This blog is a collection of my actions and observations living in the city, and details my interactions with city hall.
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The contamination of Woodbine and Kingston

The title of this post is a double entendre. Figuratively, it is meant to convey that the size of the proposed development is going to contaminate our neighbourhood. Literally it is on contaminated ground that is being excavated without proper protocols. 419-425 Woodbine is just another in a long line of overdevelopment and overdensity. They…
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The fight isn’t over: Murphy’s Law Round 2

Despite numerous valid concerns, Toronto and East York Community Council approved the new Murphy’s Law development unanimously and without an ounce of scrutiny. But the fight isn’t over yet, there is still a chance to convince the rest of council, or sway councillors who already voted yes at community council, to not approve the new…
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The long shadow of the Murphy’s Law development

It was another bang of my head against a brick wall in my latest deputation at the Toronto and East York Community Council. No amount of information or statistics seem to matter, it’s a rubber stamp committee. I don’t know why they don’t just end the farce and let the public know these decisions are…
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Overdensifying Main and Gerrard

I attended the community “consultation” for 143-147 Main St on Feb 12th. It was the usual: developers and planners present and justify their plans, making overreaching and greatly impactful applications seem reasonable and fair. It is abundantly clear the goal is to densify every major intersection in Toronto, and overdensify anything remotely close to a…
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The Death of the Queen St East Urban Design Guidelines

Councillor Bradford and the Planning and Housing Committee have made it official: the Queen St E Urban Design Guidelines are a sham and they have no intention of honouring them. Regardless of those guidelines being developed 14 years ago, they still reflect the sentiment of residents, and the majority of developments that were supposed to…
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Refuting 6 Dawes Rd

On Nov 27, 2025 I deputed at Toronto and East York Community Council regarding yet another oversized development planned for 6 Dawes Rd. You can watch the deputation here: Councillor Moise interrupted me twice, first when I called out Mike Harris and Doug Ford for removing rent controls, and again when I called out the…
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Restore the Wards

Hello, my name is Adam Smith; lifelong Toronto resident, father, activist, and two-time candidate for Toronto councillor. I created the Restore the Wards campaign to convince provincial parties and candidates that restoring Toronto’s wards prior to Ford’s 2018 mid-election slashing was an important issue in the 2022 Ontario election. Sadly, it was not. You know…
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The bedfellows of development and neoliberal ideology

This article was so incredibly off-base in so many regards it requires a whole blog post to debunk it. It is rife with pro-developer neoliberal ideology, and one of the sources is quite surprising (ie disappointing). It’s not clear if the author is 1) just reporting what these “experts” have told her completely oblivious to…
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The ongoing inaction of 55 Division

Picture: Protest in front of 55 Division, July 6, 2020 I went to the protest in front of 55 Division on July 6, and found the story of Mark Austin resonated with me. Not because I’ve been the victim of racial discrimination, but because I too have been assaulted, multiple times, only to have 55…
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Defund the TPS Mounted Unit first
SIGN THE PETITION HERE My name is Adam Smith, I’m a lifelong resident born and raised in Toronto. I am requesting Toronto City Council to fully defund and dismantle the Mounted Police Unit in Toronto as a starting point to making cuts to the police budget. In the 21st century in a modern city like Toronto…
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New lights at Dixon and Lockwood intersections
UPDATE: March 5, 2019 The petition supporting the recommendations of the report has been submitted to Councillor Bradford’s office on Feb 26, 2019. The petition garnered over 100 names, mostly from residents on Dixon Ave, Woodbine Ave, Lockwood Rd, and Sarah Ashbridge Ave. We have requested a public meeting at Corpus Christie church and await the councillor’s…
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Discussing Toronto’s governance

On Feb 21, 2019 I spoke at the city’s Special Committee on Governance, which was formed to take public input on how to govern Toronto now that Ford abruptly slashed council in half mid-election, and also to discuss Councillor Bradford’s motion to institute term limits. The committee has five councillors: Perks, Carroll, Holyday, Crawford, and…
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Queen St East streetscape…

My years with the Beach Village BIA (2010-2016) were my first foray into volunteering, lobbying, and advocacy, and my first time on a board of directors. The board has changed over the years, but regardless of the board’s membership I was frequently the sole voice of opposition to many ill-considered policies and plans, and found myself often…
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Auto-waste…

This is what I like to call “auto-waste”, and it’s a policy of FAR too many businesses, organizations, and charities in the Western world. Basically it means that no matter how you sign up for something, for example entirely online, the entity you signed up with will automatically send you a bunch of wasteful paper…
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Lessons from the campaign trail…
I learned ALOT from my campaign: about running a campaign but also about the community. Knocking on doors and meeting people you’d otherwise never have occasion to meet really gets one in tune with their neighbourhood. Here are some of the lessons I learned, split into community and personal: Community lessons: – the Beach is…
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Running an environmental campaign…
As I clean up and sort out the mess in my office post-campaign I am appalled by all the waste. Hundreds of unused flyers, dozens of unused window signs, leftover buttons, stacks of paper from canvassing. So much paper and ink for such short use to be disposed of. It was tough running an environmental…
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My thoughts post election…
First of all, congrats to all the candidates, for having the courage to put themselves out there and making an effort to reach out to the community. We had a slate of incredible and dedicated people, the ward was going to be in good hands no matter what. And kudos to Brad Bradford, he certainly worked…
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Improving Small Business
For years people have been talking about the state of Queen St in the Beach, with our empty storefronts looking derelict and decrepit and dragging down the whole strip. But this is not unique to Queen, it’s a problem across the city. Danforth was very lucky to have DECA, who made a concerted effort to fill…
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Beaches Facebook group interview
Big thanks to Denise Angus for hosting the candidates and taking the time to do these thorough and in-depth interviews. It was a rare chance in this campaign to have the time to speak comfortably at-length about certain local issues.
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Responsible Development – Heartwood
The Heartwood development at Queen and Woodbine (the old Shell Station) violates our urban design guidelines as it will block the view of our historical heritage fire hall clock tower.
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Public Art
I try to beautify our neighbourhood any chance I get. Programs like StreetARToronto are important in covering all our grey concrete, and Community Centre 55 has been doing great work with young artists.
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Pedestrian Safety
Too many of our streets lack proper ground markings and curb cuts to direct pedestrians and warn cars where there are pedestrian spaces.
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Carbon Emissions
Climate change becomes more undeniable every day, and carbon emissions are the main culprit. The city can be doing much more to ensure the public service is not contributing more to this escalating problem.
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Responsible Development – Eastdale
New developments around Eastdale and Lumsden are going to add a lot more density in an already dense area, right next to an ecologically sensitive ravine. We need to ensure development respects its surroundings and that infrastructure like mass transit will not be overloaded by new additions.
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Affordable Housing
Toronto’s affordable housing is strained, and we need to keep up with repairs and add new units. Inclusionary zoning is a start, but we need more freedom to build the housing Toronto needs.
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Improving the Woodbine Cycle Track
The Woodbine Cycle Track has been a valuable addition to cycling infrastructure, but is riddled with design flaws that are causing confusion and unsafe conditions. I have written a comprehensive report outlining the flaws with full solutions.
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Retail Parking on Queen St.
Parking on Queen has been an issue for a long time, and after doing an audit of street parking for the Beach Village BIA years ago I have identified areas where more parking can be added.
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Child Care
There is a serious lack of available affordable child care in our city. As the father of a toddler about to enter daycare I know the frustration of being on a waiting list since before my son was born. As councillor I will push for more funding for public and non-profit daycare.
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Kingston Rd United Church Debate
See all my responses to the questions at the debate:
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Changing the wards
I filed my nomination to run for council a mere 2 hours before Ford made his first surprise announcement about changing the wards. I speak elsewhere on the site about the folly of this move, even if one forgets there is a lawsuit in the works, the main problem for Toronto will be getting enough…
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Sept 8, 2018 7-10pm Adam Smith Campaign Launch Party and Fundraiser

The launch party at Firkin On Danforth was a success. Everyone had a great time and it was great to see so many locals supporting my campaign.
