Heartbroken adults are heading to camp
Camp Heartbreak just opened spots for its fall session at $1,598 a camper.
Good afternoon everyone. There are few things that test your patience like taking the Via Rail out of Toronto, which is how I spent my Wednesday evening. Less than a third of trains arrived on time in the first quarter of this year, with delays of between 15 and 45 minutes so common that a warning is now included in ticket confirmation emails:
Via has been in a highly public feud over restrictions that have impacted the flow of passenger trains on CN-owned tracks for as long as I can remember. The ownership structure of our railways is bad deal for travellers, with Canada being one of the only countries in the world where freight trains are given priority over passenger trains.
As much as I’d like to fully enjoy the recent fleet and meal service upgrades (Mandy’s Salads are now on the menu), it’s hard when your train is moving through empty fields at 74 km/h (now displayed on new sleek screens), but a newly approved high-speed rail line linking Toronto and Québec City, called Alto, could one day offer a solution.
In today’s newsletter: There’s now an overnight camp for heartbroken adults, how business and culture collide at Yorkville Murals, and how to host chic dinner parties.
Return to office mandates have opened up fresh debates over what’s appropriate to wear to the office. Tanks tops and shorts are on the table.
After a week of cancellations Air Canada flights are back on schedule.
It’s hard to make good decisions without good data. That’s the argument laid out in an article by The Walrus that criticized the government’s reliance on private tech companies, like LinkedIn, for real-time labour data. The Logic also reported on calls to modernize how the government is tracking trade data with the U.S.
Sasha Mei spoke to Fashion about hosting chic dinner parties. I recently started following Sasha after she hosted this dinner for Dolce Vita and am blown away by her work, which is somehow striking without feeling overly produced.
The U.S. government is planning to take a 10% stake in chipmaker Intel.
The market for dorm room decorating is worth billions. This type of content performs shockinglt well on social media year after year, and brands, influencers, and designers stand to make a killing by getting in front of the right students.
Buyers under 30 make up 42% of solo first-time condo buyers. Realtors still tell me its rare to see such purchases without help from the bank of mom and dad.
Yorkville Murals blurs the line between artists and executives. The extent to which the art world relies on corporate money is a new discovery for me, but it’s interesting to see events where that relationship is so obvious: businesses buy their way into the culture for a few days while artists reap the financial benefits that comes with exposure. I asked
, who writes Art Forecast, why she thinks the festival resonates so well with business, artists and the public:“I think they’ve taken note of the success of the Montréal festival and are seeing similar success. Murals are intrinsically fun—they use bright colours, trompe l'oeil effects, and tricks of perspective to create a composition on a huge surface area. They’re an accesible art form that many people (who maybe don't traditionally go to museums) enjoy. To be more cynical, I'm sure some of these luxury businesses like participating because they get good will credit without having swarms of people actually entering their businesses.”
Ontario is appealing a decision to protect bike lanes under the Charter.
Doug Ford is going to hate this. Mark Carney is dropping retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods (Ford is pro-tariffs) that fall under an existing Canada-U.S. trade deal.
About a two and a half drive north of Toronto you’ll find Camp Heartbreak, a five-day retreat that blends traditional camp activities with group therapy to help adults who are navigating a break up. Just a few hours after opening up slots for the fall session (starting at $1,598 a camper) I spoke to founder Greg Chociej about the business.
Why start a camp for people experiencing heartbreak?
Almost everyone goes through heartbreak, but we’re often left to deal with it alone. I wanted to create a space where people could process those feelings in a supported way. You’re closer to the woods than the Four Seasons, and that’s part of the therapy: nature is the most powerful healing tool we have. It’s all about giving people the tools, connection, and community to move forward feeling less alone and more hopeful.
Can you run me through a regular day?
The program we use is The Next Chapter, which is designed for heartbreak. Its co-creators, Jennifer Donison and Ellen Feldman, run group sessions for campers every day, and beyond that we have all the activities you would have experienced at camp growing up. I do think we’ve really nailed the food: I would call it elevated camp, and we partner with Pilot to bring in great coffee. Last year, Louise Upperton came by for a sound bath and Eamon McGrath performed a private concert as part of our evening programming. We’re trying to bring in boardgames from Snakes and Lattes this year.
What was the response to your first spring session, and what learnings are you taking into the fall?
It was a huge success and our exit questionnaires came back extremely positive. It’s the granular stuff that trips you up: pairing people up in cabins, helping them find their way around, and creating programming that’s inclusive and flexible. This fall we have later wake-ups, more free time, and a bit less therapy. If you overload people, it’s too just much. Oh, and physical maps. We learned a lot and we’re coming back stronger.
I read an article in the Wall Street Journal this week about the rising popularity of overnight camps for adults. What do you make of that?
We're living in crazy times and I think we need each other more than ever. So many people are not getting the support they need, and I feel like we’re always waiting for governments to build emotional infrastructure, but they never will. I wanted us to be at the front of this wave of connecting people without technology and creating support structures. By day two of the last camp, someone said it was ‘better than Mexico,’ and in a sense that is my prime competition. Sure you can go get drunk, you can go to the beach, go to Vegas, but you’re going to come back tired and more confused. This is an opportunity to have a great time and come back feeling rested and more resilient.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length from two conversations.
Great interview