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The scandals and notable losses that made 2023 a year to forget

2023 featured political scandals, random violence, sports hopes raised and dashed

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It was a year of political scandals and random violence, of sports hopes raised and dashed, of frightening anti-Semitism and the declared end of the COVID global emergency.

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It was a year where a diabetes drug took Hollywood by storm, wildfires raged across the nation and an orange clown facing 91 felony counts — including efforts to overturn the 2020 election — is actually leading in the polls to once again be president of the United States. But at least one sane state has said Donald Trump should not be on the ballot.

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As 2023 limped to a close, let’s look back at some of the highlights and lowlights of the year that was.

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion reads the Toronto Sun at the official opening of the Mississauga Transit Terminal in November 1997. (Greig Reekie/Toronto Sun)
Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion reads the Toronto Sun at the official opening of the Mississauga Transit Terminal in November 1997. The legendary politician died this year, just weeks shy of her 102nd birthday. Photo by Greig Reekie /Toronto Sun

HAIL TO THE HURRICANE

There won’t be another like her. Just weeks shy of her 102nd birthday, we lost a legend with the death of former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion, a force of nature who turned a hamlet into a city during her 36-year reign and worked tirelessly long after her retirement.

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Toronto Sun front page on Feb. 11, 2023.
The Toronto Sun’s front page on Feb. 11, 2023.

WE THOUGHT BOY SCOUTS NEVER CHEAT

Four months after John Tory was elected to a historic third term, our straight-arrow mayor resigned in a shocking scandal — turns out the straightlaced family man had a long-running, on-and-off affair with a former underling 38 years his junior, a pandemic fling later found to have violated the city’s code of conduct. Now Tory is back on the airwaves as a municipal affairs expert.

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CONSCIOUS UNCOUPLING

Being a politician is obviously tough on a married couple. In August, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he and wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau were separating after 18 years of marriage and she’d moved out of Rideau Cottage. Rumours soon surfaced — thanks to her paramour’s divorce proceeding — that she was already in a relationship with an Ottawa pediatric surgeon.

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WHO KNEW HE WAS A SWIFTY?

After our embarrassing prime minister joined the demand that global superstar Taylor Swift bring her megashow to Canada, Time magazine’s woman of the year sold out all six Toronto dates of her Eras Tour within minutes with resale tickets now going for as much as $95,000.

Premier Doug Ford listens as Ontario’s former minister of housing Steve Clark speaks.
Premier Doug Ford listens as Ontario’s former minister of housing Steve Clark speaks during a press conference in Mississauga, Ont., Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. Photo by Cole Burston /THE CANADIAN PRESS

FORD’S FOLLIES

Premier Doug Ford was plagued by a mess of controversies — from opening private health care to plans to move the Ontario Science Centre. But nothing compared to the Greenbelt scandal. His flip-flop decision to open 7,400 acres of the protected Greenbelt saw a public outcry, two scathing reports and a number of resignations before the apologetic premier reversed the land swap. And now, enter the Mounties.

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LET’S MAKE A DEAL

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Ford warned Torontonians that electing Olivia Chow as their new mayor would be an unmitigated disaster.” But after she won, becoming the first woman and first racialized person elected to the post, the polar opposites had a surprising detente:  She agreed to play nice on his redevelopment of Ontario Place, with its Therme spa plan, in exchange for $1.2 billion in cash going toward Toronto transit, housing and shelter support and the province’s takeover of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.

Close up of two people toasting with beer
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction recommended this year that we limit ourselves to just two drinks per week. Try not to cry into your suds — or sauvignon blanc. Getty Images

ER, I WON’T DRINK TO THAT?

The year began with uproar at new health guidelines by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction recommending we limit ourselves to just two drinks per week. What a downer, considering we’re finally allowed alcohol in city parks and Ford is making good on his promise of beer and wine in corner stores — by 2026.

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Justin Trudeau and Tucker Carlson.
Stand down, Justin Trudeau! Tucker Carlson, who wanted the U.S. to invade and “liberate” Canada, is no longer with Fox News. Photo by Photo Illustration

MAN THE BATTLE STATIONS

Before he was ousted by Fox News — good riddance — former blowhard Tucker Carlson wanted the U.S. to invade and “liberate” Canada.

A human and robotic hand touch fingers.
Artificial intelligence tricked music fans with “Heart on a Sleeve,” which sounded like a collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd. Photo by iStock /GETTY IMAGES

IS IT LIVE OR IS IT MEMOREX?

OK, most of you don’t understand that reference. Look it up. The emergence of artificial intelligence has been both hailed and feared. We got a taste of its power in April when AI managed to trick music fans with “Heart on a Sleeve,” which sure sounded like a collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd that went viral before it was taken down.

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ANIMAL CRACKERS

Is it something in the water? After escaping from an overnight stay at the Oshawa zoo, a fugitive kangaroo punched an officer before finally being recaptured three days later; in northern Ontario, a woman was bitten by a one-armed baboon named Mark after he slipped away from his owner’s home. Local beekeepers were called to the rescue after five million bees were released from crates that fell off a truck in Burlington. And how did a chicken recently cross the road? He hitched a ride aboard the subway.

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LET THEM EAT CAKE

While grocers posted record profits, people had a hard time putting food on the table this year as prices rose by 5.6% during the first nine months of 2023. Loblaw chair Galen Weston was particularly roasted after photos circulated of five boneless chicken breasts priced at a whopping $37.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reacts after being picked off at second base during the fifth inning of Game 2 of an AL wild card baseball playoff series against the Minnesota Twins Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Minneapolis. Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn /The Associated Press

CONTINUED TRAGEDY OF BEING A T.O. SPORTS FAN

Blue Jays star pitcher Alek Manoah flamed out, pitcher Anthony Bass was released after his anti-LGBTQ posts, the team was sent packing after being swept by the Minnesota Twins in a wild card series and we lost out on superstar Shohei Ohtani. On the slim plus side, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the Home Run Derby and beloved bat-flipping Jose Bautista retired as a Blue Jay after signing a one-day contract.

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Former Raptors coach Nick Nurse salutes crowd.
Former Raptors coach Nick Nurse salutes the crowd after a video tribute was played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by GETTY IMAGES

BASKETBALL SIDE OF THINGS WASN’T MUCH BETTER

The Raptors fired coach Nick Nurse after the team was eliminated from playoff contention and fan favourite Fred VanVleet left for Houston. But at least the Leafs won their first playoff series since 2004, so hope springs eternal.

People regularly exposed to smoke from wildfires are more likely to get dementia, a study suggests.
A person in a canoe goes for a paddle on Lake Ontario as smoke from wildfires partly obscures Toronto’s skyline at Humber Bay Shores Park on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun

S’MORES ANYONE?

It was the worst year for wildfires in Canadian history and the faraway blazes blanketed the city in an eerie orange haze and an ever-present smell of campfires.

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GOING FOR GOLD

It was an audacious caper that saw someone simply walk away with $20 million in gold from an Air Canada storage facility at Pearson Airport. Cue the lawsuits and the major motion picture that you just know will get made.

Screengrab of two men fighting on TTC subway train.
Two men fight on a TTC subway train. Photo by blogTO /X

THE BLOODIER WAY

Riding the Rocket continued to be a dangerous proposition as random violence plagued the TTC this year with stabbings, assaults and murder — including the shocking fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes in an unprovoked attack at Keele Station. Meanwhile, the Eglinton Crosstown, slated to open in 2020, was pushed back yet again, while Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster still won a contract extension. But on the positive side, Leafs star William Nylander loyally sticks by his ride to every game and there’s finally cell service. And as for not taking the TTC, even Tom Cruise calls out our terrible traffic.

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A box of Ozempic medication.
A box of Ozempic medication. Photo by Mario Tama /Getty Images

DID THE FAT LADY FINALLY SING?

People desperate for weight loss — including celebs like Oprah Winfrey — turned this year to semaglutide drugs like Ozempic, which are usually prescribed to Type 2 diabetics but now are being used off-label for obesity.

People walk past a Bad Boy furniture store.
People walk past a Bad Boy furniture store in Brampton, Ont., Monday, Nov., 13, 2023. Bad Boy declared bankruptcy this year. Photo by Christopher Katsarov /THE CANADIAN PRESS

NOOOOBODY COULD SAVE BAD BOY

After 70 years, the furniture chain built by late former mayor Mel Lastman declares bankruptcy with Mastermind, WeWork and Metroland also running into financial trouble.

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CHEF OF DEATH?

Former Toronto hotel chef Kenneth Law made international headlines and he stands charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder involving his alleged sales of sodium nitrate to Ontarians who went on to commit suicide. And it may just be the beginning — police around the world are examining his links to victims in their countries as well.

So let’s bid farewell to 2023, shall we, and here’s wishing you a better 2024.

mmandel@postmedia.com

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