Film Club This Friday - TfD Weekly 14th October 2026
The Sandbox at Film Club this Friday, why Toronto’s bike lanes matter as removal begins, mapping Toronto elections at Civic Tech, and where to vote Oct 26.
Welcome to TfD Weekly
TfD Weekly is the newsletter of Technologists for Democracy (TfD), a Toronto-based civic tech organisation working at the intersection of technology, privacy, and democratic accountability. Each week we recap what's happening at Civic Tech Toronto, share updates on our campaigns, and keep an eye on legislation that affects Canadians' digital rights.
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Film Club: The Sandbox This Friday
Our next TfD Film Club is this Friday, October 16. We're screening The Sandbox at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, with director Kenya-Jade Pinto joining us for a Q&A and a hangout afterwards.
The Sandbox looks at how national borders have become testing grounds for AI, drones and biometric surveillance, through the people building this technology and those whose lives are governed by it. From the Arizona desert to refugee camps in Greece and data-labelling centres in Nairobi, it's a global phenomenon that deserves more public scrutiny.
Watch the trailer and sign up on Luma. Film tickets are bought separately, and there's a TfD discount code on the event page. Spaces are limited, so secure your spot soon.
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Civic Tech Toronto Recap
Topic: A Data-Driven Approach to Toronto's Electoral Geography
Speaker: Zack Taylor, professor of Political Science and Geography at the University of Western Ontario
Zack and his colleagues built fine-grained maps of historical election results in Toronto and other cities for their research. He showed us how the maps came together using vibe-coded tools plugged into the city's open data, what they've used them for so far, and where spatial data like this could go next.
Civic Tech Toronto meets every Tuesday. Subscribe for future events
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TfD Volunteer Meeting Tonight
Our next volunteer meeting is tonight, Wednesday, October 14 at 6 PM, online. If you've been meaning to get involved with Technologists for Democracy, now's the time. Come say hello and find out where you can pitch in.
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Toronto's Bike Lanes Are Coming Out
This week the province began removing the Bloor Street West bike lanes in Etobicoke, with pylons going up at Bloor and Islington today. Yonge Street and University Avenue are also on the list.
Independent studies have shown time and again that bike lanes are good for cities, and the province's own documents warned that removing them could worsen gridlock and increase collisions. Let your MPP know where you stand, and stay tuned for developments.
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Toronto Votes on October 26
Toronto's municipal election is on Monday, October 26, with polls open from 10 AM to 8 PM. Early voting has now wrapped up, so if you haven't voted yet, election day is your chance.
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Technologists for Democracy is a community of Canadians who work with technology towards better democracy for all. Learn more at techfordemocracy.ca