Between the Raptors winning their first-ever NBA Championship, protesters staging near-weekly demonstrations against government policies, and various incidences of people throwing things where they shouldn't be throwing them, 2019 was a big year for news junkies in Toronto.
Here are some of the stories that resonated most among Toronto residents online throughout 2019.
Raptors win the NBA championships
I mean, duh. Toronto not only made it into the NBA Finals for the first last season, we took home the Larry O'B. It was a wild time for sports fans and civic enthusiasts alike. An official celebratory parade through the downtown core attracted an estimated two million people, making for the largest street party in the city's history.
This is what Kyle Lowry's view of the Toronto Raptors Championship parade looked like #Toronto #Raptors #WeTheNorth #WeTheNorthParade #TorontoParade pic.twitter.com/A9dAZY5qNK
— blogTO (@blogTO) June 18, 2019
Chick-fil-A comes to Canada
The launch of American fried chicken chain Chick-fil-A's new location at Yonge and Bloor in Toronto this fall sparked a torrent of protests over the company's ties to anti-LGBTQ2 groups. Meanwhile, people are still lined up outside the restaurant nearly every day to get their hands on some greasy waffle fries. It's been divisive, to say the least.
People are protesting outside the opening of #Toronto's first Chick-fil-A location - 📹 @RonaldJayQ pic.twitter.com/rmUTnAEo47
— blogTO (@blogTO) September 6, 2019
Chair girl
In February, a 19-year-old bottle service girl named Marcella Zoia simultaneously became a wanted criminal and an internet sensation for throwing a chair off the balcony of a high-rise condo building over Toronto's Gardiner Expressway. Everything wild that's happened since could fill a book, and probably will some day.
Someone took a video of a chair being thrown off a #Toronto condo building pic.twitter.com/fylo70gLu0
— blogTO (@blogTO) February 11, 2019
Peepee Poopoo Man
Speaking of illegal projectiles, 20-year-old Samuel Opoku captured the city's attention in late November for allegedly tossing buckets of liquified feces at five people in three separate incidents at university campuses across the city. Opoku is charged with five counts of assault with a weapon, but no word yet on what motivated the crime.
Someone is going around throwing feces on students at Toronto universities https://t.co/SSLydDpOQu #Toronto pic.twitter.com/IFXnBnkCi4
— blogTO (@blogTO) November 25, 2019
Bianca Andreescu wins the U.S. Open
Mississauga's very own Bianca Andreescu, 19, was hailed 'Queen of the North' this summer after defeating Serena Williams to become the first Canadian women's singles champion of the U.S. Open. All of Toronto beamed on as the young athlete went on a whirlwind media tour that included a flight aboard Air Drake.
Bianca Andreescu makes history as first Canadian to win the US Open singles title 🇨🇦🏆 #USOpenFinals #USOpen https://t.co/cJ76rDYtbu pic.twitter.com/9GyLCduEWw
— blogTO (@blogTO) September 7, 2019
Global Climate Strike Protest
Twenty-nineteen was nothing if not the year of the protest. From demonstrations against OSAP cuts to die-ins for animal rights, in-person rallies blew up as a thing to do in Toronto this year. This was evidenced in spades during the Global Climate Strike in September, where everyone on Instagram got to play activist for a day.
This time-lapse video of the climate strike in Toronto is simply breathtaking #Toronto #climatestriketoronto https://t.co/5bkJBUokPw pic.twitter.com/xo0FTL3zZO
— blogTO (@blogTO) September 27, 2019
Kawhi Leonard's miraculous shot
The Toronto Raptors couldn't have won the 2019 NBA Finals without Kawhi Leonard's ridiculous, game-winning buzzer beater in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Philadelphia. "The shot," as the moment is now known, has gone down as one of the greatest moments in professional sports history — and for good reason. Just watch it.
Just watching this over and over and over again #Raptors #Toronto #Kawhi 📹 NBA pic.twitter.com/SAEJUPBnRM
— blogTO (@blogTO) May 13, 2019
Woman goes on racist rant in Nathan Phillips Square
The entire city was shocked in August by video footage of a young woman verbally attacking someone and spitting on him outside Toronto City Hall. Talya Davidson, 28, was arrested and charged with assault, as well as three charges of assaulting a peace officer. Rumours that the racist tirade was a hoax turned out to be false.
A woman was just caught on camera screaming racial slurs outside #Toronto City Hall - 📹 u/farhanrana https://t.co/g0g1ZBVqsK pic.twitter.com/p4m6CfYeqy
— blogTO (@blogTO) August 12, 2019
Justin Trudeau's blackface scandal
While not specific to Toronto, we'd be remiss not to mention what was probably the most internationally talked-about political scandal from Canada since Rob Ford admitted to smoking crack. The black and brown face photos of Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau that leaked ahead of 2019's federal election didn't stop him from winning, either, which itself raised some eyebrows in the city.
Photos and video of Justin Trudeau in brownface send shockwaves across #Canada https://t.co/7b39Ij8Ru8 pic.twitter.com/JjiTcyBNEA
— blogTO (@blogTO) September 19, 2019
The Drake curse
He may have done a lot for the Raptors franchise, but Drake got no love from fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs this past season. Whether seriously or as a joke, the artist has been blamed all year for crushing the chances of any team or athlete he shows support for with his jersey choice, including several European football clubs, Serena Williams and Conor McGregor.
The very real #DrakeCurse #LeafsForever added to lengthy list of losers after Drizzy's support: Conor McGregor, Serena Williams, Kentucky Basketball, Alabama football, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Arsenal, Man City, Borussia Dortmund #Drake pic.twitter.com/qxnBGSLS7k
— Bruce Bolton (@BruceDBolton) April 18, 2019
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
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