Canadians Rally to Permanently Protect 9,300 Acres of Endangered Wildlife and Prime Farmland Ahead of Federal Decision

ADVOCATES TO CONVERGE ON PARLIAMENT HILL TO DEMAND FEDERAL ACTION

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Canadians from across the country are calling on the federal government to establish “The New Rouge”, permanently safeguarding 9,300 acres of endangered wildlife habitat, prime farmland, and connected greenspace by transferring the lands to the Rouge National Urban Park — creating the largest single urban national park in North America in a rapidly growing urban region.

The New Rouge campaign is a national rallying cry to protect Canada’s largest connected greenspace near a major urban centre. Led by the Waterfront Regeneration Trust in partnership with Friends of Rouge National Urban Park and Land Over Landings, a proposal, “Shared Vision”, was developed by renowned urban designer Ken Greenberg and landscape architects SLA, describing a new integrated approach to incorporating the Pickering Federal Lands into Canada’s first national urban park.

The Pickering Federal Lands were expropriated over 50 years ago for an airport. The airport would have decimated forests and farmland but was stopped after decades of citizen-led activism. In January 2025, the federal government announced that the airport would never be built, creating an opportunity now to protect nature and farmland in perpetuity.

The protection of the Pickering Federal Lands would align strongly with the federal government's recently announced commitment to conserve nature, restore ecosystems, and improve access to nature for Canadians though the Force of Nature initiative.

Any proposal to pave over any portion of these very same prime lands to build big box stores and warehouses would continue to ignore decades of public support for their protection, while sacrificing a generational opportunity to build a more resilient and sustainable Canada.

“Across the country, Canadians are watching critical habitat and farmland disappear at an alarming rate,” said Greenberg. “Transferring all of the Pickering Lands to the Rouge National Urban Park represents a rare opportunity to save an irreplaceable public asset before it’s lost forever. I’m incredibly grateful that so many Canadians feel passionately about protecting what makes Canada the best place on earth to live.”

These lands connect millions of Canadians to nature but remain at risk of being paved— a short-term gain for some at a long-term loss for all.

Learn more about The New Rouge at: thenewrouge.ca

Media Representatives:

Brett Porter
brett.porter@kga-inc.com
705-772-9988