Doug Ford eyeing filling in part of Lake Ontario for new convention centre

Ford asked about reports that he is considering filling in a portion of Lake Ontario in order to build a new convention centre.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’s exploring the idea of filling in part of Lake Ontario to add land for a new convention centre site at the Toronto waterfront.

“I wouldn’t call it an island, but we may look at putting fill in until we can put a convention centre,” Ford said at an unrelated event Friday. “We’re losing out on so many large conventions in the world, because we just don’t have the size.”

The Globe and Mail first reported Thursday that the province is exploring the idea of creating a new island that could be the site for the new convention centre.

“It’s no different than anything else – the environmental process would move forward, but we have a tremendous amount of fill right now, and we need to expand the land,” Ford said.

He said he’s spoken with Mayor Olivia Chow and she supports the idea.

“The mayor has said she is prepared to work with the province if they plan to invest in upgrading the convention centre to attract more visitors and more business. This could help support our local economy and bring in more customers for Toronto’s small businesses,” Chow’s office said in a statement.

“Any major development proposal would be reviewed to ensure it is in the best interest of Toronto and communities along the waterfront. We have not received a formal proposal on the future of the convention centre.”

Ford last week complained that the Metro Toronto Convention Centre is too small, dated and impractical and said the lack of a larger space is costing the city major events.

“We need a world class convention center to attract more tourists, more jobs, and that’s what this is all about,” he said Friday.

He promised Monday he would soon announce a “world-class” 2 million square-foot facility, but did not say where it would be located or provide a timeline. Those comments came as he unveiled a design for the Ontario Science Centre building at Ontario Place.

Opposition says idea ‘ridiculous’

Opposition critics have called the moves “distractions” from other issues like health care and education.

“What a ridiculous idea,” Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner told CTV News Toronto Friday.

“Millions of Ontarians are struggling to put a roof over their head, food on the table. There is no place in Ontario where a full-time minimum wage worker can afford average monthly rent.

A whole generation of young people wondering if they’ll be able to afford a home, and the premier is talking about spending billions of dollars on this ridiculous idea of building an island for a convention center when there are numerous other places that you could do this.”

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said last week a new convention centre is “something nobody has been asking for.”

“And suddenly, that’s his latest idea. This is all an attempt to distract from the state of things in Ontario,” Stiles said.

The Metro Toronto Convention Centre, which opened in 1984 and is operated as a Crown corporation of the province, has an overall size of 700,000 square feet. Another major downtown Toronto convention centre – the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place – has 1 million square feet of overall space.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Siobhan Morris