Meghan Markle’s Canada: the Duchess of Sussex's favourite Toronto hangouts

As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make their historic announcement, we look at the country pulling Meghan back
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Her nationality is American, but it’s Canada that lost Meghan Markle to the UK when she became engaged to Prince Harry in November 2017.

And it can be no coincidence that it was after a six-week extended holiday on Vancouver Island that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to make the historic announcement - that they would be stepping back as senior members of the royal family.

In the statement on their newly-minted website the pair said: "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity."

Meghan spent seven years living in Toronto while filming hit legal drama Suits and, despite confessing to being a California girl at heart, she frequently spoke of her love for the city in interviews and on her lifestyle blog, The Tig - which the duchess quietly renewed the trademark for in September last year.

Canada is also a special place for the couple. During the initial 18 months of their three and a half year relationship, Harry often flew to visit Meghan on the Suits' set and spent time at her three-bedroom home in the suburbs of Toronto - much of which they could do with relative anonymity. The duchess said in 2015: “It’s really funny because I think as much of a big city as Toronto is, it’s so different from LA or New York. There [are] no paparazzi so it’s really easy to just have a normal life.”

Canada was also where they chose to make their first public appearance, at the Invictus Games in 2017 and they have just spent their first Christmas with their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in a luxurious house on Canada's Vancouver Island. Their first public engagement of the new decade was a visit to Canada House in London.

During the visit on Tuesday, Meghan said of the Canada trip: "My goodness, it was just such an incredible time we were able to have there and with our son too."

Meghan Markle's best outfits

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Meghan's closest confidantes also reside in Canada with her best friend, stylist Jessica Mulroney, living in Toronto with her husband and three young children - who were all given major roles in Harry and Meghan's 2018 wedding. Meghan is also close with Suits co-star Abigail Spencer and Markus Anderson, the Toronto-based global membership director of Soho House.

According to the couple's slick new website, Harry and Meghan's UK base will remain Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, but it is unknown where in Canada they will base themselves (unless they chose to live in Meghan's native California, of course) - but experts say the move is expected to boost Canada's tourism industry.

Toronto could be a likely base, but which local spots grabbed Meghan’s seal of approval during her time there? We round up the Toronto hangouts deemed worthy of the (former) senior royal.

Kensington Market

Kensington Market

It’s well known that Meghan is quite the foodie - Prince Harry asked her to marry him as she was cooking a roast chicken , after all - and one of her favourite places to stock up on unusual ingredients was Toronto’s quirky Kensington Market. While it’s a little rough around the edges, it’s packed to the brim with experimental food stalls and cool vintage stores.

Meghan is known to have sourced her bread from Blackbird Bakery Co, even blogging about the store’s sourdough on now-defunct lifestyle website The Tig.

The area is also home to health food store, 4 Life Natural Foods, Kensington Market’s answer to Whole Foods, where it’s easy to imagine Meghan might have stopped by for organic produce.

She also visited the picturesque Scandi spot Fika Cafe which serves light snacks and iced coffees, look out for its wall of books.

Trinity Bellwoods Park

Meghan is known for being a dog-lover, so much so that she flew her one of her two pups, Guy, to England when she moved leaving Bogart in Canada as he was 'too old to fly'. During her time in Canada, Meghan was often spotted walking the rescue pups in Trinity Bellwoods park, which adjoins the West Queen West neighbourhood, and is one of Toronto’s most central green spaces.

In an interview with MyDomaine, Meghan said: "It’s a massive park with a huge dog run in the middle, which is ideal for my super active dog, Bogart. But beyond the normal park humdrum (tennis courts and softball field), you’ll see people set up stands for the likes of free hugs, yoga in the park, dance classes, and performance art. It’s really the mecca for meeting up with friends, throwing a frisbee until day turns to night, and listening to the ambient beat of bongo drums from another end of the park.”

Where to shop

The Duchess of Sussex in a Sentaler coat, November 2019
Getty Images

After Meghan's beloved Cabaret Vintage shut down in 2015 (it's still accessible online) there were plenty of other stores she frequented including Sentaler for coats, Ani & Wren for cashmere sweaters, Canadian brand Aritzia, The Room at Hudson's Bay Company for 'cool designers' and Holt Renfrew for classics.

Fresh

Cameras spotted Meghan frequenting Fresh as a go-to for casual bites and she even had her Christmas meal there one year. The vegetarian cafe has several outposts in Toronto and one in LA and told The Loop: "Over Christmas she came here for her Christmas meal a couple years ago, and her mom's super cool too. Before she deleted her Instagram account, she frequently posted about our quinoa onion rings."

Fairmont Royal York

While Meghan had her own picturesque three-bed apartment in a fashionable part of town, she was no stranger to a staycation. As well as filming scenes for Suits at the Fairmont Royal York (the hotel is known for having some of the most spectacular function rooms in Canada), she reportedly booked into the hotel with Prince Harry during the Invictus Games, where they made their first public appearance together.

Bar Isabel

Bar Isabel, Toronto
Bar Isabel

Meghan once told The Loop that Bar Isabel was one of her favourite haunts. Serving contemporary Spanish dishes, the general manager told the site: "We like to think of it as Barcelona Tavern by way of College St. in Toronto. [Meghan] was a good customer... She did come in and we were always happy to have her, and if she were ever to come back to Toronto of course we would be happy to welcome her again."

W Skincare

Lorinda Zimmerman, the founder of anti-ageing and skin health management clinic W Skincare told The Loop that Meghan had visited its Toronto outpost since 2011, adding: "She loved it, [our treatment is] non-invasive, it doesn't effect the schedule, it doesn't have chemicals, not the orange country housewives look." Meghan has said that W Skincare's cold laser treatment is among her 'favourite in the world'.

Shagri-La Toronto

The Miraj Hammam Spa at the Shangri-La, Toronto
Shangri-La

In a 2014 interview with Glamour magazine, Meghan said the Miraj Hammam Spa by Caudalie Paris at the Shari-La Toronto was her go-to for facials and massages.

The Chase

Meghan first became familiar with this favourite of Toronto’s financial district while filming scenes there for Suits. But it clearly made an impression as she returned to host a special celebratory dinner at the fish restaurant when Prince Harry’s Invictus Games came to town.

Gee Beauty

In her interview with Glamour, Meghan also said her favourite place to shop beauty products was Gee Beauty: "It's so well curated and they have fantastic finds for skin care and beauty. And I love the aesthetic of the shop."

West Queen West

Terroni on Toronto's Queen Street
Terroni

The arty neighbourhood of West Queen West was voted one of the coolest in the world by Vogue US, so it’s no surprise that Meghan loved to frequent its mix of trendy restaurants, local design stores and small gallery spaces.

The district is home to one of the original Terroni Italian restaurants, where Meghan’s favourite condiment, peperoncini piccanti (red chillies in olive oil), can be purchased. She told Vanity Fair of the fiery sauce: “They’re really hot, but if you’re good with heat, then I think they’re going to be your new favourite thing.”

There’s also the aptly named Cocktail Bar on Dundas Street, which Meghan recommended to My Domain, advising visitors to ask for the barman called Travis, and The Drake General Store - a one-stop shop for cool local design gifts, where Meghan was once spotted doing her Christmas shopping.

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