right now, but it could hold something. There is a way to, as Mr. Matlow suggests, open the doors and let the public in. I recently asked heritage architect Michael McClelland of ERA for suggestions. His response: What about the large open-air courtyard in the middle of the building? Open the gates, bring some chairs and tables and planters, and set up a coffee kiosk. Do it this summer. Show that the city can actually get things done. From there, it is imperative that the city use the right process to think about the future. This is one of the most important buildings in Canada. You cannot allow anonymous real-estate managers to decide what exactly it should be. The architecture and the use must be considered at the same time. In the short term, any construction must begin with a design competition. How could architects and landscape architects – local ones, even – use quick and cheap moves to bring this place to life? For long-term changes, the only proper path is an open, international design competition, just like the one that produced the new City Hall. What kind of place should this be, finally? A model is the Castelvecchio museum in Verona, where modernist exhibition designs by the great Carlo Scarpa bring sprezzatura to a 14th-century palace. But there are many others. So-called 'experimental preservation' is in the air these days, being advanced by local practices such as Giaimo. The Barcelona architects Flores & Prats renovated a falling-down social club into a theatre complex, Sala Beckett, and the result is being celebrated around the world. The fusty 1880s designs of Old City Hall would provide an incredible counterpoint to a forward-looking, contemporary vision. And, speaking of vision: Old City Hall should become part of a larger civic precinct. Today, its stretch of Queen Street is closed to vehicles for the building of the Ontario Line. This should remain a continuous car-free zone that links the Eaton Centre to City Hall and then the nascent University Park. This would transform the ceremonial and political heart of Toronto, with the museum in the middle. Is all this a lot to ask? Maybe. 'In Toronto, I think we've had politicians focus on the bottom line as opposed to a vision for the city,' Ms. Carter reflects. 'But for a place like this, you have to be in visionary mode. You have to dream.'
