It's been a pretty dependable rumour these days, but now the Prime Minister's office has finally confirmed it: there will be an official election call for October 14. At 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, Stephen Harper will mosey from 24 Sussex over to Rideau Hall to get permission (albeit a simple technicality) from Governor General Michaëlle Jean to dissolve the 39th Parliament. And here we go again…......

Dubaimetro Naming Rights Turn your brand into a destination RTA offers Dubai Metro Naming Rights Welcome to the ultimate branding and marketing opportunity. With Dubai Metro Naming Rights, you can put your brand on a Dubai Metro station of your choice, or one of the two lines of the Dubai Metro Network. Dubai Metro Naming Rights offers you unmatched impact and visibility to take your brand to new levels of saliency and success. What's......

Hope is a cruel thing for a sports fan: no matter how bleak the situation, as long as there's a straw in sight we'll happily clutch at it. Case in point: Leafs Nation, of which we're proud, occasionally defiant members. We've been flip-flopping over the Leafs all season long. A few weeks ago we'd written them off, then watched as the team put together an impressive run (which included comprehensive victories over the Ottawa......

You've got less than three weeks to prepare yourself for Earth Hour on Saturday, March 29. That's when people around the world are being encouraged to turn off their lights for one hour to raise awareness about global warming. Toronto was the first Canadian city to sign up for the international event late last year, and has since been joined by most other GTA municipalities, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, and many more—close to 50 cities......

Far be it from us to conflate professional sports with Bill Shakespeare—but the Toronto Maple Leafs’ actions before, during and after Tuesday's NHL trade deadline recall Macbeth’s famous words: full of sound and fury, yet ultimately signifying nothing. Charges of heresy will be duly acknowledged. In the end, the promised blow-up never materialized. None of the five big-money, no-trade-clause-holding players could be moved. Pavel Kubina was apparently ready to be shipped off (to San......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. As you read this I'm somewhere in the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, likely between the House of Commons visitors' gallery where I will have just finished watching question period and the Railroad Room where......

It's been the best of times, it's been the worst of times for the Toronto Maple Leafs; in fact, the past couple weeks have been nothing short of surreal. First, the best of times: wins against the high-flying Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, followed by a thoroughly unexpected Hockey Day in Canada victory over the league-leading Detroit Red Wings, have given the team a boost. Injured players are getting healthy. The return of the......

Do you think you can turn your lights off for an hour? The WWF is challenging people around the world to do just that at 8 p.m. local time on March 29. The global event is called Earth Hour, and the goal is to raise awareness of global warming. Last year's inaugural event took place in Sydney, Australia, where more than 2 million people and 2100 businesses turned off their lights. The result was......

Deep in a Toronto basement is the former office of budget dentist, Dr. Jimmy Connolly. Though he claims to have been a dentist in Kosovo, Connolly, whose real name is Gzim Bytyqi, isn’t licensed to practice in Canada. License be damned—Jimmy has been practicing in Toronto, Ottawa, and Quebec for at least a year. Soon, his only clients may be fellow fraudsters in the joint. Illustration by Kevin McBride.......

Ottawa to introduce new fuel economy standards. They will be "at least" as stringent as American fuel economy standards. In response, David Suzuki blew upon a party horn sarcastically and waved a tiny flag, his derision apparent to all and sundry. Bobby Fischer dies at 64. The former world chess champion was famous for beating the Russians, and for being quite possibly fairly insane, which inspired the nifty little film Searching For Bobby Fischer.......

Photo from Monolith Festival. One of Chicago's finest, Kid Sister makes her return to Toronto at Wrongbar this Friday. Ever since landing the cover of Urb's Next 1000 issue, Kid Sister's career has been moving firmly in the fast lane. She landed a Kanye cameo for her debut video Pro Nails and she's already proven that she can rock a Toronto crowd. Kid Sister will be joined by Ottawa's Jokers of the Scene and......

Sections of downtown core shut down for fear of falling debris. David Miller responds by initiating the "Less Wind Now" campaign, encouraging Ottawa to build "a giant wall" around Toronto to serve as a windbreak. Forty year mortages have arrived. Suggested advertising slogan: "Now you can be in your seventies and still not have paid down your house! Federal poll shows Tories back on top by seven points. Apparently, the secret for the Tories'......

Once upon a time, we would hear the word "dodgeball" and be swept back to a simpler time, when colours were flourescent, New Kids on the Block were popular and dodgeball was little more than an excuse to work up an adolescent sweat. It certainly wasn't a sport. Redass was a sport; dodgeball was really just a way of scoring easy marks in gym class. Then in 2004, the Ben Stiller movie Dodgeball came out,......

It looks like there will now be a reprieve for all of you filthy, dirty scum who have dared to engage in file-sharing, downloading, and the elusive but nonetheless nefarious "time-shifting." Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice has, for now, backed off on plans to introduce a new and comprehensive copyright bill to the House of Commons, at least until late January of 2008. The new bill was supposed to be introduced this week. The......

A new study says that diseases and parasites from farmed fish are having devastating effects on wild salmon stocks in parts of B.C. Skyrocketing global demand for seafood means fish farming can be very profitable, even when the cost of frequent tractor replacements is taken into account. Brian Mulroney continues to be the centre of the most-covered and least-followed story in the Canadian media. Basically he says he's not guilty of anything except taking......

Urbanist is a photo series that will look at developments, architecture, trends and activities happening in various cities––including our own––to inspire the urbane urbanist at home to make Toronto a better place. Sometimes what makes a city great are small, less obvious things that make you smile, or better yet, engage your environment in a more active way. Around Ottawa, you can find swap boxes like the one shown above on telephone poles or construction......

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Last time we checked on 178 Bathurst Street, it was just beginning to relive its Bassmint-era techno days with Derrick May at Crosstown, now closed. Since then, things underneath the Queen Street West and Bathurst Street Pizza Pizza have come full circle. Until 1999, Christian "DJ Unabomber" Poulson operated Bassmint, a famous party spot and afterhours that still conjures memories of sleepless nights for......

When thrashy experimental punks Quebexico called it a day earlier this year, angry, drunken, often-bearded fans across the country had a good reason to get more angry, more drunk, and grow larger beards. Thankfully, the band's offspring is hitting the same musical highs in the same aggressively DIY manner. TEENANGER, comprised of the 3/4ths of Quebexico that lived in Toronto (Ottawa-based guitarist Davey now plays in the also-awesome Million Dollar Marxists), is a little......

Urbanist is a photo series that will look at developments, architecture, trends and activities happening in various cities––including our own––to inspire the urbane urbanist at home to make Toronto a better place. While Toronto has been making headlines in recent years for its investment in artistic institutions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, and the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Ottawa has been in the spotlight of late because......

Photo of Ani DiFranco by Maria Bree. This week, our must-see show is Ani DiFranco at Music Hall Theatre. Having seen her in concert multiple times, Musicologist can vouch for the fact that the Righteous Babe is an amazing live musician. There seems to be some stigma about liking Ani, but don't fall victim to that or you'll be missing out. If you're looking for something free, Ottawa's Melissa Laveaux plays Hart House's Arbor......

One month into the new NHL season, and this much is obvious: the Toronto Maple Leafs are a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, dressed in the league’s silly new jerseys. The Leafs are scoring more often than your younger sister, but they’re also leaking goals at a potentially historic rate. They’ve lost two games by 7–1 final scores, but they’ve also got an 8–1 win and consecutive 4–1 road victories against consensus preseason favourites......

Scandinavian Airlines says that they will permanently ground their fleet of Canadian-made Bombardier Q400 turboprops following three accidents involving problems with landing gear. In response, Bombardier will no longer market the plane as the Q400 Skid. The Dalai Lama is in Ottawa, where he will spend three days meeting with Tibetan exiles and politicians. The world's cutest religious leader said during a speech that war is obsolete, noting, "We all come from our mother's......

From left to right: Ox, Morning Gothic: New and Selected Poems, The Mechanical Bird, and Sympathy for the Couriers. On Monday October 29, more books will be heading into town via Véhicule Press. The Montréal-based publishing house will be kicking back in Toronto, boasting four new poetry titles: The Mechanical Bird by Asa Boxer, Morning Gothic: New and Selected Poems by George Ellenbogen, Sympathy for the Couriers by Peter Richardson, and Christopher Patton's Ox.......

Microsoft has agreed to buy 1.6% of Facebook for $240,000,000, giving the social networking site a valuation of around $15 billion. The deal is good for both parties, with Bill Gates finally hanging out with the cool kids, and 23-year-old Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg getting to throw an awesome kegger. John Tory has officially backed away from the faith-based schools funding issue that may have cost him the provincial election. Seems kind of silly......

With much-maligned NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in the crowd, the Toronto Maple Leafs dropped the puck on the 2007-08 season at the Air Canada Centre last night. He was probably unable to catch a glimpse of a homemade sign halfway across the arena that read: “Bettman: ruining the NHL since 1993.” Despite the Buds’ slightly new uniforms (which either look like pajamas or practice jerseys, depending on who you ask), one might have been......

Toronto places three roads in the province's worst twenty streets. Steeles placed fifth, Bathurst ninth and Dufferin twelfth in the survey of the worst-maintained roads in Ontario. That having been said, be glad you don't have to drive in Sudbury (first, third, eighth and tenth). Take THAT, Sudbury! Dutch traffic planner says Toronto needs "naked streets." By which he means downtown core streets with no speed limits, traffic signals or curbs. Pick your joke: 1.)......

Musicologist is Torontoist's weekly concert listings. Check back in every Monday for more. This week, Musicologist recommends Girl Talk at the Phoenix—if you can find a ticket—but with a couple of caveats. First, do not go expecting your typical live show, or even your typical DJ. The magic of Girl Talk is in the atmosphere he creates with his sample-crazy mash-ups, not in any sort of live technical impressiveness. Think of the $15 ticket price......

Upwards of 1,500 protesters from Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, and Hamilton marched on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday to protest the arrival of U.S. President George W. Bush. Bush will meet today with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Montebello, Quebec on the two-year-old Security and Prosperity Partnership. The agenda is to include emergency planning for an avian-flu pandemic, the recall of Chinese-made toys, and border security. Demonstrators......

Taking a page from David Miller's Big Book of Intergovernmental Panhandling, Dalton McGuinty is complaining that Ontario is going to need a hot cash injection from the Feds if we're going to get those manufacturing jobs back from Bangladesh. Q: What do you get when you have an NDP mayor, a Liberal Premier, and a Tory Prime Minister? A: If you pay taxes in Toronto, pretty much nothing! In related "news," New York Governor......

Photo by Marc Lostracco. With all the recent hubbub over taxes, cutting costs, and shutting down elements of the TTC, folks have been a little concerned about the fate of everyone’s favourite public transit system. While Mayor David Miller continues to passive-aggressively beg Ottawa and Queen’s Park for funding, many wonder if it’s possible to run the TTC without it. Haven’t we been a big, tough, independent city in the past? Can’t the Toronto......