TIFF is coming to Toronto soon. Here’s a look back at the times celebrities have complained about the traffic
The 50th annual Toronto International Film Festival will hit downtown for 10 days, starting on Sept. 4. Will visiting Hollywood actors bear the brunt of Toronto’s traffic? Here’s a look at when celebrities complained about Toronto’s clogged roadways.
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When have celebrities complained about Toronto’s traffic? Dozens of Hollywood celebrities are expected to attend their film’s premieres at some point during TIFF this year. Though not every actor has complained about Toronto’s traffic in the past, there have been some notable complaints from celebs in recent years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey
“What’s up with the traffic in Toronto? Have they figured this out?” Tom Cruise asked in an interview with ETalk’s Sonja Mangat in July 2023 while on a press tour for “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One.” The actor said he has driven in Toronto in the past and shared the frustrations with locals about driving throughout the city. (Etalk)
“Well, you know what Tom Cruise says is always right, right?” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow responded to Cruise’s comments, seeming to agree with the actor and suggesting an improved transit system could ease the strain on the city’s roadways. Around this time, Toronto’s board of trade published a report indicating the city had the least reliable transit system in 2022, with just 58 per cent of trips being on time. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
“The traffic’s too bad in Toronto, so we’re walking to the venue.” Former One Direction member Niall Horan shared a video of his walk to Scotiabank Arena on his way to perform his own concert in 2024, to the tune of The Proclaimer’s “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)."
“In all the years I’ve been playing shows, I don’t think I’ve ever walked into a venue,” the Irish singer said as he arrived at the stadium. (Instagram/@niallhoran)
“I actually rented a bike.” Two weeks after Horan’s visit to Toronto, Australian driver Lochie Hughes shared how he nearly missed the USF Pro 2000 series race at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy due to the city’s traffic.
“I got stuck in traffic as well so I actually rented a bike to get here on time and then ran the rest of the way,” Hughes told reporters in July 2024. At that time, the westbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard West were closed from Strachan Avenue to British Columbia Drive to make way for the yearly street race—something that typically causes notable delays for motorists in the area.
“It took us 30 minutes to go a block.” On the way to TIFF in 2024, Will Ferrell said the city’s traffic delayed his and co-star Harper Steele’s commute by at least half an hour. The “Will & Harper” co-stars both live in Los Angeles, so Ferrell quipped that they’re “used to it.” (Etalk)
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow applauds congestion management plan Chow said in September 2024 that the city’s plan is already working to reduce gridlock, pointing to shorter travel times for both drivers and transit riders alike in the downtown core (particularly along Spadina Avenue, the Gardiner Expressway and King Street). The Toronto mayor acknowledged that the economic impact of the city’s congestion costs up to $11 billion each year.
“The streetcar on King Street is now moving three times faster,” the mayor said then. The city noted in a news release at the time that travel times were cut down by up to 33 per cent, adding traffic agents have stopped vehicles from blocking intersections 96 per cent of the time.
Utah Hockey Club walks to Scotiabank Arena for first-ever matchup against Toronto Maple Leafs “I think that’s a first for everyone. Never saw that before,” defenceman Maveric Lamoureaux said in a video posted in November 2024. The team’s bus did not move “at all” in the Sunday evening traffic, Lamoureaux said, hours after the Santa Claus Parade shuttered some of Toronto’s busiest roadways. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow apologized to the team for the inconvenience, saying the area was “quite jammed up” with all of the parade floats.
(Instagram/@Utah Hockey Club)
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says it was “embarrassing” the Utah hockey team had to walk to the arena “It is just unacceptable, people are avoiding downtown,” Ford said at an unrelated news conference then. “Toronto (traffic) is an absolute nightmare right now, around the world and North America.”
In a post on X, the premier called the incident a “serious problem,” using the incident to illustrate his plans to combat gridlock by “bringing sanity back” to Toronto’s bike lanes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
Ford government looking to remove bike lanes along three major Toronto streets Ontario Premier Doug Ford is looking to rip up the bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue and Yonge Street, but CycleTO is trying to get the province to switch gears. The advocacy group successfully challenged the plan, barring the Ford government from tearing the lanes down.
On Aug. 22, however, the Ontario government announced it will be appealing the Superior Court ruling. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Laura Proctor
Another NHL team walks to Scotiabank Arena due to Toronto’s traffic In February 2025, the Carolina Hurricanes ditched their bus to walk to the stadium to play against the Leafs.
“When Toronto traffic means a pregame walk to the rink,” the team wrote in a post on X, with a video of the players making their way to the arena.
(@Canes/X &THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey)
Despite Toronto’s traffic, Destination Toronto says it remains a top travel destination Kelly Jackson, vice president of Destination Development, tells CTV News Toronto in a statement that the city saw a year-over-year increase in visitors in July, particularly from other Canadians, Germans and travellers from the U.K.
“Congestion impacts both residents and visitors and is often an outcome when a city’s appeal grows faster than its infrastructure,” Jackson said. “Fortunately, the city and province are making significant transportation investments to improve mobility and connectivity.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Toronto’s traffic has been considered among the worst globally In 2023, Toronto was ranked as the worst city in North America for traffic, according to navigation technology company TomTom. Globally, Toronto ranked third, falling behind only London and Dublin.
The index noted it took Toronto commuters an average of 29 minutes to finish a 10-kilometre trip. It also found Torontonians lost an average of 98 hours that year due to rush-hour traffic.
Toronto dropped a few places on the traffic index A year later, TomTom’s traffic index saw Toronto fall a few places, coming in eighth place globally with an average travel time of 25 minutes and 13 seconds to finish a 10-kilometre trip. Across Canada, Toronto came second to Vancouver, B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Construction ‘most exacerbating factor’ for Toronto’s traffic, report says In a report published in April, city staff pointed to population growth, a rise in vehicle registrations and a “constrained” network of existing roads as additional factors to Toronto’s bumper-to-bumper congestion.
City staffers noted that Toronto is the busiest in North America for construction, with travel times more than doubling due to temporary road closures at its peak in the summer of 2024. At the same time, the report noted that Toronto’s existing roadways have not been expanded in “decades." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Companies now have to pay more to occupy roadway with private construction As of April 1, companies have to pay $76.51 to submit an application to occupy a road due to construction and $40.71 for every 50 metres, per lane, per day, that they clog up.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow noted that in 2022, a utility contractor shuttered two lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard for an entire month and only paid $5,000 to do so. Under the new system, that fee would look closer to $287,000.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Tunnel could be built under Hwy. 401 Ontario Premier Doug Ford is looking to build a 19.5-metre-wide tunnel with three levels—one for transit, one for eastbound traffic and the other for westbound traffic—from east of Highway 410 to Mississauga to the east of Scarborough.
“You have two things to do. You either sit there, be stagnant, like a lot of governments did, and watch the capacity on all 400-series highways max out in 10 years, including the 407, or you think of the future,” Ford said in August 2025.
(jimfeng / Getty Images)
Experts concerned about the tunnel under Highway 401 A previous study of the tunnel was shelved by Ontario in 2021, with Freedom of Information (FOI) requests revealing construction and financial challenges with the project. The documents, Global News reported, reveal the project also bears a risk of potential roadway collapse.
In August 2025, the premier said he couldn’t recall any previous study done on the project, defending his plans to build the tunnel under the 401.
