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John Lorinc

@johnlorinc.bsky.social
6.2K followers 513 following 535 posts

Toronto journalist & editor. Contributor to Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, Corporate Knights, Walrus, Spacing. Co-editor: Messy Cities (Coach House, 2025). Author: No Jews Live Here, A Memoir. chbooks.com/Books/N/No-Jews-Live-He….

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Reposted by John Lorinc
Spacing @spacing.bsky.social · 12h
In an op-ed today, @albertkoehl.bsky.social argues that cycling advocates need to take over the script from Premier Ford spacing.ca/toronto/2026...
spacing.ca
OP-ED: It’s not just about bike lanes - Spacing Toronto
Whether it’s buck-a-beer, easier access to alcohol, or tunnelling under Highway 401, Doug Ford has proven himself to be a master of distraction, diverting attention from his government’s failures and ...
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 14h
Tis.
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 17h
Cc @glynbowerman.bsky.social At some point, and this is WAY overdue, progressives need to begin calling out Toronto’s BIAs, with a few exceptions (Annex), for their staunch anti-urban defense of street parking. The urban left still views BIAs as benign and public spirited, and they’re just not.
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The reunion tour…?
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Spacing @spacing.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Spacing's new election (and post-election) issue profiles the people and organizations that shape the discussion on key urban issues. Available now at the @spacingstore.bsky.social store and soon at other fine stores and subscriber mailboxes spacing.ca/toronto/2026...
spacing.ca
NEW ISSUE: Issues & Influencers - Spacing Toronto
For every municipal election since we started Spacing, we’ve published a special election-focused issue in advance of the polls. This year, we decided to do something a little different. Rather than l...
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Spacing @spacing.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Before it was the Bentway and condos, the space around the Gardiner Expressway west of Bathurst was a concrete plant (and before that, a harbour quay). Photographer Peter MacCallum shares his photos of that earlier industrial era. spacing.ca/toronto/2026...
spacing.ca
Before the Bentway: CBM Bathurst, 1998 - Spacing Toronto
The bent of the Gardiner Expressway flanking the west side of Bathurst Street currently functions as the eastern entrance to the Bentway, but when I photographed it in 1998, it framed an open vista st...
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Toronto Star @thestar.com · 30/09/2026
The Star’s If I Were Mayor contest is asking students at the TDSB and TCDSB how they’d make their city better to live, learn and play in. If we love your idea, you could win a prize and be featured in the Star. Check it out here:
thestar.com
If I Were Mayor contest: Do you have a big idea for your city?
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Graeme Bayliss @gbayliss.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I wrote about Premier Doug Ford's apparent indifference to human life for @thestar.com: www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Graeme Bayliss: His cyclist friend was killed. Why did Doug Ford’s response include ‘lmao’?
No one is expecting the premier to mash out the Bixby letter on his iPhone. Yet we might expect more than this.
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The detail about changing the turning radii at corners really got my attention.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Spacing got its hands on the RFP for the province's attack on Toronto's bike lanes. My main thought is that nobody in the Premier's Office has considered even the narrow, political downside risk for them here. spacing.ca/toronto/2026...
spacing.ca
EXCLUSIVE: Inside the contract to rip out Toronto's bike lanes - Spacing Toronto
After the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) shot down CycleTO’s legally innovative charter challenge that sought to stop Doug Ford’s attack on the city’s bike lanes, Queen’s Park wasted little time befor...
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Spacing @spacing.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
EXCLUSIVE: Inside the contract to rip out Toronto’s bike lanes Spacing has obtained the RFP for the Ford government's bike lane removal, and it looks even worse than thought. spacing.ca/toronto/2026... #toronto #bikes #torontobike @cycletoronto.bsky.social
spacing.ca
EXCLUSIVE: Inside the contract to rip out Toronto's bike lanes - Spacing Toronto
After the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) shot down CycleTO’s legally innovative charter challenge that sought to stop Doug Ford’s attack on the city’s bike lanes, Queen’s Park wasted little time befor...
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Absolutely.
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How-Sen Chong @how-sen.com · 26/09/2026
Photo from Reddit of today’s Critical Mass. There are hundreds of cyclists in this photo and only about 40 people in cars. Yet both groups are taking up roughly the same amount of road space.
Photo of Critical Mass bike ride in Toronto today
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Finally got around to reading Alberta’s referendum ‘questions’ which are actually mini speeches. A veritable case study in how to construct a leading question. Sd be req’d reading for polling 101… albertareferendum2026.ca/constitution...
albertareferendum2026.ca
2026 Alberta Referendum | Constitutional Questions
Learn more about the 2026 Alberta Referendum and the important ballot questions Albertans are being asked to consider on October 19th
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Patience…
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Spacing @spacing.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Spacing is very pleased to have our issue 70, "Civic Memories," nominated for a 2026 Toronto Heritage Award in the Public History category! www.heritagetoronto.org/programs/her...
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I’d lose the dock shoes…
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Also, Enoch Powell.
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Please join us in congratulating Lisa Robertson, a finalist for the 2026 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for RIVERWORK!
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The fact that the world has become somewhat innured to Trump’s bombast shouldn’t obscure the pure evil in his rhetoric about Iran. Genuinely evil. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/09...
nytimes.com
U.N. Live Updates: ‘Annihilate’ Iran or Strike a Deal, Trump Says to General Assembly
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
ICYMI from me in @thestar.com y’da: the recent alarmist warnings from tech execs has only muddied the waters in the crucial debate over govt regulation of AI, esp. in Canada. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
thestar.com
John Lorinc: Even as they say ‘slow down,’ tech giants are arguing for self-regulation. Why should we trust them?
There must also be consequences for non-compliance, just as there are in many other regulatory regimes, from banking to food processing.
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
One of my people…
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Mini-golf!
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
And will look like this for years to come.
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The detail that really stuck with me here is the etransfer. I mean, how stupid can they be…?
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
A packed launch last night for WOMEN, WALKING, edited by Zahra Ebrahim and Jane Farrow! Thanks to everyone for coming out to support this anthology and making it such a fun night, to Zahra and Jane, and to all of the contributors (both in attendance and sending their support from afar). 🚶‍♀️📚❤️
Jane Farrow and Zahra Ebrahim standing in front of a crowd, with microphones, at the Women, Walking book launch.Big big crowd at the Women, Walking launch.Zahra's whippet, Zada, at the launch! Receiving pets from the book table employees.
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Disposables….
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
See you tonight for the Women, Walking launch in Toronto! Remarks from the editors, Zahra Ebrahim and Jane Farrow, will begin at 7:30 PM.
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Out Sep. 22 -- explore Dominique Béchard's SHADOW OF THE LIVING BRIGHTNESS via All Lit Up below 🤍
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
#topoli Today on @spacing.bsky.social , a welcome break from the news cycle: Leora Bromberg on the rich intersection of Toronto’s laneways and the print shops that made their homes there. spacing.ca/toronto/2026... cc: @coachhousebooks.bsky.social
spacing.ca
Intersections of print culture in Toronto's laneways - Spacing Toronto
The handprinted broadside below was one of my first and most memorable encounters with the works of Glenn Goluska (1947-2011), celebrated today as one of Canada’s most influential fine press printers....
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Leslie Howsam @lesliehowsam.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Toronto #bookhistory , with a bonus on the city’s laneway culture.
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Tomorrow night! Celebrate Women, Walking: Notes on Lives in Motion with editors Zahra Ebrahim and Jane Farrow at Henderson Brewing Co, Toronto. Full event details here: www.eventbrite.ca/e/book-launc... (RSVPs are helpful, but NOT necessary to attend! Please join us, even if we're sold out!)
eventbrite.ca
Book Launch for Women, Walking: Notes on Lives in Motion
Come hang out and dive into stories of women on the move, exploring life one step at a time.
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
#topoli Today on @spacing.bsky.social , a welcome break from the news cycle: Leora Bromberg on the rich intersection of Toronto’s laneways and the print shops that made their homes there. spacing.ca/toronto/2026... cc: @coachhousebooks.bsky.social
spacing.ca
Intersections of print culture in Toronto's laneways - Spacing Toronto
The handprinted broadside below was one of my first and most memorable encounters with the works of Glenn Goluska (1947-2011), celebrated today as one of Canada’s most influential fine press printers....
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Reposted by John Lorinc
Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“We would never tell motorists they cannot drive to the places they need to go: their workplace, their child’s school, their favourite restaurant, their bank…Yet cyclists are routinely told that their destinations are somehow less legitimate, that their mobility should be relegated to the margins.”
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A very persuasive metric of a healthy society.
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Today on @spacing.bsky.social: former Ontario cabinet minister Eleanor McMahon on the need to extricate bike lanes from Doug Ford’s culture war. spacing.ca/toronto/2026...
spacing.ca
Election 2026: Culture wars are warping cycling policy - Spacing Toronto
In 2014, I did something I never imagined I would do — especially after years spent as a political staffer watching campaigns from the inside. I put my name on a ballot. The invitation came from Kathl...
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Today on @spacing.bsky.social: former Ontario cabinet minister Eleanor McMahon on the need to extricate bike lanes from Doug Ford’s culture war. spacing.ca/toronto/2026...
spacing.ca
Election 2026: Culture wars are warping cycling policy - Spacing Toronto
In 2014, I did something I never imagined I would do — especially after years spent as a political staffer watching campaigns from the inside. I put my name on a ballot. The invitation came from Kathl...
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
For Lisa Robertson fans: we have only THREE signed & stamped copies of Riverwork left: chbooks.com/Books/R/Rive... (Purchase a paperback as normal and we'll fulfill your order with one of our last copies; we'll update this post when we're totally out.)
Photo of several copies of RIVERWORK with one stacked in the middle.An example of a signed and stamped page!Video of Lisa Robertson explaining where this special stamp came from.
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Lisa Robertson's Riverwork has been shortlisted for the 2026 American Library in Paris Book Award! Learn more about the award and the full shortlist here: americanlibraryinparis.org/bookaward/
A photo of the five shortlisted titles, including: 

Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Fractured France: A Journey through a Divided Nation by Andrew Hussey
(Granta Books)

Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War by Jane Rogoyska
(Allen Lane)

My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein: A Fiction by Deborah Levy
(Hamish Hamilton)

Riverwork by Lisa Robertson
(Coach House Books)
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
We're thrilled that Lisa Robertson's RIVERWORK has been longlisted for the 2026 Giller Prize! Read more about the full Longlist below. 📚
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Happy pub day to The Point! by Nasser Hussain!!! Missing everything but the point: visual poetry celebrating excitement, with a beautiful cover of silver foil on pink felt stock! Buy your copy here: chbooks.com/Books/T/The-...
A hand holding a copy of The Point! outside the Coach House. The book is bright pink and has many "THE POINT / NASSER HUSSAIN" printed across the front in silver foil. Interior pages from The Point!A photo of several copies of The Point!
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National Media Awards Foundation @canadamediaawards.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Writing spotlight: Gold, NMA:B2B Best Topical Reporting: AI & Technology / Pivot @johnlorinc.bsky.social Contributors: Paul Ferriss, Stephanie Matas Learn more about the 2026 NMA: B2B winners: zurl.co/xkAoc #B2B26 #CanadianBusiness
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
THIS THURSDAY! RSVP to the 2026 Wayzgoose below. 🪿📚🌭
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David Hamer @davidhamer1951.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
It’s official: Big Dumb Doug Ford is Ontario’s very own King of Stupid. 🤷🏼🙄🤷🏼 🚴🚴🚴
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
#topoli New from me om @spacing.bsky.social : on the eve of the formal start of the campaign, mounting evidence that Brad Bradford’s got some worrying judgment issues. spacing.ca/toronto/2026...
spacing.ca
Brad Bradford's glaring judgment problem - Spacing Toronto
By John Lorinc Spacing So, here we are on the eve of the firing of the starter’s pistol for the mayoral race, and Brad Bradford is already mired in the company-you-keep problem. Or, maybe to put it mo...
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
#topoli New from me om @spacing.bsky.social : on the eve of the formal start of the campaign, mounting evidence that Brad Bradford’s got some worrying judgment issues. spacing.ca/toronto/2026...
spacing.ca
Brad Bradford's glaring judgment problem - Spacing Toronto
By John Lorinc Spacing So, here we are on the eve of the firing of the starter’s pistol for the mayoral race, and Brad Bradford is already mired in the company-you-keep problem. Or, maybe to put it mo...
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
And yet, 2026…
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
New from me in @torontostar: as the province prepares to waste millions ripping out bike lanes, a pressing legal issue remains unresolved: can govts just walk away from their duty to keep residents safe? www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
thestar.com
John Lorinc: What happened when a dominatrix and a cyclist met up in court
Laws meant to ensure individual public safety often mix with politics, to everyone’s detriment
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John Lorinc @johnlorinc.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
There is one!
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Coach House Books @coachhousebooks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Thank you library readers! What I Know About You, Encampment, Fifteen Dogs, The Sleeping Car Porter, Riverwork, and Instructions for the End of the World among the most borrowed indie books for August. 📚❤️
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