Most politicians take a quick photo and post it on social media when they do an event. Josh Matlow makes a video and they're really good.

Josh Matlow’s main medium of communication these days seems to be video. Over a six-week period from August 13 to September 25, he published more than ten videos on topics related to his ward, Toronto-St. Paul’s. He also did three simpler videos in which he endorsed three young incumbents (Lily Cheng, Jamal Myers, and Amber Morley) in the upcoming election.

Josh’s video output covers a broad array of ward initiatives and community advocacy, including:

• A video with Lori Beazer about bringing an Afro-Caribbean farmer’s market to Little Jamaica ( watch on Facebook )
• A feature on two pioneers of Little Jamaica, Monica and George Lewis, and their son Junior Lewis who helps share their legacy ( watch on Facebook )
• A video detailing his efforts to help a small mid-town grocery store that was almost forced to close ( watch on Facebook )
• A segment on the importance of crossing guards alongside back-to-school wishes ( watch on Facebook )
• A collaboration with Hoop Queens celebrating girls in sports ( watch on Facebook )
• An explainer on TTC fare capping ( watch on Facebook )
• A video outlining Matlow’s advocacy for changing regulations in city parks ( watch on Facebook )
• An interactive video asking residents to name their favorite spots in Midtown Toronto ( watch on Facebook )
• A breakdown of the maximum temperature bylaw ( watch on Facebook )
• A comparison of rapid transit speeds versus bus routes ( watch on Facebook )
• A video letter reflecting on his appreciation for Toronto-St. Paul’s ( watch on Facebook )

The videos are all high quality, with scene changes and setups that clearly require careful planning. They appear to be filmed and edited by a professional. His editor uses a technique called color grading to make people and key visual details—such as red shoes—stand out vividly against their backgrounds.

Matlow usually wears a blue shirt in his videos and frequently experiments with pacing, often featuring footage of people crossing the street in slow motion. These little techniques make the videos more interesting to watch than a simple talking-head video that gets repetitive, or a Facebook post with a photo and some explainer text.

Matlow is anything but a deadbeat councillor. He’s active in the community and people genuinely like him. Communicating with constituents is obviously important to his strategy. His followers on Facebook respond positively to his content, though there is noticeably less interaction on X (formerly Twitter). Ultimately, Matlow makes it easy for residents to stay informed, and his videos achieve their intended goal of raising awareness on important local topics.

Matlow’s videos are on Facebook, where he has 10,000 followers. But there are more than 100,000 residents in his ward—and most of them are not watching his videos. However, the videos are there as a resource that can be shared when people need them. People might wonder how Matlow has time for filming so much, but it gets easier and faster when you have a routine established. Overall, it seems like a very good use of Matlow's office budget money.

Political observers are already speculating that Matlow will run for mayor in 2030. Posting videos on social media will be key for Matlow to gain visibility outside of his riding if he decides to run, and they will have to be high quality. Poorly shot video has been one of the talking-points about Chris Alexander's current campaign. As Matlow doesn't have the same name recognition as Mike Layton, who will also likely run for mayor in 2030, Matlow's videos might play an important role in Toronto politics in the next few years.