In 1972, the federal Government acquired this 75 km2 (18,600 acres) parcel of land to develop a new international airport for Toronto. Amid backlash from citizens, the government put this plan on hold in 1975 and focused its efforts on expanding Toronto Pearson International Airport and leasing the Pickering properties to residents and farmers.

In January 2025, the Federal government announced the cancellation of the airport and a future transfer of the “high conservation value” Pickering Lands to Parks Canada. Transport Canada is currently working with Parks Canada and other federal agencies to assess options for the future uses of the lands. 
The Federal government has promised to transfer all  “high conservation value” areas to the National Urban Park. Environmental Defence has undertaken work to identify and map these areas and has concluded that all of the Pickering lands are of high conservation value and should be added to the Park. Some developers and their friends in the provincial government are pushing to have these valuable lands bulldozed for warehouses and housing. This would be a horrible loss to the people of Canada, especially since these lands are not needed for housing and would result in higher taxes for the people of Pickering forced to pay for roads, sewers, and services to be built to this remote area. Transferring these lands to Rouge National Urban Park represents an opportunity to create a legacy on Toronto’s doorstep. 

The future of these lands is up for debate. Join us on April 14th at 7p.m to learn more about what’s going on with the Pickering Lands and how you can get involved to ensure that the entirety of these lands are transferred  to the Rouge National Park.

Join us to protect this irreplaceable ecological and agricultural landscape in its entirety.