smell toronto

This is what smelled so bad in Toronto yesterday

It's not just you, friends; much of the GTA smelled like literal s-h-i-t yesterday.

That "eau de merde" scent appears to have dissipated, for the most part, as of Friday morning, but it got much of Toronto talking (and checking their shoes) on Thursday afternoon.

People from Fort York to North York were tweeting about the stench, many of them sharing theories about what was behind it.

A lot of citizens initially thought they'd stepped in dog and / or horse droppings.

As it turns out, the widespread smell of was caused by cow poop – which is better known in agricultural circles as "manure" or "fertilizer."

City Councillor Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina) broke the news early Friday morning, explaining that The City's Parks Department had spread fertilizer across local sports fields.

So there you have it, Toronto. It smelled like crap outside because there was lots and lots of crap outside.

How did you think our gardens grow?

Lead photo by

Randy McDonald


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Toronto's Love Park pond just got drained because of someone's dumb stunt

Family of flies native to Ontario has a potent neurotoxic bite and even eats birds

These Ontario companies were voted among best places to work in Canada for 2024

Toronto just agreed on a solution to nightmare gridlock traffic on Spadina

Man walks on water in giant bubble to protest the loss of a Toronto beach

Canadians could cash in on proposed prescription antibiotics class action

Toronto to spend a combined $135 million on new island ferries and other upgrades

Toronto might be getting 'relief' ferries to handle overwhelming island crowds