City Hall Watcher

City Hall Watcher

Home
Platform View 2023
Archive
About
Council to talk about coyotes, federal support for shelters, and a big pay hike
City Hall Watcher #324: Your Council meeting preview for March 2025.
 • 
Matt Elliott
Toronto versus Trump
City Hall Watcher #323: Mayor Olivia Chow reveals her tariff-fighting plan, Executive Committee meets after a March Break lull, and a chart of stolen…
 • 
Matt Elliott
1
City Hall's Amazon addiction
City Hall Watcher #322: City Hall staff put more than $25 million on City credit cards last year. OPEN DATA CHALLENGE tries to track where the money…
 • 
Matt Elliott
6
Trash of the titans
City Hall Watcher #321: LOBBYIST WATCH for February 2025, featuring a garbage future, the return of MINNAN-WONG, delivery robots and more
 • 
Matt Elliott
3

February 2025

Whatever happened to Vision Zero?
City Hall Watcher #320: Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher on the bright side of slower-moving traffic, plus contractor bans, Don Valley West donors, and coyotes.
 • 
Matt Elliott
Mayor Olivia Chow blasts through another budget
City Hall Watcher #319: A recap of Council's 2025 budget debate, with a special MINI SCORECARD of the major votes
 • 
Matt Elliott
4
Council readies for kinder, gentler budget debate
City Hall Watcher #318: A recap of one Council meeting and a preview of another, with notes on new fees for road blockages, the 2025 budget, the new…
 • 
Matt Elliott
2
A conventional Lobbyist Watch in unconventional times
City Hall Watcher #317: it's LOBBYIST WATCH for January 2025, featuring Convention Centre lobbying, Wal-Mart, delivery robots and more. Plus: new winter…
 • 
Matt Elliott
4

January 2025

Reserving judgment as Toronto's budget nears the finish line
City Hall Watcher #316: Toronto's Budget Committee wraps up their work on the 2025 budget, with notes on swelling reserve funds, more winter washrooms…
 • 
Matt Elliott
2
How property taxes work — and how they don't
City Hall Watcher #315: Guest contributor David Hains makes his City Hall Watcher debut to resurrect a classic about how property taxes REALLY work…
 • 
Matt Elliott
7
The 2025 Budget Launch Spectacular
City Hall Watcher #314: It's Budget Day, so let's look at the many budget increases, the eight budget decreases, and the ongoing history of Toronto…
 • 
Matt Elliott
Saying goodbye to all the City Hall lobbying of 2024
City Hall Watcher #313: And goodbye to a Prime Minister too, I guess. It's Lobbyist Watch for December 2024 — and the top ten Toronto lobbyists of 2024!
 • 
Matt Elliott
5
© 2025 Matt Elliott
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture