ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, ONTARIO NATURE, LAND OVER LANDINGS, NATIONAL FARMERS’ UNION – ONTARIO, DAVID SUZUKI FOUNDATION, ONTARIO FARMLAND TRUST, FRIENDS OF THE ROUGE WATERSHED
Organizations call on the Federal government to transfer all 9,300 acres of the remaining Pickering Airport lands to Parks Canada for inclusion within the Rouge National Urban Park.
Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – As Transport Canada’s delivers its consultations on the future of the former Pickering Airport Lands, environmental and agricultural organizations have come together to call on the Prime Minister and the federal government to permanently protect the entirety of the Pickering Airport Lands by adding them to Rouge National Urban Park.
In January 2025, the federal government – represented by several cabinet ministers – held a major event to announce that the Pickering Airport Lands (approx 9,300 acres), will no longer host a second major airport for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
This announcement was celebrated as the Rouge National Urban Park and the adjacent federal lands are home to some 40 federal species at risk and more than 1,700 species of flora and fauna, while also hosting increasingly threatened wetlands, farmland and forested areas. While this was promising news, it is now important that these lands don’t face the threat of being paved over for other reasons, like development. Now is the time for the federal government to protect this irreplaceable ecological and agricultural landscape on Toronto’s doorstep in perpetuity.
Despite Class 1 farmland only representing 0.5 per cent of Canada’s total land mass, the Pickering Airport Lands collectively hold an estimated 6,700 acres of Class 1 farmland.
Fortunately, the federal government last year committed to transfer all “high conservation value” lands within the Pickering Airport parcel to the National Urban Park. Recently completed values mapping of the area contracted by Environmental Defence shows that all of the Airport Lands have high conservation value and require protection.
It is also important to recognize that Durham Region has designated almost all of the farm and forest land outside of its currently built up urban areas to future housing and business development. This is a massive area of land (37,000 acres or 140km2) and is far in excess of the land needed to accommodate low density growth for decades to come.
The environmental and agricultural organizations call on the federal government to:
1) Commit to the full and complete transfer of all 9,300 acres of remaining Pickering Airport Lands to Parks Canada; and
2) Reject any sale of these lands for residential, commercial or industrial development.
Quotes:
Tim Gray, Executive Director, Environmental Defence, said:
“The scale of the oversupply of lands designated for development in Durham Region cannot be overstated – not only because it highlights that the remote Pickering Airport Lands are unnecessary to meet the housing needs of the GTHA – but also because opening up the remote Pickering Airport Lands to development would require water, sewage, road and other servicing that is unrealistic and prohibitively expensive.”
Alexis Whalen, Chair, Land Over Landings, said:
“For 54 years, our members have been fighting to protect this Class 1 Soil from a concrete future. We’ve got this far and we aren’t stopping now! Future Canadians need us to keep raising our voices until all of the Pickering Lands are safely protected from private interests, and can continue to provide food for generations to come.”
Andrés Jiménez Monge, Executive Director, Ontario Nature, said:
“Canada’s Force of Nature Strategy commits to 15 new national urban parks. Rouge is the only established one. Adding the Pickering Lands is where that commitment gets its first test – on Toronto’s doorstep.”
Madeline Marmor, Youth Advisor, National Farmers Union – Ontario, said:
“These agricultural lands represent a rare opportunity to safeguard this gift for future generations and protect food sovereignty and security in the shadow of Canada’s largest city. In a world facing climate disruption, supply chain fragility and growing urban population, the permanent protection of prime farmland near the GTHA is not optional – it is essential.”
Martin Stratoff, Executive Director, Ontario Farmland Trust, said:
At a time when farmland loss and food security are growing national concerns, the Pickering Lands stand out as a remarkable opportunity for the federal government to protect a critical resource. With some of the most productive Class 1 soils in the country, our generation has the responsibility to secure these lands for food production, ecological health, and public benefit in perpetuity.
Jim Robb, General Manager, Friends of the Rouge Watershed, said:
By adding its North Pickering lands to RNUP, the federal government can address its commitments to combat climate change and flooding, improve Great Lakes water quality, improve species-at-risk habitat and ecological integrity, and support environmentally sustainable farming.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
ABOUT LAND OVER LANDINGS (landloverlandings.com): Land Over Landings is committed to the preservation of the Pickering Federal Lands, long earmarked as the site of a future airport, as a secure source of food and fresh water for Canada’s largest urban centre.
ABOUT ONTARIO NATURE (ontarionature.org): Ontario Nature protects wild species and wild spaces through conservation, education and public engagement. A charitable organization, Ontario Nature represents 9,500 members, 130,000 supporters and 150 member groups from across Ontario.
ABOUT NATIONAL FARMERS UNION – ONTARIO (nfu.ca / https://nfuontario.ca/): The NFU-O is made up of thousands of passionate, innovative farmers across Ontario working for a food and farm system that is better for farmers, eaters, and the land. The organization works to educate and advocate for the interests and needs of all farmers, ensuring a vibrant and sustainable agricultural future for the province.
ABOUT DAVID SUZUKI FOUNDATION (davidsuzuki.org): Founded in 1990, the David Suzuki Foundation is a national, bilingual non-profit organization headquartered in Vancouver, with offices in Toronto and Montreal. Through evidence-based research, education, and policy analysis, we work to conserve and protect the natural environment and help create a sustainable Canada.
ABOUT ONTARIO FARMLAND TRUST (ontariofarmlandtrust.ca): The Ontario Farmland Trust’s mission is to protect and preserve Ontario farmlands and associated agricultural, natural and cultural landscapes of food production for the benefit of Ontarians today and future generations.
ABOUT FRIENDS OF THE ROUGE WATERSHED (FRW) is a charitable environmental organization. Over the last four decades, FRW has generated public and political support for the creation of Rouge National Urban Park, Ontario’s Greenbelt, Watershed Remedial Action Plans, and the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve. FRW has involved 75,500+ volunteers in ecosystem awareness, protection, restoration, and monitoring.
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For more information, please contact:
Alex Ross, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
Alexis Whalen, Land Over Landings, landoverlanding@gmail.com
Dave Kranenburg, National Farmers Union – Ontario, executivedirector@nfuontario.ca,
Melina Damián, Ontario Nature, melinad@ontarionature.org
Martin Stratoff, Ontario Farmland Trust, martin@ontariofarmlandtrust.ca
Jim Robb, Friends of the Rouge Watershed: jim@frw.ca
