Toronto turns 188

The City of Toronto celebrated its 188th birthday Sunday.

Toronto Mayor John Tory posted a video message to Twitter, expressing his optimism for the months that lie ahead.

“As we work to wrestle this pandemic to the ground, our future as a city is looking brighter everyday.”

Tory highlighted a number of milestones, including how the city has seen high vaccination rates.

“This resilient Toronto spirit has been exhibited throughout the pandemic, as Torontonians cared for one another and followed public health advice.”

Kat Akerfeldt with Toronto’s First Post Office says the challenges the people of Toronto have faced in recent years draws a parallel with when Toronto was first incorporated in 1834 from the former town of York.

“The town of York was facing a lot of issues, really pressing problems. We had Cholera outbreaks,” she said. “There were political protests. I’m seeing a lot of parallels.”

The city says the ‘Toronto’ sign at Nathan Phillip’s Square was turned blue to celebrate.

While there was no in-person event due to covid, a festival is scheduled for September.

A number of people have shown their support for the city’s birthday via social media, including Supendra Chandrakumar, who considers himself a Toronto superfan and ambassador.

“Ever since a really young age, I really got the passion towards the city of Toronto,” he said.

“We’re very fortunate when it comes to the food, the culture, the sports. It’s beautiful.”

Chandrakumar says he travels out of country often, and will carry Toronto merchandise with him so that he can give it to other people he meets. He created the #LoveMyCity project to share his love for the city.