Malcolm Johnston

Toronto

Features Editor at Toronto Life

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Articles

Editor’s Letter: Toronto Life got a makeover

1 month ago | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

Welcome to the new and improved Toronto Life. We’ve added a fourth feature to each print issue, bringing you more of what you love, alongside a new logo and an updated interior architecture. It’s the first such brand overhaul in 15 years, and it comes at a pivotal moment, as the AI revolution lays waste to preconceived notions of what’s real and reliable. Call me biased or naïve—both are probably true—but amid this upheaval, I can’t help but foresee a golden era for trustworthy outlets.
Inside the rise and fall of the Vaulter Bandit, the 21st century’s most notorious bank robber

1 month ago | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

Sabrie Yilmaz followed a predictable morning routine. As manager of a TD bank in Mississauga, she would arrive at work around 7 a.m., unlock the doors, flick on the lights and start opening the branch for business. Perhaps because the process was so familiar, she hadn’t noticed the man in the parking lot. For several days in a row, he sat in a silver Chevy Cruze just beyond the sweep of the security cameras, making note of her arrival times, taking down her licence plate, watching her every move.
Donald Trump is Toronto’s most effective recruiting tool

2 months ago | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

President Trump’s back-of-the-napkin tariff “strategy” has dominated headlines all year, but a different trade war has been brewing since his first presidency. It’s not about dairy, lumber or potash. It’s about brainpower. For decades, whenever something catastrophic happened in the US, Americans would joke about moving to Canada. It’s no longer a joke. It’s serious, and it’s happening. The brain drain is reversing course, and Toronto is the beneficiary.
Editor’s Letter: Chaos in the courts

Dec 18, 2024 | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

Cait Alexander, an actor from Toronto, has never met Barrett Jordan, a resident of Surrey, BC, but their lives are forever linked. In 2008, Jordan was arrested and charged with selling cocaine and heroin. Four years later, his case finally went to trial, and he was found guilty. His lawyers argued that the time it took to reach the courts constituted a violation of Jordan’s Charter-protected right to a reasonably speedy trial, and they brought his case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Editor’s Letter: Our annual debate over the year’s most influential Torontonians

Nov 14, 2024 | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

Last year, PWHL games were the hottest ticket in town. Now, the stars of the Toronto Sceptres are at the head of a global movement in professional sportsLast year, PWHL games were the hottest ticket in town. Toronto’s team sold out its home arena 12 times, and the league overall had 40 million views on YouTube from people in 88 countries.
Editor’s Letter: Inside the desperate search for a family doctor

Sep 18, 2024 | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

The ballparks of Cactus League baseball are spread out across the Arizona desert, and Uber is the most efficient way to get around. I was there last March with two friends, and our conversations with those drivers made it apparent that, aside from Drake and politeness, Canada is best known for its “free” health care. “Must be nice,” I heard more than once. I’d nod and change the subject, unwilling to burst their shimmering bubble. The truth would have taken too long to explain.
Editor’s Letter: Wellness, the new religion

Aug 15, 2024 | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

How do you know if someone has run a marathon? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you. It’s an old chestnut but a good one. And today, it applies to far more than running: humble-bragging seems like a by-product of the entire wellness movement. Just try to navigate social media without encountering some guy boasting about his 4 a.m. wake-up or complex ice-bath regimen. While it’s tempting to dismiss the trend as self-indulgent twaddle, doing so ignores something much bigger going on.
Editor’s Letter: The city’s intractable dog problem

Jul 23, 2024 | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

Three cedar trees partially obscure my front porch from the view of passing pedestrians, which makes it a cozy, cloistered place to watch the world go by. It was there I sat recently, starting to compose this very editor’s letter, when a man I’d never seen before led his dog, a shih tzu with a high-concept haircut, to the corner of my lawn where the ankle-high fence stops. And it was there, in the penetrating light of day, that this godless libertine encouraged his animal to defecate on the grass.
Editor’s Letter: My salary? None of your business

Jun 20, 2024 | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

“Ooh, juicy! Can’t wait to read it but will respectfully decline.” We got a lot of that in our outreach for this month’s cover story, “Who Earns What.” It wasn’t surprising. And by “it,” I mean the three-act play of ripe intrigue, cheerful encouragement and door-slamming no. When it comes to salaries in this city, the sentiment is consistent: everyone wants to know and no one wants to say. In that sense, consider our nine-page compendium of eye-popping earnings something of a public service.
Red meat and the return of the tasting menu

May 14, 2024 | torontolife.com | Malcolm Johnston

Our search for the best new restaurants doesn’t really begin inasmuch as it never really stops. All year, we crank out stories on every possible platform about the best openings, the most gifted chefs, the most sonically superior listening bars and more. The entire effort is led by Rebecca Fleming, our food and drink editor, who is, in short, on it. Whenever I get a tip about a new opening and send it her way, she invariably responds, “Yep—I’ve already got someone covering it.” Well, fine.