Last updated on January 21st, 2021 at 12:54 pm
Since I was born, Toronto has been my home, growing up just west of it in the suburb of Mississauga. I was 12 when I started going into the city on my own for school, sowing the seeds for leaving my suburban life behind me and eventually becoming a proper Torontonian down the way.
Toronto’s not an especially massive city, with a few million in its borders and surrounded by a few million more and a lake, but in all of that is some of the richest diversity that you’ll find anywhere on the planet. More than half the city’s made up of visible minorities and we have people from virtually every country in the world—it’s a city filled with stories, each of them more individual than the next.
But I’d say Toronto has a bit of an identity crisis, with its oodles of diversity making it difficult to determine what this city is actually about. If you think about Paris, you think about fashion, wine and baguettes. You think about China and it’s dim sum, dragons and dynasties. But despite having a couple of centuries under its belt, Toronto’s still relatively young. In a city that’s often liberal enough to let people do what they want to do and be who they want to be, how do you find its one true story amongst the millions happening at the same time?
The answer’s deceptively simple—one by Torontonian one.
Let’s Teach You a Little About Toronto.
Toronto might not be as stylish as Montreal or as outdoorsy as Ottawa or Vancouver. Still, with eight percent of Canada’s population in 0.03% of its inhabitable land, it stands out as something different in the Canadian landscape.
But what that different is will depend on who you talk to.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a single twenty-something could tell you about Toronto’s nightlife, its sprawling downtown replete with all manner of food and drink. A parent might tell you about its green space, speckled by parks across its 630.2 square kilometres with countless rivers, beaches and ravines. Film festivals. Botanical gardens. Arenas, museums and more. There’s literally something for just about everyone in this city—you just need to know where to look.
But, as much as I love Toronto, I know that my city’s not perfect—plenty is lurking beneath all the things that make it amazing. Like a housing market with great amenities for the people who can afford it, but is rapidly pricing more and more people out of the city and holding many financially hostage. Or Toronto’s sheer verticality, with its centre stretching ever upward while racial and income inequality keep too many people out in the city’s fringes. We come packing cold dispositions and carry 15% of the nation’s homicides each year—the city has plenty of bad to go with all its good.
That said, you won’t learn everything about Toronto from my words alone—my perspective’s just one of many, and everyone brings something different to the table. We’ve got food bloggers, tech bloggers, and all sorts of people just looking to share their slice of the story—let me introduce you to the many sides of Toronto and all the things we have to say!
Toronto: Land of a Thousand Creators, City of a Million Stories.
Now, Toronto has thousands of creators, spread across the 140 neighbourhoods that we all call home. No two neighbourhoods are alike, each having a character uniquely and utterly its own, and our stories don’t stop there. Urban sprawl filled our suburbs in the millions, with so many people moving in and out of the city every day. It’s a story of its east and its west sides, of those who live in Toronto and those in “Toronto”… we’ve got many layers that come with this turf. The rest of Canada thinks we see ourselves as the Centre of the Universe. We disagree on what our downtown is depending on where we live in the city. But it’s challenging to find all those stories in one place, and that’s something I’m looking to change.
I’ve been all about the lists lately, looking to give some shine to the communities that help me do what I do. I’ve done one for all the dad creators across Canada and started one for my fellow Dad 2.0 alumni. And now, I’m putting one together for all my fellow creators in the Toronto area, and I’m looking for some help!
I hope this list brings you value whenever you’re looking for Toronto creators—I expect it’ll keep growing over time!
Who’s Who of the Toronto Influencers!
| Brand | Creator Name | Brand Niche | YouTube | Tiktok | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad | Casey Palmer | Dad, Family, Lifestyle |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Parenting to Go | Yashy Murphy | Parenting and Family Lifestyle | | | | | | |
| KathrynAnywhere | Kathryn Dickson | Travel, Adventure, Family | | | | | | |
| Parent Club | Caroline Fernandez | Family and lifestyle | | | | | ||
| My Bits and Bleeps | Jeannine Miranda | Lifestyle | | | | | | |
| SeeYouSoon Travel | Arienne Parzei | Travel | | | | | ||
| Maple and Marigold | Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma | Enjoyable, Delicious, Sustainable Lifestyle | | | | |||
| Travelling Foodie | Raymond Cua | Travel & Food | | | | | | |
| Bacon is Magic | Ayngelina Brogan | Food and travel | | | | | | |
| thejeromydiaries | Princy Mascarenhas | Beauty, Lifestyle and Travel | | | | | | |
| Elleverity | Zainab Williams | Wealth management /financial planning | | | ||||
| Deelish Deevine | Rulani | Catering, Events, Meal Plans, Vegan Catering | | |||||
| A Dash of Dee | Dee Thomson | Travel, Beauty, Lifestyle | | | | | | |
| CharisMaggie Tv | Margarette Leandre | Culture awareness and appreciation | | | ||||
| its24kgold | ZAHRA ALI | Beauty, Fashion, Lifestyle | | | | | | |
| The GATE | Andrew Powell | Entertainment, travel, music & tech | | | | | | |
| Calculated Traveller | Mary Chong | Travel and Food | | | | | | |
| Teacups & Things | Kait | Lifestyle, Fashion & Beauty, Food (Gluten-free) | | | | | ||
| My Ndeavour | Nicole | Running, Food, Motivation | | |||||
| The MOM Rant | Sandra Zichermann | Parenting + Lifestyle | | | | |||
| The Soundtrack | Gemma Mastroianni | Music and lifestyle | | |||||
| Kate & Company | Kate & Erin | Parenting, Lifestyle, Travel, Food | | | | | | |
| Justin Plus Lauren | Lauren Yakiwchuk | Travel, Eco-friendly, Vegan Lifestyle | | | | | | |
| Ontario Hiking | Lauren Yakiwchuk | Hiking | | | | | | |
| Meetandeats | Alice | Food | | | | | | |
| Daily Dream 360 | Sharon Mendelaoui | Travel & Lifestyle | | | | | ||
| Torontonicity | Lori Bosworth | Toronto lifestyle | | | | | | |
| Trend Family | Abby, Vith & Zay | Parenthood | Love | Lifestyle | | | | |||
| Simply Suppa | Julia Suppa | Lifestyle | | | | | ||
| Diana and Co Living | Diana Penacho | Mom, fashion, lifestyle | | |||||
| Happy Simple Joy | Toshni Balraj | Petite Fashion, Wellness, Lifestyle | | | ||||
| A Little Love & Mama | Paola Amors | Lifestyle | | | ||||
| Imagelicious | Julia K | Food photography and food blogging | | | ||||
| Goat Roti Chronicles | Davindra Ramnarine | Food, travel, lifestyle | | | | | ||
| Active Parents | Amber Rohal | Family Activities and Local Travel | | | | |||
| tania2atee | Tania Monaco | Lifestyle, Beauty, Body Positivity | | | | | | |
| Extreme Couponing Mom | Aimee Geroux | Lifestyle, Parenting, Food | | | | | ||
| Bauble Stories | Mariam Jangda | Fashion and Beauty only Canadian brands | | | | | ||
| Dobbernationloves | Andrew Dobson | Culinary Tourism | | | | | ||
| Vacation Couple | Kristin Charlton and Shadi Didi | Travel & Lifestyle | | | | | | |
| MapleMouseMama | Suzanne Rudge | Parenting and Lifestyle | | | | | | |
| Bon Appet'Eat | Melanie Robinot | Cooking and baking | | | | | ||
| Words With Michelle | Michelle Joseph | interviews, podcasting, social commentary, personal essays | | | | |||
| Diana's Healthy Living | Diana Becevello | Travel, Food & Drink, Lifestyle | | | | | | |
| Girls Drink Wine Too | Diana Becevello | Wine and Beverages | | | ||||
| amotherworld | Maria Lianos-Carbone | Lifestyle - Family - Food - Travel | | | | | | |
| After the Suit | Colin H | Men's style, fashion, tailoring | | |||||
| A shot of Melanin | A shot of melanin | Black males and females ages 25- 38 | | | | |||
| TheCanadianTechie | Sachin Bahal | tech, transportation, entertainment, gaming, podcasting | | | | | | |
| The Little Things Blog | Alexandra | Lifestyle | | | | |||
| The ChoNilla Network | Sherley Joseph | Podcast Collective | Podcast Production | | | | | | |
| Exploring with the Yaps | Donald Yap | Family Travel - Off the beaten path | | | ||||
| Roses and Ribbons | Sarah Marcucci | Lifestyle, Fashion, Travel | | | ||||
| n.b.life | Niya Bajaj | Yoga, Therapy, Habit Change, Health, Wellness | | | | |||
| Viva la Dolce | Danila Di Croce | Culture (Italian) and lifestyle | | | | |||
| Wandering Wagars | Kevin Wagar | Family Travel | | | | | | |
| Ultimate Ontario | Kevin Wagar | Local Experiences | | | | |||
| Alternative Food Network | Esther Garfin | Content creator (podcasts, videos, articles) related to food and health/food as medicine | | | | |||
| Three Interesting Things | Don Grant | Podcast | | | | |||
| The Freeze | Brian Capitao | Hip Hop Music and Culture | | |||||
| The Longest Stride Podcast | André and Jonathan | Running | | | | |||
| Versatile Vigilante | Uncle Vinny | Podcasting/ DIY content | | | | |||
| NinjaRadio | Ninja Notion | Queer Lifestyle, Interviews, Reviews | | | | |||
| Rebelnotion | Ninja Notion | Soundscapes, Sound Art | | | | |||
| travelingmitch | Christopher Mitchell | Travel | | | | | | |
| This Week in Blogging | Christopher Mitchell | Blogging | | | | |||
| Backyard Bants | The Talkativex | Podcast | | | | | ||
| Sparkling Whine With Dottie Champagne | Dottie Champagne (Alaina Walker) | Podcast | | | | | ||
| Mindsilike | Alethia | BIPOC health& wellness podcast for Professionals who incorporate CBT/DBT into their practice. Cognitive restructuring to activate mind to prepare for Learning & change negative outcomes | ||||||
| Welcome To The Music | Karim Kanji | Music | | | | |