New island set to open in Toronto

Toronto, much like other Canadian cities, is no stranger to new features. 

New condos, new museums, new shops, new restaurants, new festivals–all are part and parcel of life in the country’s biggest city. That said, one thing you don’t expect to come ‘new’ to any city is an island.

But fortunately for residents and visitors who have always wanted to enjoy more of the city’s waterfront, a new island is indeed taking shape. 

Recently, Waterfront Toronto, an organization that works with government and other stakeholders to revitalize the lakefront, announced that Toronto has a new island where the Don River meets Lake Ontario. 

Ookwemin Minising (formerly known as Villiers Island) is a new island in the Port Lands that’s been created due to ongoing flood protection and river restoration projects in the east end of the city. The Port Lands extend southeast of Toronto’s downtown core into Lake Ontario and include more than 715 acres (290 hectares) of land along the waterfront.

In an earlier news release, the city said that as of now, 290 hectares of southeastern downtown – including parts of the Port Lands, South Riverdale, Leslieville and the East Harbour development site – are at risk of flooding from the Don River and can’t be revitalized until they are flood-protected.

The Port Lands Flood Protection project seeks to protect existing communities and create a new one by building a new river valley through the Port Lands and renaturalizing the mouth of the river, creating a new island on Toronto’s waterfront that Lake Ontario, the Keating Channel and the new river mouth bound. 

The new name (pronounced Oh-kway-min Min-nih-sing) means “place of the black cherry trees” in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin and was chosen in consultation with LURA Consulting and the MinoKamik Collective, led by Elder Shelley Charles. The island will feature the new Biidaasige Park (pronounced Bee-daw-sih-geh), which means “sunlight shining towards us” in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin. In a video posted to YouTube, Waterfront TO says the park is the biggest to open in a generation.

While the project is far from complete, residents and visitors have likely noticed new and distinct red, yellow and orange bridges that connect Ookwemin Minising to downtown. 

In the video, the organization says the park will open in a staggered fashion, with some of it set to welcome visitors as early as this year. The complete park will open in 2026, along with the Lassonde Art Trail, which is described as a free, immersive outdoor experience that will weave people through the river valley up to the promontory that overlooks the downtown core. 

Designs for Biidaasige Park North, the final part of the park (and not part of the Port Lands Flood Protection project), will begin this year. Once complete, the full park network is expected to become a destination for up to one million people a year. 

One section of Biidaasige Park is slated to open this summer. According to the video, visitors can explore wetland trails, check out a picnic and barbecue area and “get active in the adventurous park” that will feature a zipline. The river will also be open to the public. 

The entire island has, according to the video, been imagined as “Canada’s most desirable new neighbourhood.”

New bridge

“Ultimately, we are working towards building a city within a city on the eastern waterfront with new parks, homes and destinations,” the group says in the video. 

“By getting to work on accelerating new homes and creating skilled-trades jobs, we’re unlocking a healthy future on the waterfront that will be easily accessible by active transportation and the future Waterfront East LRT.” 

On its website, Waterfront TO says that, once complete, the island will be home to more than 15,000 people, as well as a destination for locals and visitors alike. The project is taking shape with $1 billion in investment (granted in January) from all levels of government, which will be used for housing and other place-making features.

The northern edge of the new island, situated on the Keating Channel, is expected to one day become home to an urban river walk lined with shops. 

Waterfront TO says work will commence this summer on some fundamentals, including public spaces, streets, stormwater and sanitary pipes, and utility ducts needed for new homes.

According to Waterfront TO, an international consulting team will integrate design for streets and public spaces with a review of the density and built form on the island. 

“Their goal is to design excellent public spaces and streets to create a great neighbourhood; it’s through that lens that they will confirm opportunities to add homes, building on the work completed through a recent Density Study,” the organization wrote. 

Once complete, the 98-acre island will boast 50 acres of parks and 80 acres of parks and green space (including the river).