Mike Filey (October 11, 1941 – July 30, 2022) was a Canadian historian, radio host, journalist and author. He was awarded the Jean Hibbert Memorial Award in 2009 for promoting the city of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and its history.

Early life

Born in 1941 in

, Filey attended high school at North Toronto Collegiate Institute and earned a degree in chemical technology from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. As a child, Filey lived with his family on Bathurst Street, just south of the iconic Honest Ed's.

Career

Filey began his career at what is now the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, working there for nine years. He then worked for five years at the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...

and four years at

Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...

. In 1972, Filey was an organizer of Heritage Toronto, a citizen's group interested in Toronto's history. From 1975 to 2020, he wrote the column, ''The Way We Were'' for the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...

''. Filey is the author of more than two dozen books about the history of Toronto. Among the topics covered are the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), books with old photographs, and twelve books of ''Toronto Sketches''. Over the years, Filey was a regular guest on several radio stations including CFRB, CKFM, and

CHFI-FM CHFI-FM (98.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by Rogers Radio, a division of Rogers Sports & Media, it broadcasts an Adult contemporary format. The studios are in the Rogers Building on th ...

and hosted his own weekly radio show, ''Mike Filey's Toronto'', on Zoomer Radio 740. His guided walks included topics such as ''Toronto, Then and Now''. According to his friend Alan Parker, another columnist at the ''

'', Filey has been called "Toronto's best-known historian". For his love for Toronto, his extensive research, and his "consistent willingness to share his knowledge" in the history of Toronto, he was bestowed the Jean Hibbert Memorial Award by the

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

Historical Society in 2009.

Personal life

Filey lived in

Willowdale, Toronto Willowdale is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the district and former township of North York. It developed from three postal villages: Newtonbrook, Willowdale and Lansing. Willowdale began as a postal villag ...

, with his wife, Yarmila. Filey died on July 30, 2022, from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

Publications

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References

External links