World Headlines: Doug Ford's biggest test yet

First Up

By Andrew Joe Potter

Good morning. After you've checked out today's stories, please join me at the bottom of today's First Up for a brief housekeeping note about the future of our weekend editions. Here’s the latest.

MUST READS

Cathie Coward/The Hamilton Spectator

ONTARIO VOTES

Can Ford's "Big Blue Collar Machine" pass its biggest test yet?

As Thursday's provincial election approaches, Doug Ford's campaign continues to court the blue collar vote, including in pro-labour strongholds with close ties to Ontario’s automotive industry. Political opponents have accused the Progressive Conservatives of pandering on subjects like electrical vehicles. Rob Ferguson breaks down where Ford and his party stand entering the home stretch.

Toronto Star Archives

CLIMATE

How reimagining old-school suburban ideals will help fight the climate crisis

Despite sky-high fuel costs and calamitous weather, climate change has taken a back seat this election season. Ford's position in the polls suggests Ontarians are still clinging to the nostalgic, vague promise of "the good life," Chris Turner writes. Simply citing emissions targets is not enough; here's why selling the suburbs on the potential for a better way of life is a key to tackling our climate crisis.

Tim Krochak Photo

WAR OF THE WORDS

Spellbinding lessons from Canada's former spelling bee champions

Many former champs of Canada's once-flourishing spelling bee scene are still tormented by their mistakes all these years later. With three young Canadians heading to Washington to compete in the Super Bowl of phonics, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the country's former stars tell Katie Daubs how the game has changed since their heyday.

Dreamstime Photo

WELLNESS

What does the mental health app boom mean for those seeking help?

Imagine baring your personal trauma over an app, then being billed $60 a week long after your assigned therapist has seemingly disappeared? With global spending on virtual health services predicted to reach as high as $500 million (U.S.) in 2022, the rapid growth of the digital mental wellness industry hasn't been without growing pains, Bobby Hayes writes. Experts warn the "appification" of mental health care comes with serious drawbacks.

Staff Photographer/The Toronto Star

SPORTS

Seven years later, Toronto's Pan Am Games venues are still winning

Between the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games, Canadian swimmers claimed just three medals; at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, the medal count jumped to 12. The athletics community tells Kerry Gillespie that the vast improvement is a huge testament to the world-class facilities built for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. This is the lasting legacy of the city’s game-changing investment in sports.

UP CLOSE

Eduardo Lima/Freelance

Emily May Rose’s elaborate murals might be the only time you'll be happy to come across a herd of raccoons. The Toronto-based artist tells Steph Davidson about the mark of a successful public work of art and why she sometimes feels like a raccoon herself.

VISIT THIS

Nick Kozak Photos for the Toronto Star

Welcome to the Handwork Department, where 1950s issues of Playboy and decommissioned street signs are found alongside locally made jewellery and rude needlepoints. Celeste Percy-Beauregard breaks down why the shop is well worth a visit to the East End.

Thank you for reading my final edition of First Up! It's been a blast curating this corner of the internet, and I hope I succeeded in making your weekend mornings a little better (even those who didn’t agree with my views on the aggravatingly marimba-laden "American Beauty" score).

For comments about what you'd like to see from our weekend edition moving forward (or to request a commemorative signed author's photo of yours truly), you can reach the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca. Manuela will see you back here tomorrow.

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