{"id":823521,"date":"2026-07-24T17:32:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T17:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/823521\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T17:32:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T17:32:21","slug":"torontos-newest-park-is-getting-bigger-with-a-4-hectare-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/823521\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto’s newest park is getting bigger with a 4-hectare expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Just a year after one of Toronto’s newest parks first opened to the public, Biidaasige Park is being expanded on Friday to include four more hectares.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The expansion to the western side of the Port Lands area park includes:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Canoe Cove, a launch point to connect visitors directly with Lake Ontario and the revitalized Don River.A new waterfront walkway with city skyline views.A lawn space for events with up to 3,000 people.\u00a0A 115-metre tall crane to mark the area’s industrial history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residents hoping to check out the park’s newest amenities will be able to participate in several free family-friendly events over the weekend, such as guided walking tours, kayaking, paddle boarding and art workshops.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mayor Oliva Chow said Biidaasige Park is the largest new park Toronto has opened in a generation and that it will be even bigger with the expansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“40 years ago this land was industrial, fenced off, forgotten, polluted,” she said, adding it was the relentless efforts of community members that pushed the revitalization project forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | Expert weighed in last year on the health of the Don River:\"\"<\/p>\n

Is the Don River healthy? <\/p>\n

The Don River has been redirected as part of a years-long revitalization of the Port Lands \u2014 but is the water healthy? Metro Morning spoke to the Aquatic Monitoring and Management to find out. <\/p>\n

The Don River has a history of being highly polluted with industrial waste to sewage pollution. In 2017, the federal government announced $1.25 billion in funding to rehabilitate the river<\/a> and by extension enabled the redevelopment of the Port Lands. <\/p>\n

The park first opened on July 18 last year<\/a> to unveil off-leash dog areas, cycling trails, a playground with a massive snowy owl and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Friday, Members of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation danced in colourful beaded dress to traditional song by singers beating a large drum ahead of the expansion ceremony.<\/p>\n

Chow said the expansion includes a large event space for potential concerts and a new viewpoint that will be a hit during sunset. She urged residents to take advantage of the free amenity and to connect with nature in the new spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As part of the next phase, she said about 14,000 new homes will be built on the new Ookwemin Minising island and several job opportunities will open up for residents.<\/p>\n

Collaboration helped revitalize park: federal minister<\/p>\n

Chief Margaret Sault of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation said as caretakers of the park, she was grateful the community had “wonderful” partners who brought the vision of the park and expansion to life.<\/p>\n

“This park represents more than a new public space, it represents an opportunity to \u2026 reconnect people with the land, the water and the stories that have existed here for many, many generations,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The First Nation has collaborated with partners to design the park since 2019, she said.<\/p>\n

Paula Fletcher, city councillor for Toronto-Danforth, thanked Sault and the First Nation for naming the park with “beautiful Ojibwe names.” She said Biidaasige means sun shining on us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fletcher said Torontonians are now all caretakers and keepers of the area’s history and the revitalized park. <\/p>\n

WATCH | Housing will be built in next stage for neighbourhood’s revitalization:\"\"<\/p>\n

Inside\u00a0future housing plans for the revitalized Port Lands<\/p>\n

The revitalized\u00a0Port Lands neighbourhood is set to feature mixed-use communities, with a focus on affordable housing. Metro Morning spoke to Waterfront Toronto to find out more.<\/p>\n

Julie Dabrusin, federal minister of environment, said collaboration with the First Nation and all three levels of government drastically changed the area and even moved “the mouth” of the Don River when the park was first being built.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It was unbelievable what we accomplished. The land we are on today was contaminated land when we were standing in these spaces only 10 years ago,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The work has also created flood protection for homes in surrounding areas and opened up space for future housing projects, said Dabrusin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said the next stage will include a waterfront LRT for better access to the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":823522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":["post-823521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/823522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}