- published: 19 Jan 2015
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Coordinates: 43°39′42″N 79°21′54″W / 43.66167°N 79.365°W / 43.66167; -79.365
Regent Park is a neighbourhood located in Old Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Regent Park is Canada's oldest and largest social housing project; built in the late 1940s. Formerly the centre of the Cabbagetown neighbourhood, it is bounded by Gerrard Street East to the north, River Street to the east, Shuter Street to the south, and Parliament Street to the west. 41% of the population living in Regent Park are children 18 years and younger (compared to a Toronto-wide average of 30%).
The average income for Regent Park residents is approximately half the average for other Torontonians. A majority of families in Regent Park are classified as low-income, with 68% of the population living below Statistics Canada's Low-Income Cut-Off Rate in one of its census tracts, and 76% in the other (compared to a Toronto-wide average of just over 20%). See related articles, Poverty in Canada.
Regent Park's residential dwellings are entirely social housing, and cover all of the 69 acres (280,000 m²) which comprise the community. The Toronto neighbourhood then known as Cabbagetown was razed in the process of creating Regent Park; the nickname Cabbagetown is now applied to the historical, upscale area north of the housing project.
Ed the Sock is a puppet, created and voiced by Steven Kerzner, that became a Canadian television personality in the 1990s, best known for his appearances hosting programming on MuchMusic and his own talk show, Ed's Night Party, later renamed Ed & Red's Night Party. Ed the Sock has a scowl, a cigar sticking out of his mouth and a rough, gravelly voice.
Kerzner was a producer in the 1990s at Newton Cable, during this time the show went through several co-hosts which included Harland Williams, Eric Tunney and Tim Rykert. After Newton Cable was purchased by Rogers Cable in 1993, Kerzner was able to repackage the program for a wider cable audience with Ed the Sock as the star.
The new show attracted the interest of producer John Brunton, who took the program to CITY-TV. This show, co-hosted by "Humble" Howard Glassman (better known as half of the local radio morning show Humble & Fred), debuted on February 10, 1995, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time. Brunton later departed the show after having some creative differences with Kerzner.