Twins born separate years
Jan 1: 528,918 views
Toronto Public Library asked to ban 'Hop on Pop'
April 29: 140,764 views
Toronto man seeks Elizabeth Gallagher for free trip
Dec 17: 419,867 views
Ice quake rattles southern Ontario
Jan 3: 103,988 views
Spat over bus seat goes viral
Sept 25: 102,489 views
Snowstorm on Highway 400 causes 96-car pileup
Feb 27: 92,188 views
Toronto dads hold baby for first time
July 4: 88,583 views
Woman detained in Cuba worried she'll miss son's funeral
Feb 5: 82,486 views
Niagara Falls freezes over
Jan 9: 76,525 views
UFO over Toronto?
Jul 27: 73,815 views
From a woman who stood up to another bus passenger for seating justice, to a firefighter who used his body as a ladder, Toronto residents were most interested in stories about their neighbours – not about politics or scandal.
Our most popular story was published on the first day of the year. It was about two baby girls who were born in different years – 2013 and 2014. Though the twins were born only minutes apart, Gabriela and Sophia were born just before and just after midnight.
Another birth story made the top 10, six months later, when a photo of two fathers bonding with their newborn for the first time went viral. Though there were some negative comments about the emotional photo, one of the fathers said the positive responses have by far outweighed the negative. "We are so lucky to live in a place like Toronto," he said.
It was another busy year for Rob Ford headlines, which dominated in 2013. Early in 2014 he was filmed several times in embarrassing situations. By April he’d checked himself into a rehab facility and interest in the mayor spiked around this time, then faded as the year progressed.
Ford returned to politics in July, and began his campaign for re-election. That campaign ended when he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in September. Interest in Ford spiked again around the time of the diagnosis, but slowed as he decided to run for city council while undergoing chemotherapy.
But Toronto residents seemed more interested in weather than politics in 2014. The Greater Toronto Area recovered from a polar vortex that brought Niagara Falls to an icy standstill. A snowstorm north of the city caused a 96-car pileup, and streets and basements flooded in Burlington after a heavy storm passed through southern Ontario.
The chart above highlights the top 10 stories of 2014 that had the had the highest number of views, starting from the most popular. If you want to dig deeper, below is a more complete list of 25:
- Twins born separate years
- Are you Elizabeth Gallagher?
- Toronto Public Library asked to ban 'Hop on Pop'
- Ice quake rattles southern Ontario
- Spat over bus seat goes viral
- Snow storm on Highway 400 causes 96-car pileup
- Toronto dads hold baby for first time
- Woman detained in Cuba worried she'll miss son's funeral
- Niagara Falls freezes over
- UFO over Toronto? Flashing lights spotted by sky-watchers
- James Reimer's wife attacked on Twitter
- Woman live-tweets being trapped in the Bay
- Video shows Rob Ford stumbling, swearing outside City Hall
- Sunwing flight to Cuba forced back to Toronto
- Leafs snub fans by skipping traditional salute
- Rob Ford diagnosed with abdominal tumour
- Man stabbed in the heart after bumping in to stranger
- Truck driver faces impaired driving charges in Burlington Skyway collision
- Stabbing suspect about to be fired when he attacked co-workers: police
- Roads closed, homes flooded in Burlington
- Toronto fire captain uses body as ladder to save colleagues
- Woman wakes up to find snake on bathroom floor
- Justin Bieber surrenders to Toronto police
- Caught on camera: Dog survives elevator hanging
- Fire hydrant a $290,000 cash cow