Laura Proctor
Photojournalist

Jingle dress dancer Indiana Cada hugs their father, Isaiah Cada, at a ceremony on The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at Tollkeeper’s Park in Toronto on September 30, 2022

Shot for The Hoser

Children celebrating Eid play in Lake Ontario in Toronto’s Beaches neighbourhood as wildfire smoke spreads throughout the city on June 28, 2023. Wildfires continued to burn across Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and more, causing Toronto to briefly rank #1 in poorest air quality of the world’s major cities.

People gather at Riverdale Park in Toronto to witness a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Despite some cloud cover, crowds still got to see the eclipse at different stages throughout the two-hour timespan.

A young girl gazes at the sky from a car window as crowds gather at Toronto's Riverdale Park to witness a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

A man naps by the water in Toronto’s Beaches neighbourhood as wildfire smoke spreads throughout the city on June 28, 2023. Wildfires continued to burn across Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and more, causing Toronto to briefly rank #1 in poorest air quality of the world’s major cities.

A masked man walks a stroller through St. John’s Norway Cemetery during month 11 of the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on February 21, 2021

Stacey Semple, a tenant at 437 Jarvis St. and new member of Toronto ACORN, waits for a manager outside the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) offices in downtown Toronto on April 18, 2024. Toronto ACORN members marched to the LTB offices from 437 Jarvis St., participating in a province-wide demonstration mourning “the death of affordable housing.”

437 Jarvis St. is just one recent instance of a landlord filing for an AGI (Above-Guideline Rent Increase) application. According to data from Ontario’s rental housing tribunal, there were 605 AGI applications from April 2022 to March 2023.

A woman participates in a protest in downtown Toronto on October 9, 2023, showing support for Palestinians and calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Palestinian militant group Hamas launched multiple attacks on Saturday, killing hundreds of Israeli civilians and soldiers and taking hostages. In response, Israel increased their airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds, and blocked the area off from food and supplies.

Organizers form a human chain as thousands march through the streets of downtown Toronto on October 9, 2023 to show their support for Palestinians and call for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

A woman vacuums the floors at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School in Etobicoke on the evening of January 24, 2024

A woman sits on the Dufferin bus with her walker in Toronto on February 4, 2024

A woman clutches a rose at a protest at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square after the September 16th death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of morality police in Tehran, Iran. September 23, 2022

A woman holds up a sign stating vaccine misinformation at an anti-mandate “freedom rally” at Queen’s Park in Toronto on February 19, 2022

A group of Sikh protesters burn an Indian flag at a “Khalistan Freedom” rally outside of the Consulate General of India in Toronto on February 17, 2024

Supporters of Ontario Premier Doug Ford gather at his election party in Etobicoke on June 2, 2022. Ford won a second term that evening.

Shot for National Observer

Nurses outside Mount Sinai Hospital show support for fellow nurses as they march to Queen's Park in Toronto to call for better staffing and higher wages on March 2, 2023

Shot for The Hoser

Toronto Police officers drag protestors out of the Novotel shelter in downtown Toronto on November 28, 2022. Shelter residents and supporters occupied the lobby of the temporary shelter to protest treatment from staff, as well as demanding a clearer relocation plan for residents for when the shelter shuts down.

A staff member takes a quiet moment at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto on August 31, 2023

A protester raises a fist in front of a Free Grassy Narrows sign at an anti-mining protest led by the First Nations Land Defence Alliance in Toronto on September 27, 2023

Hat Le smells the cherry blossoms in Toronto’s High Park on April 21, 2024. Hat and her friend are planning on visiting the cherry blossoms in Trinity Bellwoods Park next.
Shot for The Globe and Mail

A high school student sets up her suturing practice kit at an UpSurge workshop at University of Toronto's Medical Sciences Building on July 27, 2023. UpSurge is a mentorship program for BIPOC students pursuing careers in surgery.

Pro-choice activists counter-protest against the annual anti-abortion "Toronto March for Life" on May 12, 2023

Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, speaks at a media event at a Honda of Canada Manufacturing plant in Alliston, Ontario, Canada, on April 25, 2024. Shot for Bloomberg

A young man carrying an "equal pay for part time" sign marches past Dufferin Street residents during Toronto’s annual Labour Day Parade on September 5, 2022

Shot for The Hoser

A woman sits by an image of Marilyn Monroe at Donlands Diner in Toronto on June 8, 2022