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Toronto’s eastern waterfront continued its transformation today as officials celebrated the 10-acre western expansion of Biidaasige Park ahead of its public opening on Saturday, July 25. The addition expands what is already the city’s largest new park in a generation. The announcement followed a procession from the sacred fire circle to the lectern, led by the Spring Creek Dancers and Ojibwe singers, with traditional dance performances marking the park’s Indigenous foundations.
Ahead of the opening, UrbanToronto spoke with David O’Hara, Manager of Park Design with the City of Toronto’s Parks and Recreation division. He said the new phase shifts the park from the linear riverfront landscape opened last year toward a more active civic destination along the Inner Harbour.
“I think the portion of the park that we’re going to open up this coming weekend is going to be a more active part of the park,” said O’Hara. “It has active components like an event lawn, a more formal water’s edge promenade and, of course, the extension of the art trail. I also think it’s part of the park that will become part of Toronto’s iconic waterfront skyline, both from the park looking at the skyline and from elsewhere looking back on the park and the Port Lands.”
The ceremony brought together Indigenous leaders and representatives from all three levels of government. Speakers included Chief Margaret Sault of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, federal Environment, Climate Change and Nature Minister Julie Dabrusin, Mayor Olivia Chow, Spadina–Harbourfront MP Chi Nguyen, Ontario Acting Minister of Infrastructure Todd McCarthy, Waterfront Toronto President and CEO George Zegarac, Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 14, Toronto–Danforth), and Lassonde Art Trail Foundation Executive Director Chloe Catan. Waterfront Toronto Board Chair Kevin Sullivan served as emcee, with Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, agency representatives, members of the original Task Force to Bring Back the Don, and members of the public in attendance.
“Last summer we came together to open Biidaasige Park... Today that park is getting even bigger and more exciting,” said Sullivan. “These 10 new acres of parkland are bringing Canoe Cove, a new 3,000-person event lawn, and an expanded Water’s Edge Promenade.”
The new section brings Biidaasige Park to approximately 60 acres, with another five acres planned. Its main features include Canoe Cove, a pebble landing and paddling course for non-motorized watercraft, more than 250 metres of Water’s Edge Promenade, and an elevated promontory overlooking Lake Ontario, the Inner Harbour, and the downtown skyline. The landscape retains the Atlas Crane and elements of Marine Terminal 35, while the Lassonde Art Trail has gained seven installations by Ryan Gander, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, Lisa Hirmer, Virginia Overton, and Hank Willis Thomas.
“The land that we are on today was contaminated land,” said Dabrusin. “Now we are in a place where we have a beautiful park, new wetlands, and places for people to explore.”
The park is an outcome of the $1.4 billion Port Lands Flood Protection project, funded by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Work has created a new mouth for the Don River, protected approximately 174 hectares from flooding, established wetlands, fish habitat, and naturalized shorelines, and unlocked land for future development. Across the broader site, approximately 5,000 trees and more than one million plants have been introduced.
“The primary purpose of naturalizing the mouth of the river, and all the grading that went into it, was flood protection, so flood protection has been foundational,” said O’Hara. “Then there’s a layer of natural environment and habitat creation. Migratory corridors and the Don Greenway are really important aspects of the park system, and then it’s layering in trails in a sensitive way.” Dabrusin captured the scale of the work more directly: “We literally came together—the federal government, the province, the city, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. We moved the mouth of a river.”
Indigenous placekeeping appears throughout the park through its Anishinaabemowin name, ceremonial spaces, Indigenous plantings, marker trees, interpretive signage, Teaching Signifier Sturgeon Stones, and the Fire Holder by Solomon King. O’Hara said Indigenous participation shaped both the physical park and its future programming, sharing: “The Indigenous engagement — I would call it more than engagement — has been very hands-on. There are plantings, marker trees, educational opportunities like the Sturgeon Stones, and Fire Holder. Then there is the programming itself. We are creating a place for education, interpretation, and programming activation.”
Chief Sault connected those interventions to the Mississaugas of the Credit’s continuing relationship with the site: “This park represents more than a new public space. It represents an opportunity to reconnect people with the land, the water, and the stories that have existed here for many, many generations... For our people, the land is not simply something we use; it’s a relation. It’s the plants, the river, the waters, the animals. We’re all connected, and we have a responsibility to care for them.”
Speakers repeatedly contrasted the new park with the former industrial landscape. Chow recalled the community-led effort to restore the Don River and the return of wildlife to land once defined by contamination and infrastructure.
“Forty years ago this land was industrial. It was fenced off, forgotten, polluted,” said Chow. “Slowly, the river came back to life. The salmon returned, the bald eagles came back. Families started picnicking where there had only been concrete and waste.”
The park will form the public heart of the future Ookwemin Minising community, where approximately 21,000 residents and 2,900 jobs are planned over the next 25 years. Waterfront Toronto has begun the process of selecting a development partner for the island’s first 700 homes, with future rapid transit intended to support growth across the eastern waterfront.
“If we stood here in this very same spot just a few years ago, we would have been surrounded by industrial land, at risk of flooding, and with no housing potential,” said McCarthy. “But today, a new community is taking shape.”
Nguyen focused on the park’s role in the small moments of daily life. “Those moments may seem ordinary, but they’re what makes a city feel like home,” she said. “Long after today’s ceremony is over, this park will be filled with first picnics, first bike rides, first family traditions, and quiet moments that people will remember for years to come.”
The City is already adjusting operations based on the popularity of the first phase. O’Hara said demand from paddlers, cyclists, anglers, tours, and school groups was strong, leading to plans for more shade, clearer wayfinding, interpretive signage, and stronger visitor-management measures.
“Shade is definitely one [lesson learned],” said O’Hara. “We will be installing additional umbrellas and shade structures in key areas of the park. Maintenance is another. Like any park, there are always things that we’re having to pivot and adjust as we move forward.” He added that strong interest in organized tours and school groups may require a more formal approach to visits, while further wayfinding and Indigenous-informed interpretive signage will be installed.
O’Hara concluded: “I think Biidaasige Park has the potential to do to Toronto almost what Millennium Park did to Chicago. This is going to be a really important space for the city overall, as an anchor for Ookwemin Minising and, frankly, the Port Lands overall. For others across the city, the Port Lands is a new frontier, and I think this starts to put that on the map a little bit more.” He also pointed to the park’s ecological significance, Indigenous programming, and role in connecting the Martin Goodman Trail with the Lower Don Trail.
The western extension of Biidaasige Park opens to the public on Saturday, July 25, so head to the Port Lands to explore this exciting new public space on the waterfront. We will keep you updated as development in and around Ookwemin Minising continues to progress, but in the meantime, you can tell us what you think by checking out the associated Forum thread or by leaving a comment in the space below on this page.
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