How We Got Here
We are here because the Don River, Ojibway Wonscotanach, is here. Early on it provided people with food, water, transportation. Later, as settlers arrived and applied the techniques of industry, it became a source of power.
Railways merged with Great Lakes waterways as a way to move goods; the intersection here allowed a number of foundries supplying the rail industry to thrive.
The very few red brick buildings in the area — the Canary Restaurant building and the CN Police Buildings on the east side of the corner of Front and Cherry, and Dominion Wheel & Foundry buildings on Old Eastern Avenue are the last remnant of 150 years of industrial activity. As the area has transformed into a residential neighbourhood, they have been protected and preserved for adaptive reuse.
In 2006, plans for a residential community got under way. Underpass Park was opened in 2012 and Corktown Common complete by 2013. In 2015 the area, still under construction, was able to host the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes Village.
People started moving into the area as soon as the Games were over. Today there are more than a dozen buildings that include condos, rentals, and student housing.
West Don Lands Committee
A group of concerned citizens formed the West Don Lands Committee in the late 1990s to help guide and provide community perspectives to planners trying to decide what to do with an area that was, at the time, an industrial wasteland in the Don River’s flood zone. Over the next 20 years the WDLC worked closely with Waterfront Toronto, City Planners, the Province of Ontario and developers in creating the beautiful and vibrant place it is today.
In January 2021 residents suddenly learned they could not take the neighbourhood for granted, when demolition equipment moved onto the site of the historic Dominion Foundry buildings and began to break down the historic buildings. The West Don Lands Committee played a crucial role in helping community members stop the demolition and ensure the buildings would be protected in future.
Canary District Neighbourhood Association
When the WDLC began, the neighbourhood had zero residents. By the time the Foundry buildings were saved, the population was more than 5,000. It was time for us to form our own Neighbourhood Association.
With the encouragement and guidance of the West Don Lands Committee, a small working group began meeting in the fall of 2023. We are in the process of forming a not-for-profit corporation under the name “Canary District Neighbourhood Association”.
Gratitude
We are grateful to those in our community who have enthusiastically welcomed us. West Don Lands Committee were our midwives and continue to advise us. Other entities such as Cooper Koo YMCA and Anishnawbe Health Toronto have offered their time and attention. Neighbouring associations Corktown Residents and Business Association, Gooderham and Worts Neighbourhood Association, East Waterfront Community Association, and St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association have been very generous, offering advice, sending us interested volunteers, and cheering us on. Dream, Aspen Ridge, Metrolinx, Toronto District School Board and Toronto Lands have been supportive as well. Councillor Chris Moise and Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik are consistently encouraging and helpful. Thanks also to MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam and MPP Chris Glover — you both always have our backs.
The volunteers of the Canary District Neighbourhood Association acknowledge the original caretakers of the land where we now live – the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishanabek First Nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit. We are committed to honouring and celebrating their presence here in the past, present, and future.
*2024 overhead image at top courtesy of @canarydistrict