Toronto’s municipal government in nerdy detail. With charts.

Hey, I’m Matt. You might know me as GraphicMatt on Twitter. I’m the guy with the hair. This is my newsletter.

I’m an award-winning journalist. I’ve covered the stuff Toronto City Council does for eight years. I was the first person to start fact-checking Mayor Rob Ford’s claim to have saved Toronto $1 billion. I track council votes so you know what your city councillor is up to. My work appeared in Metro for six straight years. I currently contribute a weekly column for the Toronto Star, focusing on a “Big Number” making an impact at City Hall.

Now I also have a newsletter.

A newsletter called “City Hall Watcher”, delivered every Monday at 5 p.m.

City Hall Watcher will come to your inbox (and also the web) every Monday, right around 5 p.m. It will include deep dives into the reports on Council’s agenda, providing much-needed context for whatever the hell it is politicians in this city are trying to do.

You’ll learn about evolving transit plans. You’ll stay informed about the city’s budget process. You’ll see so many charts you might literally email me and ask me to, please, stop sending you charts. You’ll be sick of the charts. But the charts will continue.

For a long time, I’ve wanted an outlet like this. There are so many important stories coming out of our city hall — policy stories and data stories and stories about numbers. I’m hoping this will be a good place for ‘em.

Just six bucks a month — a bargain and a deal

You can sign up for City Hall Watcher for just six bucks a month (plus HST) on this very page. An annual subscription is even cheaper — just $60 a year, plus tax. Payments are securely processed by the experts at Stripe.

So sign up. Do it. It’ll be fun. You’ll get access to all past and current issues on the web, and a weekly dose of municipal government analysis and news delivered straight to your inbox, every Monday around 5 p.m.

Group subscriptions are also available for teams with four or more people.

Student? Can’t afford? No problem — request a free subscription

I want to ensure City Hall Watcher gets read by the people who need to read it. Free, limited-time subscriptions are available for those who are:

Currently enrolled in journalism school
Currently enrolled in an urban studies program or other city-related program
Starting out covering Toronto City Hall and can't yet afford a subscription
Advocates/activists doing work at Toronto City Hall and can't afford a subscription

To request a free subscription, fill out this form.