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 ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and its history.

Early life

Born in 1941 in

, Filey attended high school at

North Toronto Collegiate Institute North Toronto Collegiate Institute (North Toronto CI, NTCI, NT, or North Toronto) is a non-semestered, public high school institution with over 1,200 students located in North Toronto area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is operated an ...

and earned a degree in chemical technology from

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Toro ...

. As a child, Filey lived with his family on Bathurst Street, just south of the iconic

Honest Ed's Honest Ed's was a landmark discount store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named for its proprietor, Ed Mirvish, who opened the store in 1948 and oversaw its operations for almost 60 years until his death in 2007. The store continued to operat ...

Career

Filey began his career at what is now the

Ontario Ministry of the Environment The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is an Ontario government ministry responsible for protecting and improving the quality of the environment in the Canadian province of Ontario, as well as coordinating Ontario's actions on c ...

, 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 event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day ...

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 Company and the Great-West Life As ...

. 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 is 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 The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and larges ...

(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 CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a ...

, CKFM, and

CHFI-FM CHFI-FM (98.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media, it broadcasts an adult contemporary format, switching to Christmas music for part of November and December. The studi ...

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 of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

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 of North York. It developed from three postal villages: Newtonbrook, Willowdale and Lansing. Willowdale began as a postal village (originally Willow ...

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

Publications

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links