Toronto Accent

Submission 4,006

Part of a series on Canada. [View Related Entries]

About

The Toronto Accent refers to accent and slang most commonly found in the city of Toronto in Canada. The accent has been described as a mix of North American slang, British slang, and Jamaican Patois. It became the subject of widespread discussion in 2023, with many internet users callingthe accent, which is generally adopted by younger Toronto residents, one of the worst accents of all time. The Toronto Accent Girl, or Plushh, is a notable figure partially responsible for drawing attention to Toronto accents and slang in 2023 following several viral videos in which she uses the accent alongside slang terms associated with the region.

Origin

Some early discussions about the Toronto accent took place after rapper Drake, who is from Toronto, visited the city and posted a video in which he can be heard slipping into the local intonation.^[1] On April 4, 2019, X^[2] user @racquelll_ posted a clip of someone attempting to do the Toronto accent, gathering over 12,000 likes in four years (seen below).

Sporadic discussions about the Toronto accent continued into 2022, with X^[3] user @Chadmikeyy making a post on August 26, 2022, characterizing it as "a Jamaican leprechaun that grew up in London." The post gathered over 40,000 likes in a year (seen below).

Spread

On May 15th, 2022, Toronto influencer Plushh posted a clip now known as "Balling Up Rules." The clip^[4] went viral for its use of Toronto slang, which was unfamiliar to a non-local audience (seen below).

On June 2nd, 2023, X^[5] user @so_1onely posted a clip of Family Guy dubbed with a Toronto accent, gathering over 5,000 likes in six months (seen below).

On November 29th, 2023, X^[6] user @cleardabidness posted a meme showing Naruto dubbed with a Toronto accent. The post gathered over 10,000 likes in a week (seen below).