Toronto Daily Digest — Jan 23, 2026

Kinew appeals to Ford to stop the Crown Royal boycott — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew posted a playful video on Jan. 23, 2026, urging Ontario's Doug Ford to reverse his plan to remove Crown Royal from provincial stores after Ford poured out a bottle over the summer of 2025. This matters because Crown Royal spirits are made in Gimli, Man., with a bottling plant in Quebec, and Kinew warns the boycott would hurt good-paying Canadian jobs across provinces.

Toronto may cancel community centres and library projects if development cash dries up — City CFO Stephen Conforti confirmed about $300 million in capital work has been deferred and officials are weighing outright cancellations after development-charge revenues fell. The city now expects to receive about $1.9 billion less over the next 10 years, with parks down $214 million, libraries $76 million and waste $6 million in the latest budget.

U.S. aquariums say they're trying to help Marineland’s 30 belugas avoid euthanasia — American institutions including Shedd, Georgia Aquarium and Mystic visited Marineland this week as Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson considers an export permit request. Marineland says it faces funding shortfalls, has an urgent plan to move animals south, and warns the whales and four dolphins could be euthanized if no permit is granted; 20 whales have died there since 2019 and the park closed to the public in 2024.

Mitch Marner got a chilly reception in his Toronto return — Playing his first game back at Scotiabank Arena since leaving the Maple Leafs, Marner heard boos but also some cheers on Jan. 23, 2026, as his Vegas Golden Knights beat Toronto 6-3. Marner leaves Toronto after nine seasons with 741 regular-season points and an eight-year, US$96-million contract in Las Vegas.

Golden Knights beat Maple Leafs 6-3 in Marner’s homecoming — Mark Stone had two goals and an assist as Vegas (25-13-12) topped Toronto (24-18-9) on Jan. 23, 2026, with Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev and others also scoring. Key details: Adin Hill made 18 saves, Toronto’s John Tavares, Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann replied, and Vegas will visit Ottawa next while Toronto hosts Colorado.

Ontario says “all options on the table” to boost housing starts — Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and Premier Doug Ford are debating expanding a fall measure that set aside $470 million in HST relief for first-time buyers (up to roughly $80,000 off homes under $1 million). Housing starts plunged to 62,561 in 2025 and the government warns roughly 100,000 construction jobs could be at risk unless new measures are found before the March budget.

Ontario watchdogs publish AI guidance for ‘responsible’ use — The Information and Privacy Commissioner and Human Rights Commissioner issued joint principles urging transparency, reliability and human-rights protections for AI in government and private sectors. They call for pre-deployment testing, ongoing audits and the ability to shut systems down if they become unsafe while noting provincial AI rules (from the 2024 Enhancing the Digital Security and Trust Act) are still being finalized.

Former Olympian Ryan Wedding arrested, accused of running a massive drug operation — U.S. authorities say the 44-year-old (a 2002 Olympian from Thunder Bay) was captured in Mexico City and faces murder and drug charges tied to an operation allegedly trafficking 60 metric tons of cocaine a year and generating about US$1 billion. The FBI had placed a US$15-million reward on him; officials say he’s been flown to the U.S. to face prosecution.

Bitter Arctic cold will slam much of Canada with wind chills down to -50 C — Environment Canada issued orange cold warnings for all of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and parts of northwestern Ontario, warning multi-day wind chills from -40 to -50 C. Southern Ontario, the GTA and much of Quebec will still see dangerously cold wind chills (around -30 to -45 C), so officials advise dressing in layers and protecting pets and heating systems.

Hospitals warn of “no easy choices” without a major funding boost — The Ontario Hospital Association says hospitals face a combined $1 billion structural deficit and rising costs of about 6% a year, with local examples like Brockville General projecting a $5.6 million deficit and emergency-department volumes of 30,000 visits vs. a design for 19,000. The province’s budget now stands at $234.6 billion with $91.5 billion (39%) spent on health, and hospitals say service cuts or staffing reductions may be necessary if funding doesn’t change.

Toronto’s new bike-lane buildout fell sharply in 2025 after provincial ban — A Ford government moratorium late in 2024 on bike lanes that remove car lanes has slowed the city’s plans, with officials saying about 30% of planned expansions over two years would have replaced vehicle lanes and now must be revisited. Over the past decade Toronto added roughly 176 km of bikeways, but 2025 saw a dramatic drop as the city pauses projects that would affect traffic.