Toronto in 1997

A cool look at Toronto in 1997. credit: Oleg Korzun (Check him out here: / @olegkorzun )

[@Sonny_Black]

A city not absolutely flooded with delivery guys on ebikes is such a beautiful sight..

[@thefozzybear]

I don't mind delivery guys on e-bikes but they should stay on the road, not the sidewalk.

[@joseph-the-seventh]

True. A lot more violent crime back then though.

[@BrianShaneRushton]

It's so hard to cycle in the bike lanes now. Their e-bikes with huge bags strapped on them block the entire bike lane and they ride super slow even though they're on e-bikes and they don't have to. When they're going fast they move over and drive on the roads adjacent to the bike lanes and get in the way of the motorists

[@pex3]

Nowhere for kids to ride their bike yet though. At least they fixed Bloor.

[@TheCreatorhascome]

Top Thinker, top comment❤

[@eremite2693]

Ahhh 'the good old days'. it might be a cliche to say, but to me these truly were the good old days. I could actually afford to live in the city

[@flamingocupproductions5329]

it was near the end of the good ol' days. (1991-1999)

[@leedleleedle6824]

paul bernardo existing during this time frame and getting away with what he did for so long is the good old days to you? Or do these brief snapshots of toronto do you enough justice to ignore all the crimes going around

[@Austyn_Young7]

Fr lll

[@judithbreastsler]

a lot of good people were still walking the earth back then

[@duncandmcgrath6290]

@@leedleleedle6824Paul Bernardo was a criminal, he existed before and after this “time frame” . Paul wasn’t an era or a metric to assess the health of a city . Look for some positivity and shed that pessimism ✌️

[@multipass888]

I miss when Toronto was like this. Look how well dressed people are, look how clean the streets are, and Yonge St. looks like a street I enjoyed walking down. It's too bad we now only have the memories...

[@springs9922]

too small of a city leave if u dont like it

[@mark3464]

Are you kidding me? In the 90s? I don’t think so

[@event__horizon]

Canada is what's called a legacy country, the only thing propping it up today is it's former reputation. If it doesn't improve fast, it will lose that status and officially become a developing nation.

[@iAMaReaperGotprobZ]

Ok boomer

[@Busbybeats]

My God, what have we done?

[@torontoguy8043]

politicians sold out Canada

[@Brettsforehead]

A communist mayor was voted in ... Olivia Chew

[@HopeLaFleur1975]

Trudeau and its plethora of lies!

[@Gathalok]

you've abandoned religion and family, and in turn your society turned to shit, that's what.

[@Thunderpussy1234]

The majority voted for traitors who sold our country out from under us to globalists and "tiny hat" interests. Diversity is their strength.

[@gstrdms]

This is when Toronto peaked, honestly. MUCHmusic was a huge cultural cornerstone and its death (due to the MTV-ification of all music television) brought about the end for Toronto as a whole, as it gravitated its identity towards more of a corporate, glass and steel aesthetic and vibe. Late 90s is when the city was truly diverse and not just dominated by 1-2 ethnicities. RIP!

[@mark3464]

How old were you during this time

[@Loyalist1985]

I had just moved to Toronto in the fall of 1997. My first job was in Pickering and I stayed with my mom's sister in Scarborough. That is the Toronto that I remember.

[@Aces77777]

Make Toronto safe and great again like this

[@chuth2768]

Our crime rate has actually gone down since 97.

[@joehogan8234]

And much less woke.

[@eurydice72]

im in your walls

[@eurydice72]

you smell divine

[@Etaoinshrdlu69]

It was great if you weren't black, brown, lesbian, gay, trans, bi, or queer. Toronto is better now.

[@SuperHonshu]

Take me back.

[@jdhuh1]

$124900 for a condo!... if only I were old enough to have bought a condo in 1997 😅

[@NinjaWarriorDude416]

bought my first one for just $151k by Village by the Grange in 2007.

[@stg9335]

Toronto was so nice and clean back then.

[@EvelynSaungikar]

It wasn’t. On hot days, if it hadn’t rained for a while, Yonge street stank of piss.

[@CanadianEhHole]

@@EvelynSaungikar The whole Kensington area smells of piss 24/7. Then there's areas that just smell like bad weed.

[@BSDShoes]

I was in Toronto in both 1994 and 1996, video looks much of what I remember. And whoa, Sam the Record Man sighting! I remember that store.

[@anhbinbaccuc8850]

Rent was affordable, housing was nothing scary, just worked and saved. People line up, they talked to strangers or read books on the buses and subways. Didn't have to crunch numbers at the groceries stores, milk and meat were cheap. Cartoons, sitcoms, TV shows galore. Every day woken up looked out the window knowing I lived in the best country in the world and the best city in the world..........The only scary thing then was Y2K......now just a dream, now everything is scary.......

[@richyq8786]

rent was 300 a month lol

[@chrisrose2767]

This video made me depressed as hell. I was born in 1990.

[@surlyqbear1707]

Beckers, wildcat beer, Stollery’s…ah such memories! I think I saw a sign for luxury townhomes for less that $400,000 near St. Clair too 👀

[@NomiSyed1]

Amazing :) Good ol Toronto, good ol simple days :)

[@jdhuh1]

My family arrived at Yonge & Eglinton back in 1997 from Mississauga. This is how I remembered my neighborhood, and it was lovely to live there. Now it's an overcrowded, expensive eyesore.

[@alankingchiu]

When a townhome was $200,000. Not $2,000,000.

[@riasat001]

I came to Canada as a teenager with my family in 1996, I really miss those days

[@Allriteyeah12]

Lucky u

[@wilcross50]

Pre collapse

[@PQV-8898]

What an absolute great place to live then. What's happened to this once great city?

[@MatrixMaster777]

It Has Become Greater: *GTA*

[@prossiification]

I remember those days, the city was clean, there wasn't much crime and the rent was low. I worked in a restaurant, my salary was the minimum wage but I still had enough to pay the rent and to spend on the basics.

[@OldTorontoSeries]

Crime rates in 97 and 2023 are almost identical.

[@CanadianEhHole]

@@OldTorontoSeries If you take the stat at face value. A stat is meaningless if you take it at face value and don't consider how it could be twisted. I can assure you, every police chief, mayor, and city council have wanted to report crime as being lower while they're in charge. There's a reason there's a saying, "there are lies, damn lies, and statistics." Stats are easily manipulated and crime stats are no different. Take shoplifting for example. San Francisco put it to anything below $900 and the police won't bother to show up, meaning they don't take down a police report for it. A councilor in a major US city just recently said she doesn't want crime/shooting warnings to be sent to her constituents... crime is up in her ward and she doesn't want her voters to see it. How about when they outright hide it, like the UK hid the grooming gang scandals for well over 10 years? Hidden in all the stats at the time, obviously. Thousands of r*pes, kidnappings, etc. all underreported. How about plea deals? You can have 1 stat include the crime before the deal was made, having the crime categorized as one thing, and then a later stat categorizing it as something different (usually a lesser crime). Which one resembles reality more? Are you also comparing reported crimes with convicted/investigated crimes? How about the fact that a lot of people have lost faith in the police and justice system to actually catch criminals and so perhaps more crimes go unreported now.

[@OK-kw4rv]

​@OldTorontoSeries yup. Just less news/media back then

[@dancouver23]

This was probably peak Toronto in my opinion, it was just coming on the world stage, cleaned up a bit but had just enough sleaze to be interesting without being sleazy, still some Canadian business chains and lot's of mom and pop and independent retail stores. We didn't know how good we had it.

[@wl03bu]

Thanks to whoever must have been carrying a massive camcorder back then!

[@shahid8545]

I shed a tear. Everyone was so clean looking, happier, friendlier... streets were clean... the innocence in people was still there. Now... technology, social media, immigration and economic turmoil have destroyed not only Toronto but Canada. Truly sad.

[@randomrazr]

cant believe hte 90s are considered the good old days now. jesus christ time is a bitch

[@JordanX_97YT]

Back when Paul Bernardo’s trial was going on, great vid

[@MatrixMaster777]

Thanks for pointing that out! Toronto The Good and Bad^^

[@C-mac_in_the_6ix]

Back when this city was amazing.

[@rapperintheend-time1867]

Yup. Those were the days. Social life. Today. It's mostly Social Media.

[@JCRF]

No bike lanes!

[@duncandmcgrath6290]

I can almost hear the City TV guy voice over …Hogtown memories

[@Dani-sm8jp]

This is the Toronto I know and Love.

[@kenlan3347]

From the Batman & Robin poster and the overall weather, I can definitely date this video to the final week of June/early July. I really can't believe gas was 57 cents per liter. It's amazing we still get to see Canada Trust, Rogers Videos and the old second hand stores on what is today Yonge-Dundas Square. I wonder what happen to these rickshaws today.

[@concernedcanadian8460]

Things are so bad now, the 90's are starting to look like the 50's.

[@JustFluffyQuiltingYarnCrafts]

This one was special for me. This was the last year that I lived in Toronto. Strangely, I recall all the signs for new condominium development and never foresaw what we have there now. I don’t think one can see much of the sky downtown anymore. 😕

[@Change4b]

😢 I miss what it used to be

[@kerrbear1980]

57.5 for gas...sadly so many of these buildings are condos now. The whole facade of yonge st is dead. read shame,

[@SandiByrd]

I watch these and wonder what I was doing in this moment and time while they were filming the sights and sounds of my city. I would've been 21 in this one 🥰

[@jahnome]

Wow! Two years after I was born down the road at Mount Sinai! I’m working on a short film of vintage Toronto and would love some of these clips 😭

[@EvelynSaungikar]

No orange cones! Driveable streets!

[@cosmocalisse]

Commenters are like "I miss the good old days", meanwhile the city in the video looking like downtown Windsor today

[@MyViewToronto]

I went to school downtown from 1995 to 2000. We'll never get that vibe again.

[@eddiev6013]

The streets are not cratered, almost no traffic. People are well dressed. Peak Toronto. Makes me wish i could go back in time.

[@phoenixman8569]

No reality TV, no entitled people with iPhones glued to thier heads recording everything is site, no transients openly shooting up, Saturday morning cartoons were still a thing for kids, and going to the video store to rent a few tapes for the weekend was a treat, as was hanging out at the mall, and this was just a quarter century ago, how time flies...

[@missj2045]

Great time to be alive ❤

[@andrewmccoll1582]

The year and city I was born in. Sad I never got to see it in better shape like this.

[@FRANKDTANK13]

Living in Toronto in the 90’s being in your early 20’s was a blast, now the City has turned into a cesspool, what the hell went wrong….

[@OldTorontoSeries]

Record tourism 2023. "cesspool" doesn't square with reality.

[@Kitty_B]

Trudeau and his Liberal misfits.

[@tougherguy]

@@OldTorontoSeries Thank you for the videos. I grew up in Toronto and was in my 20s when this was taken. I moved away but still come back once or twice a year. "Cesspool" is an exaggeration, but it did seem more innocent a city back then. It's a bit like a cute kid who grows up. The kid is stronger, knows more, and has wider interests and responsibilities, but as a parent, you still wish they were little again.

[@OldTorontoSeries]

drama queen

[@amirtak9886]

I can tell you those were the good old days and I wasn't even alive back then.

[@Avishek85]

Please bring me back this city again 😢

[@richyq8786]

i still remeber these days. I would be 7-9 years old in the late 90s

[@dwl1117]

Oh, to be 27 again...

[@Jaymoney-tx9fg]

I was living in Victoria, BC back then. I sure miss the last century though 😔

[@lbanaei]

Omg Rogers Video ❤

[@nonamebleach]

Fido!!!! 📞

[@akuma4u]

Back when sam the record man. Hmv. Cd discs and the internet was just starting to flourish

[@tombikes4164]

Thanks for video. I find the rapid short cuts a little hard to watch though.

[@fireshorts5789]

I grew up just a few blocks East of Mt. Pleasant, off of Eglington E. I'll never look back on this as the "good old days" cause it wasn't but I'll admit that Toronto was very different back then.

[@neildcruz3227]

The Good old days! B4 I was born lol!

[@Assistedsoul]

I was 3 and the first 5 mins was my area if o my we could go back In time thanks for the share :”)

[@sc4739]

I can actually see the sky again and not just 10000000 condos... I miss this Toronto..

[@FocusedRap]

No big brother watching over everyone.

[@111danish111]

The cars and the clothing no skinny / slim fit hideousness !!

[@ShakuniMamaKaRishtedaar]

I wish there was some footage of Petro Canada. Just curious what was the gas price 27 years ago. I remember it was 65C/Litre for 87 Octane in the year 2000.

[@user-cf1se1kk5x]

This is pretty much how I remember Toronto. I lived there in 1998-2000

[@Acheron.426]

Ah man the good old days. I could afford to live at Yonge and Eglinton and have a car and not be always stuck in gridlock. CityTV, Much Music, Queen street was always hopping with lots of cool independent shops where I got awesome clothing. Phoenix Concert Theatre, Velvet Underground and others. The live-to-air broadcasts with Martin Streak. Now everyone stares at their phones and music is garbage.

[@qa1e2r4]

The only difference I see is that people are more relaxed. Less cars as well. Outside of the buildings missing...lol. Things are different now but I am sure Torontonians will pull through and end up better at the end. Thanks for the vid. any chance to post uncut/raw version?

[@greg6295]

What day was this filmed?

[@jeffgao]

it was so clean...

[@Lushy260]

Wow, I was 7 that year!!!!

[@kapasitorcpt9249]

ah, when Toronto wasn't 1-2 away from Toronto

[@derick3482]

this is way better than Johnny strides what a

[@shawnblack]

I see these were the simple better years in Toronto

[@JDintheDMV]

Around the time I got my first Playstation 1 console and Sony Walkman cassette tape at dufferin mall.

[@Daniel-eq2mp]

Sadly we will never return to this reality.

[@OldTorontoSeries]

The biggest selling album that year was Spice girls

[@HopeLaFleur1975]

The real Oh 🇨🇦 CANADA. there was ‘diversity’. Canadians were at peace!!! No one was divided. Everyone had opportunity to live in Canada. 🇨🇦 Canada of was moral !! Under the leadership our country was divided and turned upside down Lots of people lived together in unity. So the proof of this!!!❤

[@StevenYtube]

Rogers video, wow

[@stormrunner0029]

Toronto was never a city for me. The vibes out of that place always repulsed me for some reason. Even traveling through on a bus, I just wanted to get on the next bus out of town. Can’t explain it. Montreal on the other hand felt great to be in. Could have starved to death there (don’t know French) and felt good about it. We all have a place.

[@greg6295]

Lol! Honest Eds and Sneaky Dees

[@lapraxi]

Concrete jungle

[@LucretiusEldritch]

I remember that woman at 5:39 handing out flyers outside the House of Lords.

[@vertiian]

1997 is "old" now? oh..

[@EvilAfgPrince]

everything went to shit!

[@hazelnut3794]

Totoro city in 1997 🐇

[@pmc89]

I love the 90s

[@lincolnmarklt]

It was so nice before the country was flooded with people we don't need

[@OldTorontoSeries]

Are you needed?

[@danielc717]

look, all beef hotdog is $1.5

[@EliHank]

Back when Toronto was affordable

[@Evaultfinancial]

Imagine you saw yourself on video? This was the ideal time to be in Toronto buying and holding onto real estate. Fast forward 2024, It’s congested It’s become mean It’s become more violent Increase in homelessness Increase in mental health issues Influx of too many foreigners Too many building everywhere High prices in food, rents, water and cost of living overall! Many stores out of business do to change in the economy and the digital age Change in our leader to a “guy next door lookalike” Feel free to comment or agree/disagree with the above. What made Toronto exciting and a desired place to live for you? Hot dogs were $1.50 in 1997, now $5! It’s all the money printing, capitalistic debt system that fuels higher priced goods! The entire globe is running off of taxpayer money, bonds and a growing concerning debt bubble

[@Piopio40x40]

Recognized my old neigbourhood and my office (the latter being very easy - Bay St. towers still look the same lol) I miss it a lot, but it made no sense living there anymore. Not affordable, not safe enough to raise a family. I know all places have their issues, but large cities in North America have all become much worse. Still, you'll always miss home, no matter how irrational that feeling might be...

[@Derek_Reynolds]

what is the main thing you notice

[@Lucas-ho4ld]

Easy there Goy, wouldn't want an "accident" to happen to you for questioning immigration.

[@TjSemeniuk]

There were still Canadians in Canadian cities. Sorry not sorry. Someone has to say it.

[@OldTorontoSeries]

The countless porn shops and people listening to Spice girls?

[@Derek_Reynolds]

@@OldTorontoSeries yeah it was lit

[@LuckyAtom-dx5yf]

This is the 20th century

[@stockloc]

Look at the hustle and bustle. I remember Toronto being super busy but also having cool sights regardless of where you go. Now it's just condos, condos, condos. It all started around 2004 when they began building those condos near the Lakeshore area. Then in 2012, they removed a bunch of nightclubs to build more condos. Then in 2020, they got rid of the majority of specialty places for, you guessed it, more condos. I went back to the city last weekend and had no idea what to even do down there. Other than eating, there's nothing special to do.

[@CanadianEhHole]

> Other than eating, there's nothing special to do. The most repeated point, ad nauseum, about the benefit of diversity is quite literally "the food." So boring, so bland. Most of it isn't like how homemade stuff is and plenty are just downright terrible quality. Then you ask what someone's favourite cuisine is and it's almost always their background cuisine anyways. Also tend to be weird that these people are willing to try like 1 or 2 super popular dishes from the cuisine and refuse to ever get anything else.

[@yoursubconscious]

looking for myself...looking for myself...👁️👁️

[@BeeRich33]

Back when life was normal

[@user-nq1gn2xx3q]

6:03 omg even back then they flew pride flags on street corners!

[@bastymanguy]

90’s clothing alert

[@firstjamesryu]

It's so clean. What happened?

[@OldTorontoSeries]

You're saying the video showcasing tons of strip clubs and peep shows is clean?

[@firstjamesryu]

@@OldTorontoSeries I mean street seems clean.

[@yorkie8125]

$1.50 hot dog….

[@mark3464]

Looks safe to ride bikes 🤔

[@Assistedsoul]

Not a condo in site :”(

[@josephj1973]

Ahh yes, back in grade 7 when I wore basketball "Tear Aways", "And 1" t-shirts, and disliked those "Tamagotchis". Last but not least, puberty 😀