Let's All Hate Toronto

Last Wednesday Canadians from coast to coast came together to celebrate Canada's birthday with an assortment of firework shows, tribute concerts and backyard barbecues. With a population of just over 30 million (36th in the world) spread out over the world's second largest national land mass, in a collection of vastly distinct urban clusters, Canadians have often struggled to achieve a strong sense of national unity.  In a sense, Canadian cities are like a family of adopted siblings none of whom look anything like each other and all of whom has moved far away from the nest only to reunite for special occasions like last Wednesday.  And like all families, this one has its black sheep. For me, Toronto is like that sibling that was never the most interesting person to have around at a party but who handled his business in college, went on to become wildly successful and is now deeply resented because of it.

It's no secret that hating Toronto is a favourite past-time among Canadians from all stripes.  This fact was illustrated quite vividly in the 2007 documentary Let's All Hate Toronto, where Canadians from cities large and small sounded off, in no uncertain terms, on their disdain for the city that 5.5 million Canadians call home.  Watching the documentary I got the sense that other Canadians are under the impression that we think we're better than they are.  To an extent this is true.  But what great city doesn't have its fair share of civic pride?  Every city thinks it's the best, but taking this posture only becomes problematic when your claims of civic superiority might actually have merit.

Let's be honest, no one ever got mad at a Prince Edward Islander for claiming that Charlottetown is the jewel of the Great White North. It's sort of like the unattractive woman who constantly reminds those around her that she's gorgeous, even though we all know she's really just trying to convince herself more than anything else.  It's part of the social contract; if you actually are the best, don't rub it in by constantly reminding everyone.

In Toronto's case, however, this reputation is somewhat undeserved.  Those who've spend time in the city would find that, rather than harboring feelings of superiority towards the lesser municipalities, our attitude would be better described as indifference.  With Toronto being the centre of film, television, and commerce, among other things, Torontonians tend to live in a bubble whereby we know very little about the rest of Canada partly because we're not forced to investigate whereas the rest of Canada knows a lot about us, or at least they think they do.


I was confronted with this reality during a trip to Victoria, B.C. last summer, one of my many forays outside the bubble.  Even as someone who has traveled extensively within Canada, I was oblivious to the fact that, since all the national television and newspaper outlets are headquartered in the Toronto, National news is inevitably presented with a Toronto-centric slant.  Our local news is seen as having national importance and the Leafs get top billing in the sports line-up, no matter how far out of play-off contention they may be - and it's usually pretty far. So while we in Toronto are bombarded with news and images from the United States, the rest of Canada, gets bombarded with news and images from Toronto and it serves as a constant reminder of our heightened prominence in the national landscape.


So it's not like Toronto is bragging, but to some people our sheer ambivalence is actually much worse.  Just like Canadians in general yearn to be acknowledged by our neighbors to the south, Canadians outside Toronto, long to be recognized by the Toronto establishment.


When asked what's the greatest city in Canada, most Canadians will say Vancouver or Montreal with a few mavericks citing Calgary. Indeed the case can be made for any of these. Together with Toronto, these cities comprise the 4 largest metropolitan areas in the countries and all three of them has host (or will host shortly) the Olympics, which Toronto has never done.  Also, all three of these cities have features that distinguish them from the rest of the country and give them a unique identity.

Vancouver is perhaps the most visually stunning as it's nestled neatly between the mountains and a shoreline that boasts some of the nicest beaches in the country. It's also known for having that laid back, west coast swag.  Calgary also has a stunning view of the mountains along with the stampede and cowboy hats.  I could write an entire article on the things that make Montreal one of the most unique cities, not just within Canada but throughout the globe. Of course there's the whole bilingual thing, the old city, the European architecture, poutine and smoked meat sandwiches.  All these things combine to make Montreal a sexy city, and my personal favourite of the three.

Toronto has no such it factor.  Our main claim to fame is simply that we're the biggest. Yet still, we're the ones that everybody talks about both domestically and abroad.  For this reason, residents of Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal harbour a special resentment towards Toronto since they see us as the main obstacle standing in the way of them being the centre of attention.  Furthermore there's a sense that all the attention we get is undeserved, that we're the Madrid to Montreal's Barcelona and all the resources we have were placed here either for convenience or by fluke and not because of the merits of the city itself.

And to an extent this may be true.  But it doesn't change the fact that we just have more stuff.  The perks of being the biggest are nothing to sneeze at. We have sports teams in 4 of the 5 major American professional sports leagues (NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS).  We have the best educational and healthcare institutions in the country and our population, which is among the most diverse in the world, enjoys a level of racial harmony that is unparalleled in any other city in Canada.  As a result, we play host to some of the world's biggest cultural festivals every summer.  Our film fest, Pride parade and Caribbean carnival are all top three in the world.  When you throw in Afrofest, Latinfest, Corso Italia, and Taste of the Danforth, it's easy to see why Toronto attracts as many tourists annually as Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal combined.

Given these facts, is it any wonder why Toronto remains the target of Canadian animosity.  Because of our relatively minor role in world affairs and the fact that we're consistently overshadowed by the US, Canada has always suffered from a collective Napolean complex, of which Toronto-hate is but one manifestation.  But Toronto, doesn't retaliate.  Partly because we don't care, and partly because, like most big brothers, we realize that, in a lot of ways, our little siblings want to be just like us.