How the fight over one home tore the tight-knit community apart
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from Toronto Life’slong-form archives Dear Reader, As the city’s housing crisis rages on, life across the lake continues to be wildly affordable by comparison. Legislation dictating who has the right to own property on the Toronto Islands (very few people) hasn’t changed for 30 years, essentially locking home prices in the early ’90s. The average age of residents, however, is creeping up, leading to questions about who will get to be part of the next generation—and how. In “Clash of the Islanders,” Katherine Laidlaw took readers behind the scenes of a vicious property battle that pitted neighbour against neighbour. —Stéphanie Verge, features editor There are 262 homes on the picturesque Toronto Islands, and the battle to get one is epic. Inside the fight over a prime property that’s ripping the tight-knit community in two BY KATHERINE LAIDLAW | JUNE 23, 2021 Despite their 31-year age difference, Peter McLaughlin and Steven Whitfield bonded quickly. They met at a house party on the Toronto Islands in the summer of 1984 and, over the next three decades, became like father and son. When they made the relationship official through an adult adoption, fellow islanders went ballistic. Island rules stipulate that homes can be passed down only to a spouse, a child or a co-owner, and Whitfield’s neighbours believed that he was gaming the system. As Katherine Laidlaw wrote in this riveting feature, that’s when the islanders went to war with one of their own. READ THE FULL STORY Our current issue MAY 2023: WELCOME TO YOUR FUTURE HOME Toronto’s housing status quo may be bleak, but a heartening number of new residential developments are environmentally conscious, beautifully designed and relatively affordable. Our May issue features an optimist’s guide to the Jetsonesque near-future of real estate, including net-zero buildings, car-free neighbourhoods, rooftop farms and high-tech smart homes galore. If you’re still not receiving Toronto Life at home, what are you waiting for? Subscribe today. Follow us for the latest from Toronto Life |
