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That took me aback. Could anyone actually hold up Toronto as an example of achievement?

I told him I had the impression Montreal had done more, building two east-west subway lines downtown, plus a subway to Laval. He sees things differently.

“The only thing we are building is the commuter line to Mascouche,” he said. “And that’s over budget and delayed.”

The reporter hadn’t visited Toronto in years, and was amazed at all the positive change. “I feel like the architecture is a lot more creative in Toronto,” he said. “Just look at the AGO. And you are doing a great job with the West Don Lands.”

This is where crews are building the athletes’ village for the Pan Am Games. It will become a mix of social and market housing after they are over.

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For many years I bemoaned all the demolition in Toronto. I still do. Our factory buildings and our modern architecture, in particular, deserve more respect than they get. At the same time, Toronto is a forward-looking town, where you can buy shirts with the sleeves already rolled up. If you are sentimental, you are probably living in the wrong place.

In Quebec, where I grew up, I covered the last years of Montreal’s autocratic Mayor Jean Drapeau for the McGill Daily, the Sunday Express, Montreal Mirror and The Gazette. I remember Montreal city hall as dark, cloistered, and filled with secrets.

Exactly 20 years ago, on Halloween, 1994, I moved to Toronto from New York. Among my first acts was to vote in a municipal election. I voted for Barbara Hall. She was elected mayor. This was very strange for me as an anglo from Quebec: I’d never before voted for anybody who won. It felt exhilarating.