Every week, there are those who inspire us and those who disappoint us. Welcome to Champs ‘n Chumps, a weekly feature in the Star in which we shower praise on our best and lob (virtual) tomatoes at the people who have disappointed us. Plus: scroll to the bottom for the big number that defined the week.
Champ: Veronika Slowikowska
Canadian comic Veronika Slowikowska, seen in this undated handout photo, will be one of five new cast members joining “Saturday Night Live,” the iconic sketch comedy show in its 51st season, premiering Oct. 4, 2025.Â
The Canadian Press, the Barrie comedian who mugs like Amy Poehler, moves like Kristen Wiig and makes kooky videos with the roommate she may or may not be dating, is the newest Canadian cast member on Saturday Night Live.
Chumps: Maplewashers
Grocery stores are still promoting “Made in Canada” products, even when the origins of those products is a bit more complicated.
Michelle Mengsu Chang º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøStIf you’ve just returned from the farmers’ market with a bushel of ripe homegrown papayas, be warned: You may well be a victim of , the duplicitous practice of advertising foreign products as being Made in Canada.
Champs: Lumberjacks
Lumberjacks, like this in the East York parade, are part of Canada’s national narrative.
Nick Lachance º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøStarWho among us hasn’t dreamed of being a lumberjack, leaping from tree to tree all day? The certainly has, as they snapped up the costumes from Monty Python’s final performance of The Lumberjack Song.
Chumps: Back-to-workers
The 401 is often chocked full of traffic, a situation likely to get worse as more and more people return to office.
R.J. Johnston º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøStarYou’re not stuck in traffic; you are traffic, says the TTC’s cleverest ad on the Allen Expressway. With Ontario’s new five-days-in-office mandate, civil servants will be even more traffic. Can they meet IRL to plan another 401 tunnel?
The big number
7
That’s the number of cancelled º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøfestivals so far this year.
Who is killing the great neighbourhood festivals of Toronto? In 2025, we’ve lost Sugar Shack TO at Harbourfront, the first month of Kensington’s Pedestrian Sundays, Taste of the Danforth, Scarborough’s Tamil Fest 2025, Oktoberfest, the Little Jamaica Festival, and now the Geary Art Crawl.
Among the familiar culprits: Rising costs, bickering businesses, pandemic hangovers, construction woes, and permit challenges. The fact that this slow-motion collapse is happening across the city seems like a ready-made issue for next year’s municipal election. In the meantime, don’t take this weekend’s Cabbagetown Festival and next weekend’s Roncesvalles Polish Festival for granted.
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