toronto feuds

5 memorable feuds between Toronto and other cities

Toronto may have a reputation for being mild mannered, but we still like to get feisty once in a while. Sports rivalries aside, our city has gotten itself in heated feuds with other metropolises, both near and far. From literal trash talk to Grammy-nominated diss tracks, our battles are usually fought in the limelight.

Here are five memorable feuds between Toronto and other cities.

Toronto vs. Detroit
Peace Collective's Toronto Vs. Everybody shirts are enormously popular. But some say they're a little too similar to the Detroit vs Everybody shirts. In fact, the Michigan brand accused Peace Collective of plagiarism last year. Peace Collective, however, denies this and has expanded its reach - you can now buy its apparel in mainstream stores such as The Bay.

Toronto vs. Michigan
From 1998 to 2010, Toronto sent its garbage - up to 142 trucks per day - to the Carlton Farms landfill in Michigan. Naturally, many south of the border raised a stink and eventually, the city bought another landfill closer to home near London, Ontario. Recently (like this week), Michael Moore implicated Toronto's outsourced garbage program in the ongoing Flint water crisis.

Drake vs. Meek Mill
This wasn't just a fight between two hip hop artists. Rather, last summer's feud riled up Toronto, mostly thanks to Norm Kelly's involvement in this massive rap battle. Drake came on top after releasing a series of diss tracks, including the Grammy-nominated single "Back to Back."

Toronto Public Library vs. Kansas City Public Library
During the American League Championship Series between the Jays and the Kansas City Royals, the Toronto Public Library got into a literary tiff with Kansas City Public Library. After the Blue Jays lost 14-2 to the Royals, the American city's public library fired off some feisty book-spine poetry. Naturally, we responded in kind, despite losing the ALCS.

TIFF vs. Telluride
TIFF and the Telluride Film Festival aren't the best of friends. That's because Telluride happens right before TIFF. To ensure Toronto gets prestigious North American premiers, our local festival decried that films screened at Telluride wouldn't be allowed into TIFF's opening weekend. Now these movies are merely restricted from certain high-profile venues during the festival's coveted first few days.

What would you add? Suggest more feuds to the comments.

Photo by Greg Patterson in the blogTO Flickr pool.


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