diversity : Featured Stories

The 2013 Vital Signs report indicates a city in rapid transition, bringing with it a new realm of opportunities and challenges. We summarize some of the findings in the first of many features dedicated to breaking down the issues outlined in the Vital Signs report. 

Natalie Panek may only be 28, but she's one of the few people in the country who can operate the Next Generation Canadarm. Now, she's on a mission to encourage more young girls to take risks and pursue careers in space. 

The Akiwenzies have sold sustainably caught fish at farmers' markets in Toronto since 2006, but their future is uncertain. They worry an extension allowing communities to fish in their Reserve bays will disrupt fish levels and hurt their eco-friendly business. 

Donny Ouyang has been a leader in entrepreneurship since he was only 15. Now 21, he just returned from representing Canada at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance Summit and is now preparing to take Rayku, his on-demand learning company, to critical mass. 

We may not have our own Japantown, but the GTA has more than 700 Japanese restaurants in the region. Now, with eastern North America's first sake brewery, Toronto may become a leader in a new, hungrier breed of Japanese culture. 

As Toronto prepares for this weekend's Pride parades and next year's World Pride festival, Church Street takes steps to maintain its LGBT identity into the future with the launch of the Village Study. 

Canada realizes a key to being competitive in the startup world is to attract talented immigrants. Mejuri is one Toronto startup that represents a growing number of new Canadians that are launching companies and impacting the city and beyond. 

For years the secret to Luz Stella Torres's figure was the corset she wore under her clothes. When the secret got out, it turned into a business opportunity. Her son Abraham Catano has since grown the door-to-door corset sales business into two GTA retail locations with plans to expand to Dubai.  

Take the Lakeshore west far enough and eventually you'll reach Oakville's waterfront strip, one of the best in the GTA. Described as a mix between Yorkville and Niagara-on-the-Lake, its unique mix of cafes, shops and people make it a great example of an urban strip that caters to everyone.

Sage Paul's wearable art transcends the line between what's synthetic and real, combining aboriginal regalia with cutting-edge fashion that challenges the mainstream.

Award-winning editor Patricia Bebia-Mawa is known for telling Africa's stories locally and around the world. Here in Toronto, she hopes to honour more African-Canadians by launching a new publication and expanding her company's prestigious Planet Africa Awards.

At tomorrow's Yonge Talks panel, Rosalyn Morrison will discuss how Toronto's Playing For Keeps initiative is building communities and creating neighbourhood leaders through play and games. Here, she answers some of our early questions.

When Gabrielle Scrimshaw decided to create a networking group for her Aboriginal peers, she started working the "Moccasin Telegraph." She found her organization grew almost as fast as Canada's Aboriginal population is growing.

Brampton's McVean start-up project teaches newbie keeners, including new Canadians, about running sustainable farms. They learn from the experts... and from each other.

A free, one-stop-shopping website aims to take the drudge work out of matching employers with new Canadian workers. And it might just be useful in reaching out to international customers, too.