Listening T.O. History

In this episode, we discuss Toronto's crackdown on communist activity in the city in the late 1920s! This episode gets into the interrelated histories of policing, the issue of free expression, access to public space, journalism, leftist politics, and more. For those interested in learning more about the topics covered in this episode and/or want to read some of the sources we quote from in the ep...

In today's episode, we discuss the classic Canadian movie Goin' Down the Road! Released in 1970, this movie tells the story of two Maritimers who come to Toronto looking for better pay and good times. We chat about the how the movie portrays Toronto at the time, and how that portrayal compares to other historical sources. For those interested in learning more about the topics covered in this episo...

On today's episode, we discuss student activism at the University of Toronto in the 1960s and '70s, with a specific focus on a conflict over who was allowed to access the stacks at Robarts Library. It’s also a chance to talk about how the university changed from the late nineteenth century, the last time we covered its history, to the 1970s! For those interested in learning more about the topics c...

In today's mini, we talk about how Toronto has voted in Canada's federal elections of the past. Here are some resources for those interested in learning more about the history of Toronto and federal elections, or the history of Canadian federal elections more generally: Stephen Clarkson, The Big Red Machine: How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2005). Cara Spitt...

In today's mini, we discuss the history of Toronto in Ontario provincial elections. If you'd like to explore for yourself the results of Ontario's elections throughout the province's post-Confederation history, check out this database: https://results.elections.on.ca/en/data-explorer?fromYear=1867&toYear=2025 ! -- Listening T.O. History is created and hosted by Steve Penfold and Louis Reed-Woo...

In our first-ever Listening T.O. Mini, we discuss the history of free trade and tariffs in Canada's and Toronto's history. In particular, we focus on 1911, when a group of Toronto elites who had supported the Liberal Party broke with it over the party's pursuit of a free trade agreement with the United States. We also discuss the federal election held later that year (which was largely a referendu...

This episode is the first of a two-part series on the history of the TTC, and particularly streetcars, in Toronto! In these two episodes, we get into how Toronto's streetcar system came to be, why it moved from private business to a municipal agency, why the city kept using streetcars when other cities got rid of them, and how streetcars have shaped the development of the city. We also get into th...

When you think about student protest movements, you probably don’t think about the Victorian era. But maybe you should—because in 1895, University of Toronto students challenged the university’s administration by going on strike! In this episode, we discuss what led to this protest, what happened during the strike, and campus life/culture in the nineteenth century more broadly. Here are some recom...

For over a hundred years, Toronto was a stronghold of the Orange Order—a fraternal society founded on principles of militant Protestantism and loyalty to the British Crown—and Toronto's many Orangemen worked to marginalize the city's Irish Catholic population. In an episode that takes us from riots in the streets all the way to City Hall, we talk about what Orangeism was, why people got involved w...

In 1885, ​more than 500 Torontonians headed to the Northwest to defend settler colonialism against a Métis resistance led by Louis Riel. In this episode, we wonder why a monument to these volunteers sits at Queen’s Park, why Toronto became so interested in the prairies in the mid-nineteenth century, and what role Toronto had in settler colonialism in the West. We reflect on how the power of Toront...

In this episode, we discuss the career of one of history’s most famous Torontonians, William Lyon Mackenzie. Those of you who know your Canadian history have probably heard of Mackenzie; in the late 1830s he famously led a failed rebellion against the government of Upper Canada. Less well known about Mackenzie, though, is that just a few years before that rebellion he actually served as the city o...

In this episode, we discuss how the initial establishment of Toronto (at the time, York) was part of a British imperial project. We also look into how decision-makers inscribed Britishness on Toronto's landscape through naming practices. We also address how this dynamic continued (but in some ways changed) over time, and how it compares to elsewhere in Canada. Some additional resources related to...

In this episode, we look into the history behind Toronto’s land acknowledgements! Who are the Indigenous nations and confederacies alluded to by the acknowledgements, and what are the histories of the various treaties that are referenced? We discuss all this and more in our very first episode! Some additional resources related to today’s topics: Talking Treaty Collective, A Treaty Guide for Toront...

Hello and welcome to Listening T.O. History, the podcast all about the histories that made Toronto! In this short trailer, we introduce ourselves and what this podcast is all about. Be sure to check out our first episode, coming very soon!   --   Listening T.O. History is created and hosted by Steve Penfold and Louis Reed-Wood. Our artwork was made by Nethkaria , and the music in this episode was...