Toronto's big flip has big repercussions

Plus, the high cost of living for people with disabilities and the B.C. election [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on property flippers remaking Toronto streets, disabled people being pushed into poverty and the results of B.C.’s nail-biting election. DON’T MISS R.J.Johnston/The Star the big flip [How property flippers transformed this Toronto street]( Exmoor Drive in Etobicoke was once dotted with nine “strawberry boxes” — tiny single-storey homes that provided one of the most affordable entry points into Toronto’s real estate market, Diana Zlomislic writes. But over the past decade, nearly all these homes have been bought up, demolished and replaced with custom houses that sell for at least twice as much as their predecessors. [Where are young families supposed to go?]( - Rising prices: Across Toronto, renovators are buying up more affordable older housing and replacing them with larger, more expensive homes. [Here’s how the practice is remaking the city](. - The great migration: Ballooning housing prices and a downturn in Toronto’s real estate market have flippers seeking more affordable pastures outside the city. [Take a look at where renovators are going and how you’ll be affected](. Dreamstime Photo cost of living [Toronto’s high cost of living is leaving disabled people with “no hope”]( Life in the GTA is more expensive than ever, especially if you’re living with a disability. A new report found it can cost up to 39 per cent more for disabled people not just to survive, but to thrive in the city, Reagan McSwain reports. It’s partly because of all the extra out-of-pocket expenses disabled people face, from necessary equipment to grocery delivery. [Here’s what can be done](. - Below the line: Nearly one million disabled Canadians live under the poverty line, accounting for almost 40 per cent of all people experiencing poverty, according to the report. - Wait, what? Ottawa’s new Canada Disability Benefit was intended to drastically reduce poverty rates among disabled Canadians. [But it’s expected to lift just four per cent of those eligible out of poverty when it rolls out three years from now]( Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito b.c. politics [What’s going on with B.C.’s election?]( People in British Columbia are waking up to a reshaped political landscape following a nail-biting weekend election — but they’ll have to wait another week for the official results. Neither the Conservatives nor the incumbent NDP secured the 47 seats needed for a majority government, and manual recounts triggered in two key ridings will take days to sort out. [Take a look at what’s at stake](. - By the numbers: Premier David Eby’s NDP is leading or elected in 46 ridings, and John Rustad’s Conservatives in 45 — a stunning turnout for a party that received less than two per cent of the vote last election. - Luke LeBrun’s take: Rustad disagrees with the basic science on climate change, regrets being vaccinated and once floated the idea of prosecuting doctors “Nuremberg”-style in COVID-19 trials. [His party’s success is a sign something’s deeply broken in Canadian democracy](. WHAT ELSE MPPs are returning to Queen’s Park today. [This is their first order of business](. Canada’s fight with India shows [New Delhi is watching Sikhs around the world](. Pierre Poilievre wants provinces to overhaul their disability programs — [and he could withhold federal money to make it happen](. How Ontario students and teachers are benefitting from [one man’s dream to forever change childhood education](. Why a Toronto judge is making the gunman in a Ramadan mass shooting [read his victims’ words](. [York police have identified a man]( found fatally shot in the driveway of his Markham home. [UHN hospitals are reinstating masking requirements]( ahead of the flu, cold and COVID season. This 83-year-old Newfoundland musician is still [playing sold-out shows, even with memory loss](. Here’s how the pumpkin spice “latte factor” is [stopping you from getting rich](. Looking to downsize? [An expert shares how to start planning](. “You must do it.” [How Borje Salming convinced Mats Sundin to become the Maple Leafs captain](. The Raptors’ pre-season was a failure in many ways. [Here’s why](. POV Steve Russell/The Star [As progressive Jews, we have been let down again and again by our communal leadership — we have had enough.]( CLOSE-UP Michelle Mengsu Chang/The Star TORONTO WATERFRONT: Tens of thousands of runners hit the streets of the downtown core over the weekend for the 35th annual Toronto Waterfront Marathon. It was the biggest race in the event’s history, with an estimated 30,000 participants from over 70 countries. [Anastasia Blosser and Elissa Mendes recap what you missed](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_4225). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get [thestar.com]( + ePaper edition. Only $1 for 6 months! Save over $100. [Get This Offer]( If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [View in Browser]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](