TOP CLICKS: The week that was in viral stories

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The Toronto Sun takes you straight to the heart of the action.

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Whether it’s local news, provincial and national politics, or the worlds of celebrity and sports, we have you covered.

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Some stories set the world on fire. And these ones are the most popular online stories from the past seven days, clicked on by Sun readers like you.

Here are our top stories:

GOLDSTEIN: Guilbeault serves up horse manure for Christmas

Oh, Steven Guilbeault. Every time the Environment Minister opens his mouth, it seems only smugness rolls out.

His latest comment came in a year-end interview with iPolitics in which he likened critics of the Trudeau government’s policy to mandate that all new vehicle sales in Canada must be EVs or plug-in hybrids by 2035 to horse-and-buggy thinking, Lorrie Goldstein reported.

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Guilbeault’s reference to the horse and chariot actually raises the point that up to the 19th century, owning horses was the preserve of the wealthy – similar to many high-end EV and plug-in hybrids today when average Canadians can’t afford them.

It took about 50 years for the age of automobiles to overtake the age of horses and far from cars being environmental saviours, new problems arose, including congestion, smog and economic carnage as businesses related to the horse trade disappeared and the price of grain collapsed.

The same thing will happen with the transition from gas-powered vehicles to EVs and plug-in hybrids, but there will be new problems – everything from the fact the raw materials needed to produce them are mined in some of the worst environmental conditions on earth to the enormous public costs of overhauling electricity grids so they can handle the increased demand.

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Councillor pleads for OPP help as protest shuts down Hwy. 401 overpass

A pro-Palestine protest and a pro-Israel counterprotest shut down a Hwy. 401 overpass on Christmas Eve, prompting a Toronto city councillor to urge the OPP to work with Toronto Police to deter such disruptions.

The competing rallies led to the closure of a section of Avenue Rd. and the nearby Hwy. 401 on-ramps and off-ramps, the latest disruption in public spaces, on roadways and in shopping centres across the GTA.

WARMINGTON: If you want to erase the name Sankofa before it erases Dundas, there is a petition

As previously reported, there is a petition you can sign if you want to try to stop Mayor Olivia Chow and Toronto City Council from renaming Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square.

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Joe Warmington spoke to the man behind the appeal, who just wants whatever is decided to be decided transparently and democratically.

Because as far as he is concerned, Dundas is not about some guy whose history is murky and debated from 200 years ago. Rather, it’s about how a name was reclaimed by a city over time.

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‘Ecosexual’ woman embarks on ‘erotic’ relationship with oak tree

There are people who love the great outdoors, and then there’s a B.C. woman who really loves it – so much so that she has embarked (see what we did there?) on a fulfilling new relationship.

With a tree.

Yes, oak trees can be described as big and solid but one tree in particular on Vancouver Island has captured, well, more than the ecosexual’s heart, Denette Wilford reported.

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LILLEY: Trudeau reveals fatal flaw in year-end interview

Some people are self-aware. Some people are not.

Justin Trudeau sat down for an interview with a longtime friend and the Prime Minister was relaxed and open and his guard was down.

But in the especially candid moments, Trudeau revealed just how little he understands about his main rival, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and voters.

Trudeau accused the Conservatives of importing political tactics from the United States and “dumbing down” politics to “get people outraged,” Brian Lilley reported.

But he essentially does the same thing: He isn’t honest about the Tories’ beliefs and what they are proposing and, instead, projects his own warped image of them to try to demonize them and stir things up within his own base.

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