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......

Photo by matthewfromtoronto from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. Ten years ago today, Premier Harris forced us all to play. On January 1, 1998, Metropolitan Toronto's six constituent municipalities were merged into one, creating Canada's largest city and a strangely powerless political behemoth. The popular view at the time was that the so-called Megacity was born largely of political vengeance. It's conveniently forgotten that many advocated for amalgamation before the fact, only to predict death, destruction,......