The annual spring blooming of the Cherry Blossoms at High Park is a big attraction with hundreds being left in awe by the spectacle. Photos by Susie Basheir.
People from Toronto and beyond walked through traffic-banned High Park to take selfies of the famed cherry blossoms.
Flower lovers in awe enjoying the once-a-year spectacle presented by Mother Nature.
Toronto Police 22 Division annual Open House to get to know your local officer.
Don’t forget to get a Tree for Free in annual event by the Long Branch Neighbourhood Association.
Friends of Humber Bay Park invites you to roll up your sleeves and pick up trash in the area.
The Lakeshore West Garden tour is always a favourite where garden lovers proudly show their stuff.
It might be fun to try some fun learning a sport at the New Toronto Lawn Bowling Club.
The Lakeshore Grill Cheese Challenge is popular with residents to enjoy the food and meet your neighbours.
Etobicoke Quilters’ Guild Show and Sale and Quilt Fever. Don’t miss it.
The decades old Etobicoke Civic Centre has been deemed surplus property and will likely be sold to developers.
The 67-year-old Etobicoke Civic Centre has been deemed surplus property by City officials who want the large parcel of land be flattened to build more public housing.
The 399 The West Mall Crescent Centre was one of 26 properties identified across the City as surplus by the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA), after canvassing all the City’s divisions and agencies.
The building is expected to be demolished to build almost 1,400 housing units once a new Civic Centre is constructed in 2028 at the Six Points Interchange area.
“The list of sites (considered) includes underperforming car parks and properties that are vacant or currently used for non-parking purposes,” according to a TPA report.
The Old Centre is today used by Etobicoke York Community Council for meetings, hearings or for use by community groups. It is also rented for shows and exhibitions.
The old will be replaced by the new Etobicoke Civic centre with gym and library to be completed by 2028.
The report said staff is working to transfer the sites to city-building priorities, including the expansion of affordable housing, shelters and parks. They are looking at ‘repurposing underperforming lots toward future housing, parks or other long-term opportunities.’
There are plans to build 1,376 residential units on the 16.5 acre site.
Sections of the Old Centre will be incorporated in the new facility. The front door has been deemed as having heritage value and will be kept intact.
The massive property will bring in a huge sum to City coffers as the total gross floor area (GFA) of the building is 1.3 million square feet.
This report said the TPA operates parking at 271 City-owned parking facilities, including surface car parks and parking structures.
Many residents are concerned about the cenotaph at the Etobicoke Civic Centre, a clock tower erected in 1968 to honor the memory of those who died in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.
”These properties have generated significant interest from the development community, other City Divisions and City Council as land assets,” according to the report. Then can ‘be leveraged to advance various city-building initiatives.’
The City is working with other governments to achieve a 10-year goal of approving 65,000 rent-controlled homes by 2030. This includes 41,000 affordable rental, 6,500 rent-geared-to-income and 17,500 rent-controlled homes.
The Old Civic Centre was placed on the chopping board for housing along with the Lawrence Market North, a car park in Yorkville , 838 Broadview Avenue, 105 Spadina Avenue, 363 Adelaide Street W., and 30 Alvin Avenue.
The original Etobicoke Civic Centre was built in 1958 to replace the former Township of Etobicoke Municipal Hall.
The new state-of-the-art Centre to be completed in 2028 will feature more than 508,000 square feet of office space including municipal office towers, a multi-purpose council chamber, a child care centre, a new Toronto Public Library branch, a public health clinic for dental services and gym.
The new state-of-the-art civic hub, which is being built, will cost about $480-million to construct.
Incumbent MP James Maloney easily defeated PC Bernard Trottier for Etobicoke Lakeshore.
Liberal incumbent James Maloney must be doing a pretty good job in the community.
Maloney was returned by voters for his fourth term as MP of Etobicoke Lakeshore on April 28 under the leadership of tariff-fighting Prime Minister elect Mark Carney.
Maloney obtained 34,600 votes and easily defeated former Conservative MP Bernard Trottier, in a comeback bid, who racked up a respectable 23,800 votes, according to Elections Canada.
NDP Cory Wagar received 1,560 votes, the People Party of Canada’s Thomas Fanjoy with 582 votes and Marxist-Leninist Janice Murray accumulating 183.
MP Maloney (right) with newly elected Ontario Liberal MPP Lee Fairclough.
Carney’s and the Liberals won 169 seats, not enough for a 172-seat majority.
The Conservatives, whose leader Pierre Poilievre, lost his own seat, took 144 seats. And Jagmeet Singh’s NDP party lost 17 seats and are down to seven and he stepped down.
Maloney was first elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019 and 2021 and 2025. He is well-liked and attends most events in the community. The approachable Maloney began his political life as a Toronto City Councillor in 2014.
Originally from Thunder Bay, he has lived in Etobicoke for over forty-four years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Bishop’s University, and law degrees from the University of Windsor and the University of Wales in Cardiff, UK.
Maloney with his long-time canine buddy Walnut.
Maloney was a previous civil trial lawyer and partner in a Toronto firm where he practiced for over 20 years. He was involved in many significant cases, including the tainted blood crisis of the 1980s and the Elliott Lake Inquiry.
The dog lover is the former President of the Toronto Lawyers Club. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Franklin Horner Community Centre, The Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto and the Public Accountants Council of Ontario.
He is the proud recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and an advocate for mental health, he was instrumental in securing $25 million for a national suicide hotline.
James lives Etobicoke-Lakeshore with his dog, Walnut.
A man arrested for second degree murder is listed as a lottery winner.
A man who once won a lottery has been arrested in connection with a stabbing death of another man in a motel in the Queensway and Royal York Road area.
Toronto Police in a release said a victim’s body was found in April 27 around 9:20 a.m. with stab wounds.
Police said the suspect and victim were in a motel room together when the stabbing occurred.
The victim was transported to a local trauma centre and later pronounced deceased. He has not been identified by police.
Tanas Shmagranovski, 57, of no fixed address, has been charged with second degree murder. He is Toronto’s 11th homicide of 2025.
The suspect was slated to appear for a bail hearing on April 27.
Police are probing to determine if the killing had any links to the victim who won a $100,000 lottery in 2019.
Thieves using a fake weapon demand the keys of car owners and then speed off with their vehicles.
A 17-year-old and a woman have been charged by Toronto Police with five gunpoint robberies of expensive vehicles in the community over a two-week period.
Police said the gun-toting theft spree began with April 11 robbery in which a fake weapon was used to rob a variety store.
On April 17 the alleged thief was charged with a gunpoint robbery at North Queen Street and Kipling Avenue area.
Police said in that theft the victim was sitting in a parked vehicle when approached by four youths who produced a handgun and demanded the vehicle in which they fled in.
A 17-year-old was charged by police for using a fake weapon to steal five vehicles from their owners.
The vehicle turned up in a collision in Mississauga and a 26-year-old woman was arrested as she tried to flee the scene by foot.
Less than a week later police were called to the robbery of a taxi driver who was robbed at gunpont of his vehicle in a fare dispute in the Spadina Avenue and Lake Shore Blvd. w. area.
The suspect was arrested on April 18 and charged with a number of offences in relation to breaching release conditions.
Police said the suspect was responsible for a April 21 car theft by producing a gun and demanding keys from a motorist in the Bloor Street W., and Islington Avenue area.
A day later another vehicle was stolen from a man using a knife and handgun forced himself into the car and took off.
On April 23 a thief used another handgun to demand the keys for another vehicle in the Burnhamthorpe and Mill Roads area,
The teenager was charged with five offences of vehicle thefts with a firearm and a string of other offences.
All the vehicles stolen were recovered by police. He appeared in court on April 25
Police investigating a hit-and-run at Evans Avenue and Royal York Road that left a man fighting for his life. Photo CP24.
A 29-year-old man is fighting for his life in hospital after he was critically injured in a violent hit and run near Evans Avenue and the Royal York Road area.
Police and emergency services responded to a personal injury collision on April 27 about 2:30 a.m. in which a vehicle travelling northbound on Royal York hit a pedestrian near the intersection.
The pedestrian was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police said the vehicle did not stop and was last seen travelling westbound on Evans. There is no description available for the vehicle at this time.
Anyone with video footage of the area or incident is asked to contact police at 416-808-1900 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 or 222tips.com.
It was a busy shift for officers at 22 Division with one man being stabbed to death.
Seven hours later and a few blocks away, a man was pronounced dead after being stabbed at Royal York Road and The Queensway, near a popular ice cream store.
Police said they responded to the incident at 9:20 a.m. on Sunday where they found a male victim with fatal stab wounds.
That investigation is being investigated by the force’s Homicide Squad that has been canvassing the scene and retrieving security footage.
Both suspects are still at large.
The driver of this stolen car took off on foot after crashing into a building at Lake Shore Blvd. W. and Kipling Avenue. Photo CityNews.
A suspected car thief is still on the loose after crashing into a building in the Kipling Avenue and Lake Shore Blvd. W. area.
Officers say a vehicle collided into a building while another hit a pole. Police say multiple vehicles were involved in the incident, which took place on April 27 around 9:50 p.m.
Police said the driver bolted away from the wrecked vehicle.
It was only about a week ago another suspected stolen vehicle crashed into 11 vehicles injuring three people at Lake Shore Blvd. W., near Fourth Street.
Residents and students had to flee out of the way from a speeding vehicle in that incident.
New image from the City as to what the planned 50-bed seniors shelter will be like when completed by 2030.
More than 70 per cent of New Toronto businesses are not in favour of a proposed Third Street shelter, according to a survey of community businesses.
A Study by the Lakeshore Village Business Improvement Area (BIA) shows that 72 per cent of the businesses surveyed were against the location of the shelter and 14 per cent of the businesses were in favour of the now revised 50-bed shelter for seniors.
City officials changed their minds due to community pressure after first proposing a 80 bed shelter for the homeless at 66 Third Street, which the community claimed was close to two schools and a seniors residence.
The survey polled at least five property owners, 16 business owners and 12 people who were managers or supervisors.
Some area residents say the homeless require a bed somewhere and others fear of their lives and safety.
The study was conducted before reductions were made to the shelter beds and seniors’ clientele. It showed 36 per cent of residents fear crime or drug increase; some 27 per cent of area residents have community safety concerns; 15 per cent fear a loss of parking and five per cent had property value concerns
The BIA study said many of its female-owned and operated businesses expressed genuine concern for ‘their safety and the safety of their employees’.
“These business owners have already faced troubling incidents, including aggression from some individuals experiencing homelessness as well as thefts from their stores,” the survey noted.
It said the situation is worst on days when a food program is held, as ‘they have observed a noticeable increase of these disruptive behaviour.’
Man with his dog staying warm on the streets.
“Female business owners worry that as the presence of the unhoused increases with the building of a shelter,” according to the two page survey. “It may become increasingly difficult to manage, putting both their businesses and personal safety at greater risk.”
“This heightened sense of vulnerability underscores the urgent need for discussions around community safety and the long-term impact of the shelter on the surrounding area,” it stated.
The BIA in a letter to Toronto Parking Authority said it will be devastating to lose the parking lot at the Third Street site as it would be bad for businesses if their customers have no place to park.
Homeless in the winter and they need to have a bed someplace warm.
They said the City in a Lakeshore Avenue Study is calling for taller and more high-density buildings on Lake Shore Blvd. W. and the parking will be required.
City officials argue the parking lot is on the average about 80 per cent filled.
The proposed shelter has divided the community as many say there has to be a bed for the homeless and others who claim it is in a bad location.
More than 200 concerned residents attended a virtual meeting earlier this month to voice their concerns of the shelter, which is slated to open in 2028 to 2023.
The shelter will be operated by Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre (CONC) and residents will come from Toronto’s central intake phone service.
There are calls to halt the use of Special Occasion permits to sell alcohol at fundraisers staged by non-profit groups.
With the weather warming up, City officials are being urged to tighten up the Special Occasion alcohol permit for non-profit groups who may be abusing their fundraising use to stage large parties.
A motion by Councillor Chris Moise on April 22 calls for more oversight of the Special Occasion Permits for non-profits due to complaints from residents.
A special occasion permit lets the holder sell alcohol at private or public events attended by many people.
“In recent months, my office along with several of my colleagues have experienced a surge in concerns around public safety, dangerous overcrowding, and noise complaints stemming from certain non-profit organizations hosting large-scale rave parties,” according to Moise’s motion.
A City councillor is calling for more enforcement in the use of the permits to stage raves and large parties for some profit parties.
He said the Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGC) of Ontario issues the permits without requiring the organizations to notify municipal authorities.
It creates ‘a regulatory gap that allows potentially problematic events to proceed unchecked.’
Moise said while a majority of non-profit events contribute positively to our community, a few have exploited regulatory exemptions, undermining the public trust and safety that these guidelines are intended to protect.
He is calling on the AGC to include municipalities in the approval process the permits and that a complaint process be set up to address grievances and that non-complaint events be swiftly dealt with.
“We aim to preserve the integrity of non-profit events while safeguarding public safety and community welfare,” according to the motion.
A group called Save Our Raves Toronto claims to have almost 7,000 residents in support of less oversight for raves or public parties.
“There are fewer and fewer opportunities for people to come together, dance, and maybe have a drink,” group officials said. “These spaces are vital to creating an enjoyable city to live in, creating platforms for local emerging artists, and deepening community connections.”
They said a nightlife economy contributes billions of dollars to the City and employs more than 300,000 Torontonians.
The issue has to be considered by City Council.