- Chrystia Freeland to resign as MP, take Ukraine advisory role
- Freeland announced she will vacate her House of Commons seat effective Friday, Jan. 9, to become an unpaid economic development adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- She says she consulted the federal ethics commissioner during the process. Opposition Conservatives and the NDP had demanded immediate resignation upon accepting a foreign-government advisory role.
- Toronto draft budget to propose 2.2% property tax increase
- City will table a draft budget with a proposed 2.2% property tax increase ahead of formal debates.
- Majority of the new revenue is earmarked for the city’s building fund. Under the 2022 strong-mayor rules, Mayor Olivia Chow must present her budget by Feb. 1; council then has up to 30 days to consider it and needs a two-thirds vote to overrule the mayor on process.
- TTC budget approved: fare freeze, $1.5B ask from city hall
- TTC’s operating plan totals roughly $3 billion in spending with $1.5 billion in revenue, leaving a funding gap of about $1.5 billion the agency is asking City Hall to cover (a 6.5% increase over last year’s ask).
- Plan includes frozen fares, extended station-cleaning pilot, new measures to reduce bus bunching on the 10 worst routes, updated wayfinding and $1.6 billion in capital intentions over the year.
- Two murder investigations: U of T student arrest; Yorkdale GO bus homicide
- Toronto police arrested a 28-year-old man on a first-degree murder charge in the Dec. 23 killing of 20-year-old Shivank Avasthi on the Scarborough campus; investigators call it a "planned and deliberate act."
- A separate first-degree murder charge was laid in the Jan. 4 Yorkdale GO bus terminal shooting — Toronto’s first homicide of 2026; victim died at the scene; suspect charged is 40 years old.
- OPP seek driver in fatal Mississauga New Year’s hit-and-run
- OPP say a 32-year-old Scarborough woman died after falling from another moving vehicle and then being struck about 5:45 a.m. on Jan. 1 on eastbound Highway 401 near Dixie Road.
- Suspect vehicle described as a white or light-coloured Toyota or Nissan, possibly with damage to the front driver’s side; investigators urge drivers or witnesses with information to come forward.
- GTA housing market ended 2025 lower but signs of possible recovery
- Toronto Regional Real Estate Board: 3,697 homes sold in the GTA in December, down 8.9% year-over-year; average selling price $1,006,735 (down 5.1% y/y); composite benchmark down 6.3% y/y.
- New listings in December: 5,299 (up 1.8% y/y). Board says recovery could come in 2026 if economic confidence improves.
