Piling on the north site, site prep on the south site
Ontario Line
A new 15.6-km subway line in Toronto that will run from Exhibition Place, through downtown, all the way to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road.- Projects & Programs
- Ontario Line
- What We're Building
- Corktown Station
Corktown Station
The Ontario Line station serving Corktown will make it easier for people to visit this new and growing neighborhood and the nearby Distillery District.
COMPLETED
A new Ontario Line connection here will connect to popular surface routes such as the 504 King Streetcar, 65 Parliament bus and 172 Cherry Street bus.
The station will be within a short 10-minute walk for more than 26,400 residents, in an area of the city where 3,300 households don’t currently own a car. An estimated 4,100 people are expected to use Corktown station during the busiest travel hour.
Infrastructure Ontario has also proposed a new Transit-Oriented Community for this site, which will bring a vibrant, mixed-use community to the area that will put more housing, jobs, retail and community spaces, such as a library, within easy reach of transit, while commemorating the history of the First Parliament site.
Station area map
Map showing Corktown Station location. View a more detailed project footprint in the Environmental Impact Assessment Report here.
Renderings
Future Ontario Line station building at southeast corner of King Street East and Berkeley Street (Corktown). Final designs to incorporate First Parliament heritage interpretation and commemoration plan completed in consultation with City of Toronto and community partners.
View of station integrated with Infrastructure Ontario’s Transit-Oriented Community proposal. Designs not final and subject to further approvals and consultations.
Key facts
- 26,400 people within walking distance to station
- 4,100 customers will use the station during the busiest travel hour (2,800 getting on and 1,300 getting off the Ontario Line)
- 1,900 surface transfers during the busiest travel hour
- 15,700 jobs in the area
*Forecast for the year 2041
Heritage plans
Corktown Station will be located next to the site of Upper Canada’s first Parliament Buildings which were completed in 1797, burned by occupying American forces in 1813, and rebuilt in 1820, only to succumb to an accidental fire in 1824.
Indigenous Peoples were present on the lands where the First Parliament site was built long before settlers arrived. The site is located on the traditional territory of many Nations, including the Anishnabeg, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. It is on lands covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
To help tell those stories, we asked you to rank the themes that were identified in City of Toronto’s First Parliament Heritage Interpretation Strategy as priorities for presentation in the new station. These themes were informed with feedback from Indigenous Nations, previous public consultation and research. Feedback on these themes was collected through a public survey conducted between November and December 2021, and you can find a presentation deck on the survey results below.
These were the themes considered:
- A Site of Strategic Importance - looks at the site’s historical significance for Indigenous peoples prior to colonial settlement, and later as a gathering place for early settlers and the location for Upper Canada’s capital, as well as mid-19th century competitions over the capital of the United Province of Canada, which eventually led to Ottawa becoming home to our federal parliament.
- Establishing a Seat of Government - explores how the Parliament of Upper Canada was established, systems of government and the site’s role as the centre of debate and decision-making. It will also review the Royal Proclamation of 1763.
- Planning and Infrastructure - examines construction of the first and second parliament buildings, their position in the wider urban context of the city and how they influenced local, provincial and national development.
- Civil Society - describes an area that for thousands of years was witness to the migration of Indigenous Peoples and later French traders, British loyalists, enslaved and freed Black people, and immigrants from many countries around the world.
- Industry and Commerce - explores traditional trade among Indigenous Peoples, government decisions that set-up the province’s first banking structure, and the area’s later role as a hub of industry, hosting Consumers’ Gas, a railway and automotive sector businesses.
As well, there are cross-cutting themes – Diverse People, Impact, Connections and Growth of the City. The ity’s Heritage Interpretation Strategy describes them as connectors, allowing stories to be weaved together.
Watch the video presentation above for even more details on the history of the First Parliament Site.
You can find the survey responses summarized in a presentation delivered to the City of Toronto’s First Parliament Working Group below, including other updates on the Corktown early works site, archaeological findings to date, and next steps in the development of the First Parliament Heritage Interpretation and Commemoration Plan.
Related Projects
Land Acknowledgement
Metrolinx acknowledges that we connect communities by building and operating transit within the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat peoples, for whom these lands continue to have great importance.
Treaties between First Nations and governments cover these lands, and the promises contained in these Treaties remain relevant to this day.
Metrolinx and its employees are committed to understanding the history of these lands and the continued impacts of colonization and take responsibility for actions to advance reconciliation.
Metrolinx will continue to seek the knowledge, expertise and experience of Indigenous partners and commits to doing business in a manner that is built on a foundation of trust, respect, and collaboration.