Petition starter Ontario Place for All  https://ontarioplaceforall.com

Your help is needed right now to prevent the imminent demolition of important features of Ontario Place, one of Toronto’s most famous and internationally renowned landmarks and a Modernist masterpiece designed by landscape architect Michael Hough and architect Eberhard Zeidler. There is no other public park like it in the world; and, it’s in Toronto. But if the province of Ontario gets its way, it will be irrevocably altered and substantially privatized, including with the creation of a private spa, 2000-car parking structure, and the clear cutting of more than 1,500 trees. The site is now enclosed and hidden behind plywood fencing and demolition could start at any moment.

These three man-made islands are a marvel of landscape architecture and architecture. Michael Hough’s landscape of 1971 has matured just as he designed and now includes hundreds and hundreds of trees that provide bird and animal habitat … this would be lost. Millions of Canadians and international visitors alike have enjoyed the children's play areas, relaxed in open parkland, attended events and entertainment, and were able to take part in the pleasures of the waterfront and the naturalized landscape of the islands … this would be lost.

As part of a 95 year lease, the Vienna-based Therme Group (Therme Canada) would build a spa on public parkland. The  private spa (42 meters tall and 65,000 square meters)  would fill the entire west end of the site, and there would be a new parking facility for more than 2000 cars topped with new structures that would  compromise the integrated design and use of Ontario Place and block views to the heritage buildings, landscape and waterfront.

It’s vitally important that we support a place that is irreplaceable, has been a cultural mainstay for more than a half century, and is part of our community. 

It’s vitally important that we have a say about our future.

Significant international recognition includes The Cultural Landscape Foundation, which in 2019 enrolled Ontario Place in its Landslide program of culturally important landscapes that are threatened, and has just called for the support of this petition, and the World Monuments Fund, which included the site on its Monuments Watch list in 2020 and launched an initiative to both grow awareness of the cultural landmark’s importance and to protect its future.

Ontario Place for All, a local  grassroots group, along with Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik want to retain Ontario Place. More recently, Ontario’s independent Auditor General has launched a value-for-money audit of the project looking into the $650 million that the province intends to spend on parking and infrastructure to support the spa.

Please add your voice to Save Ontario Place and stop:

• The loss of an internationally recognized cultural heritage landscape;
• The loss of naturalized habitat that provides nesting for birds and other animals and supports international bird migration routes;
• The loss of more than 1,500 trees slated for removal on both islands;
• The loss of free public access to much of Ontario Place and replacement with a private spa;
• Construction of a more than 2,000-space parking facility to serve the spa;
• Massive new structures that would obstruct cherished views to the site and its iconic architecture and landscape architecture from almost every vantage point;
• The loss of public swimmable beaches, which would be replaced with only a slim public waterfront promenade.

Become a champion for Ontario Place and sign the petition today.