Let’s all hate Toronto! Wait…WHERE?

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Why, you ask…to which I reply, ever been there? Here’s the must-see movie of the year, coming soon to a theatre anywhere but Toronto.

 

From the movie’s site:

If there’s one thing that truly unites Canadians it’s our national pastime of bashing Toronto. The first film on the subject, Let’s All Hate Toronto is a hilarious tongue-in-cheek road doc. The film follows “Mister Toronto” as he embarks on a coast-to-coats Toronto Appreciation tour, encountering “recovering Torontonians” and those who would be quite happy never to step foot in TO.

Is Toronto really Torauma, Onterrible? Yes, according to a “professional Toronto hater.” And in Calgary they finally discover the answer to a question that has boggled them for ages: why do all the trees point west? (“Because Toronto sucks that much.”)

Now, this all sounds fairly straightforward, and I, of all people, am not one to dismiss something that unites all of our great, yet divided, nation (really, only laughing at Conrad Black comes anywhere near close) but there is one little problem, one teensy thing preventing me from joining in the risibling and the ridiculizing.

What is this “Toronto” of which they speak?

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9 thoughts on “Let’s all hate Toronto! Wait…WHERE?”

  1. Poor ol’ Trawna.

    I wasn’t born there but I spent about eight very pleasant years living just south of Yonge & Bloor, between the ages of 25 and 33 (1982-1990). Loved it.

    From that article…

    I remember walking through the Eaton’s Centre and not being able to observe any minorities.

    Well, duh. I’m surprised that in 2005, when the article was written, that anybody was in the Eaton Centre. When I last visited in 1997 you could easily roll bowling balls down the aisles there and not worry about hitting any customers.

    The Toronto I knew was fun and dynamic, very multi-cultural (and clearly still was in 1997), challenging and interesting, and you could always find just about anything you were in the mood for. Any kind of live music, great food, art exhibits, whatever.

    I never understood the hate thing myself.

  2. Toronto is just so damn self-important. And, lately, resentful. When Vancouver got a World Trade Centre, you’d have thought it had gone to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump by the way Torontonians reacted. “Why would it go THERE???” the incredulous hordes in grey polyblend suits screamed.

    Toronto indeed has many great qualities, including multiculturalism (although I don’t think that blogger does them any credit with his ‘yeah, sure, Vancouver has coloured people, but those aren’t MINORITIES’ routine), nightlife, and a much higher standard of classical art. What it lacks is an active, high-quality avant-garde and the kind of openness to new experiences that you find in Vancouver and Montreal. Of course, the very closedness means that the ethnic communities remain distinct, and that’s kind of nice. And to this day I miss Ontario Place.

    But they really just have to get their heads out of their butts and realize that it’s just another town. A big town. A nice town. But not the goddam centre of the universe.

  3. Try Seville sometime … now there’s the true centre of the universe. Just ask any Sevillano.

    Seville/Barcelona is probably very close to Vancouver/TO.

    Yeah, it can be a tedious mindset to deal with at times. But who’s right? And who cares?

    They are all fabulous places, each with their own distinct charm, and I feel fortunate to have spent time in all of them.

  4. hmmm… guess I’m out of the loop about the Hate Toronto thing. maybe it’s like the sydney/melbourne rivalry or the nz/oz reciprocal bashing….

    will the movie enlighten me?

  5. I think it will. There’s no question it’s an important city, but it sometimes forgets the rest of the country exists or matters. When I lived in Ontario, there were any number of Toronto-centric competitions which called themselves “National”. Eventually they had to pass a LAW that anything calling itself “National” would accept entries from outside of Toronto. I kid you not.

  6. I was totally unaware of this Toronto-hatred. But Toronto has the Hockey Hall of Fame. And Wayne Gretzky has his restaurant located in Toronto, where Canadians can pray directly to his memorabilia.

  8. Well, I lived in Toronto for many years. And I’ve lived in Montreal since 1972. Frankly, there’s no comparison. At lunch in Montreal your friend will offer you a glass of wine. At lunch in Toronto, your friend will ask you how your portfolio did that morning. No thanks.

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