Bob Rae and Martha Hall-Findlay win seats for the Liberals in federal by-elections. Downside: oh, God, Bob Rae. Upside: commenters will have to wait until the next federal election to bitch and moan about Torontoist contributor and Green Party candidate Chris Tindal's column (Chris finished in third place, with only thirty-six fewer votes than NDP candidate El-Farouk Khaki in the Toronto Centre riding). Ottawa to give Toronto $303 million to buy hybrid buses. The catch......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. This is my last Campaign Confidential before E-day, yet I'm hesitant to pen any "final thoughts" knowing how much can happen in the final week of a campaign. It's been a bit of a strange campaign. On the......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. Running for office is an extremely rewarding experience, but it's not without sacrifice and set-backs. All of us are doing this because we honestly believe in the process and the ideas we bring to the table. We believe......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. As you read this I'm somewhere in the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, likely between the House of Commons visitors' gallery where I will have just finished watching question period and the Railroad Room where......

With insignificant funds and hopeless political support, sometimes it's the earnest fringe candidate campaigns in our by-elections that have the most charm. Toronto Centre aspirant (and political opponent of Campaign Confidential's Chris Tindal) Doug Plumb has been taping-up these breezy home-made slogans downtown, and while this sign may not even mention the party he's running for, there's a quaint spunk in comparing himself to a down-home dessert. Other flyers feature the rather unimaginative call......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. Last night was our first public all-candidates debate in this campaign. Hosted by the Bay Corridor Community Association in the Sutton Place Hotel, it was extremely well attended by an engaged audience. For those of us who recognize......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. There is, of course, no multi-partisan training manual for new candidates on how one is to behave during an election campaign with regards to one's opponents. Therefore, the first time I ran (in the 2006 federal general election)......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. Now that three out of four major party campaigns have offices up and running, our focus has turned to the meat and potatoes of campaigning: the canvass. If you live in Toronto Centre and you haven't yet heard......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a "behind the scenes" glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. A strange thing is happening here in Toronto Centre: Barack Obama seems to have become a candidate. Not literally of course, and (as you'll see) it's not clear what party he's representing, but his presence is certainly being......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a "behind the scenes" glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. Successful election campaigns require money, and that funding obviously has to come from donors. I've noticed a number of misconceptions about how political campaigns are funded, probably due to the fact that election financing laws have changed frequently......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a "behind the scenes" glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. Right before Christmas (and just days before the deadline) the prime minister finally called a by-election for the riding of Toronto Centre, left vacant by Bill Graham last summer. He also called by-elections for three other ridings across......

Today is the first day of the Bali United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will continue until December 14. The purpose of the conference, which is being attended by over 20,000 delegates and observers from 180 countries, is to set out the framework of negotiations for the next phase of the Kyoto Protocol when it ends in 2012. There are several events taking place this week in Toronto to mark the occasion. The first......

"It's hard to beat the system / when we're standing at a distance / so we keep waiting / waiting on the world to change." - JOHN MAYER How Do You Get To Massey Hall? I don't know, I only came close. I can at least tell you that practice has nothing to do with it. I'd practiced my speech a lot. Last night I was invited to represent my party (the Green Party of......

On Monday, the TTC unveiled a survey that, in lieu of other public consultation, would be used to help the organization determine what cuts it may need to make this year. (For more on the TTC's potential budget shortfall, see our interview with Adam Giambrone, the TTC's documentation included with the survey, and Steve Munro's excellent summary of the situation.) The problem is, the survey really isn't that great: it's too vague, too incomplete,......

We publish a lot of articles here on Torontoist, and sometimes it's hard to keep up with all of them. Populist is a weekly recap intended for the casual Torontoist reader, featuring some of the coolest, most interesting, most commented, and most recommended posts from the past week on Torontoist. Populist will appear every Sunday night. This week on Torontoist featured bleepin' boobs, Brass Rail burn-outs, coulrophobia, Guitar Girls, Giambrones, and Alsop architecture. Here are......

Lynsey Kissane, the project coordinator of Evergreen at the Brick Works, sent Torontoist the above photo, telling us "I have seen this truck-vertisement around a lot and don't think the blatant irony would be lost on anyone." Except, of course, the person responsible. From the advertised website: Vision-Adz Media is a Canadian mobile advertising company that is committed to being the dominant and most effective mobile advertising company in Canada. [...] Being a mobile-based......

Photo by Iamkevin from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's that time again. Toronto's Pride Week kicks off this evening and runs until Sunday, June 24. As one of the largest festivals in North America, Pride Week has become one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the year for some Torontonians—sort of like Christmas for queers, but with more glitter and lights and all the fruitcake you can handle. Since you couldn't possibly attend......

Have you seen the handsome true-blue posters that proclaim “Love Is” on Queen Street between Spadina and Bathurst, and on Bathurst Street from Queen to College? They've also been spotted in The Annex. Underneath the words, white rectangular boxes invite interaction from passerby. Empty as a “Hello, My Name Is” badge waiting for an identity, the posters are part of an upcoming film's viral marketing campaign. Thanks to Chris Tindal, who spotted the posters,......

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us. Austinist has a chat with the ever-fashionable Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, and managed to catch some local fashionistas making......

Yesterday's good-natured debate between Toronto Centre candidates provided Ryerson with a few laughs, and few memorable quotes. Here's a sample: "I've spent a lot of time on the ground in Toronto Centre, and I am in favour of same-sex marriage. My leader embraces me for that position." - Conservative candidate Lewis Reford, getting a few giggles for an unintentional play on words "Bill Graham isn't here, but don't take it personally. This is the third......

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