Ahmed and his wife came to Canada from Bangladesh in 2006 under the Foreign-born professionals program. Both were doctors back home — young, successful and surrounded by family. But like many people who come to Canada seeking a better education for their kids, they now face a harsh reality of long hours and low paid work, high rise living, and the stress of trying to keep it together while struggling with poverty and social isolation.
Two neighbourhoods on Toronto’s East side bear the unfortunate ranking of highest rates of mental health visits in the city: Oakridge & Taylor-Massey. This video portrait is the first in an ongoing series investigating the issue of mental health from the perspective of the communities who live there.
More from this issue
The Battle Over a 475-Metre Bike Lane on Marlee Avenue
In Toronto, even the most modest bike lane proposal is met with outsized anger and fear.
The Local’s 2024 Year in Review
Gather ‘round the warm glow of The Local Slack channel as we chat through our favourite stories of the year.
The Killing of the Science Centre
The 55-year old museum shuttered without warning one Friday in June. Then devastated staff were given four months to dismantle it. A former employee on the last days of a beloved institution.
Rachel Chernos Lin Wins Don Valley West By-Election
The Toronto District School Board chair beat out former right-wing columnist Anthony Furey in a fiercely partisan battle.
Here Are the Don Valley West By-Election Candidates
The only place to find fact-checked biographies and election platform summaries for all the candidates in Ward 15—Don Valley West's by-election for city councillor on November 4, 2024.
Live Results From the Don Valley West By-Election
Real-time results from election night, starting at 8 p.m. on November 4, 2024.
How a By-Election in Don Valley West Became a Contentious, Partisan Fight
Voting in Ward 15 is usually a sleepy affair. But with accusations of bigotry, legal threats, and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, the by-election has narrowed into a heated race between right-wing commentator Anthony Furey and TDSB chair Rachel Chernos Lin.
The Creeping Threat to Trans Rights in Toronto
Toronto is seen by many as a progressive bastion, but as anti-trans sentiment grips right-wing politics abroad and in Canada—including here in Ontario’s biggest city—local advocates are bracing themselves.
When Environmentalism is Weaponized Against the Unhoused
From a proposed pollinator garden at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields to tree trimmings and ‘grass remediation’—how the city uses green rhetoric to displace the homeless.
Making Space for Queer Community, Between Banquet Tables and Dim Sum Carts
For many queer, racialized Torontonians, Church and Wellesley doesn’t feel welcoming. As they push for inclusion, they’re also building their own spaces far from the Village.