I moved to Toronto as a teenager, and it’s been a love affair ever since. Do you want to know why everyone thinks Toronto is filled with cold, rude people? Because people come here with that attitude. I’m friendly, I help people find their way around all the time, and I think this is a wonderful and vibrant city full of great people.

Of course we’re going to get offended and turn a cold shoulder when all the rest of the world does is bash us; this is our HOME. We live here and most of us love it. Try walking around NYC talking about how loud and noisy and terrible you think it is; you’re going get a lot of pretty angry New Yorkers up in your face. Because it’s home, where they live, work, play, raise families. What right do you have to spit all over that?

Think of it on a smaller scale: You tell everyone about how much you absolutey HATE your neighbour’s house. You go there from time to time to borrow something or visit… but you hate their house. And oh, how cold and rude they are and it gets worse each time! Well, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: you say they’re cold and unfriendly and so they treat you that way. Why wouldn’t they? You don’t bother taking the higher ground, so why should they?

Millions of people have come to this city from across Canada and the rest of the world. Everyday we manage to get by speaking different languages and with different cultural mindsets. It is busy and pulsating and unique. We make it work – so go ahead and hate us, we have better things to do than worry about the childish opinions of haters from abroad. This city can be a warm and welcoming place if you have the decency to come here with an open mind and see it for what it is; come see us for who we are and you won’t be disappointed.

In New York, young middle-class people have to live in apartments the size of closets, or move to the suburbs. In Toronto, they can live downtown, at reasonable prices.