Flood Protection Milestone Puts New Waterfront City Within Reach

An excavator removing part of the north plug of a river.

November 8, 2024, TORONTO - Today, the three orders of government, through Waterfront Toronto, reached a major milestone in a promise made to protect Toronto residents and businesses from the damages from severe flooding by completing a new mouth for the Don River and a new island.

Governments committed a combined investment of approximately $1.4-billion for a transformational waterfront revitalization project that protects existing Toronto neighbourhoods from extreme flooding and contributes to unlocking up to 240 hectares of land to build urgently needed housing and to construct the city’s largest park network in a generation. This historic achievement marks a big step in an eight-year major construction project to bring the vision for a waterfront city within a city to life.

“Today’s achievement demonstrates what can be accomplished when all orders of government work together to address major infrastructure challenges facing cities across the world” said Jack Winberg, board chair of Waterfront Toronto. “Undertaking a transformation of unprecedented scale requires unrelenting energy, focus and imagination sustained over a long period of time, which Waterfront Toronto has done for over 20 years.”

“Waterfront Toronto recognizes the value of doing the job right, and it shows. We set the bar higher for design innovation, sustainability and meaningful public engagement and have always met the challenge,” said Waterfront Toronto President and CEO George Zegarac. “This historic achievement unlocks much needed public land on Toronto’s waterfront. Our collective vision will lead us to complete a waterfront city that will ultimately become a home to over 100,000 people and a destination for 97,000 jobs. It starts on this brand-new island. Next year, we will open the largest park Toronto has opened in a generation.”

Just the facts:

The new island totals 39.6 hectares and is one of the last undeveloped areas of land just steps from Toronto’s downtown. This foundation for an inspiring vision of best-in-Canada city building includes:

20.2 hectares of new greenspace and parkland
19.4 hectares of developable land
6.1km of land for trails
4. 5km of underground utilities
2km of roads and 4 bridges with dedicated space for modes of active transportation
The only naturalized shoreline in the Inner Harbour

An Indigenous Advisory Circle has chosen “Ookwemin Minising” (pronounced Oh-kway-min Min-nih-sing) as the island’s name meaning “place of the black cherry trees” in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin. Toronto City Council will consider the name November 13, 2024.

The longer-term vision for the island:

Over 15,000 residents; over 9,000 housing units, nearly 3,000 jobs
20 hectares of parkland as part of a comprehensive 35-hectare park system
Extending waterfront transit along Queens Quay East into the Port Lands
A complete community – new island community advancing best-in-Canada sustainable development practices

Quotes

“Today’s milestone marks a significant step toward revitalizing the Toronto waterfront. Through collaboration with all orders of government, we’re protecting the Port Lands area from flooding, while building a more resilient city, and creating better access to the water, and allowing for future development, including much-needed housing.”
- The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development of Canada on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities

“The opening of the new mouth for the Don River is a major step in protecting residents in Riverside, Leslieville and the surrounding communities from the risk of flooding due to climate change. This advancement paves the way for our government’s ongoing efforts to revitalize and transform Toronto’s Port Lands.”
- Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Member of Parliament for Toronto-Danforth

“Today’s north plug removal marks the completion of the new Don River, another milestone in the Port Lands Flood Protection Project. Once complete, these former industrial lands will be transformed into vibrant, mixed-use communities with housing, parks, retail spaces and more, demonstrating the success of our government’s historic capital plan of more than $191 billion to expand and renew critical public infrastructure over the next decade.”
- Amarjot Sandhu, Parliamentary Assistant to Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure

“In 2017, all three orders of government recommitted to waterfront revitalization through equal investments in funding for Port Lands Flood Protection. This investment helps to unlock 240 hectares of public land that is a 10-minute walk from downtown Toronto. In 2025, we will begin to open the largest park system in Toronto that has opened in a generation on and around the new island. This is a significant step towards creating a waterfront city within a city on the Eastern Waterfront.”
- Mayor Olivia Chow, City of Toronto

“The long awaited dream is now a reality thanks to the exceptional work of Waterfront Toronto with the commitment and funding of the three levels of government. The Don River is free to run directly into the Harbour and the new Island - Ookwemin Minising – has been fully created. In a few years new generations of Torontonians will make their home on our beautiful Waterfront. It is a milestone moment for our city.”
- Paula Fletcher, Toronto City Councillor Ward 14 (Toronto-Danforth)