The Toronto Harbour Commission Archives

Abstract

The development and management of Toronto's waterfront are issues that have challenged the city's administrators and citizens since the late 18th century. The sheltered waters of Toronto Bay, protected to the south by a narrow peninsula of slowly shifting sand, was one of the principal features that attracted Simcoe to the area, and the harbour continued to dominate the growth of the city until the middle of the next century. As Sandford Fleming remarked before the Canadian Institute in June 1850, "To the unequalled excellence of this harbour..., the most facile outlet for the productions of the back country, is principally due the rapid and uninterrupted progress in commerce and in wealth of the western capital."1 This role was soon largely usurped by the burgeoning network of railways that spread out from Toronto, but the harbour remained an important thoroughfare for certain types of cargo, especially those involved in resource extraction, and recreational use. Its efficient management provided competition for the railways as well as opportunities for diversified industrial expansion, but it was a resource that could not be taken for granted. Natural forces and years of human neglect would lead to its steady deterioration. Fleming continued his address before the Canadian Institute by noting that the maintenance and improvement of the harbour, "so as to ensure a continuance of prosperity, becomes, therefore, of the utmost importance," and, although the shape and character of the waterfront have changed considerably, its development has remained an important issue in Toronto.