Downsview Airport

History

de Havilland Airfield / Downsview Airfield

de Havilland Airfield or Downsview Airfield opened in 1929 by de Havilland Canada, the Canadian division of the British aerospace company, de Havilland as a general aviation airfield and one of two airports in the area apart from Pearson Airport for testing aircraft at the site manufacturing plant. The airfield was expanded as a military installation during World War II by the Royal Canadian Air Force and renamed RCAF Station Downsview, now CFB Toronto.

Downsview Airport

Downsview Airport was developed in 1939 as an airfield next to an aircraft manufacturing plant operated by de Havilland Canada. In 1947, the Department of National Defence purchased property surrounding the airfield and expanded it, creating RCAF Station Downsview to provide an air base for Royal Canadian Air Force units. The base was renamed Canadian Forces Base Toronto (Downsview) in 1968 and retained this name until its closure in 1996.

From 1998, the property was administered by a civilian Crown corporation, officially known as Parc Downsview Park, which co-managed the airfield with Bombardier Aerospace (the successor to de Havilland Canada).

The airfield was used to host the 1984 and 2002 papal visits by Pope John Paul II, as well as to host the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert headlined by The Rolling Stones to revive the local economy after the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003.

The airfield has also served as a test site for several famous aircraft produced by de Havilland and Avro Canada, including the Beaver, the Twin Otter, and the Dash 8. The airport was available to pilots only with prior permission.

Bombardier Aerospace at one time owned twelve hangars in the southwest corner of the airport, where the Dash 8 was built and assembled. The Bombardier Global Express and the variant Global 5000 were also assembled here at the Downsview plant, as were the wings and wingboxes of the Learjet 45. The Bombardier CSeries jet had landed at the airfield in 2015, but is assembled in Montreal.

The airport had one operational runway, 15/33 at 7000 ft with a parallel taxiway. Runway 09/27 at 3164 ft was previously closed (east section removed), as was runway 04/22 at 4000 ft (north section removed and south part retained as taxiway into the Bombardier plant).

Bombardier has an agreement to sell the Downsview Airport and its manufacturing plant to Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Under the agreement, Bombardier can use Downsview for up to five years. Bombardier signed a lease agreement with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority to build a new facility at Pearson Airport on 38 acres where it would move the production of its Global series planes. Plans for Dash 8 production were not announced at that time. In November 2018, Bombardier sold the Dash 8 business and the DeHavilland name to Viking Air, which has not disclosed its long-term plans for Dash 8 production beyond the existing already agreed-upon time frame for Downsview.

Farewell of De Havilland Canada

On 11 June 2022, a private event was held at Downsview Airport, commemorating the farewell of De Havilland Canada after 94 years at the airport. Many past and present employees and their families were invited to attend. The event featured showcases of various de Havilland Canada aircraft, with some arriving and departing from the airport during the occasion

Military housing

A series of homes were built for Canadian Forces personnel at the corner of Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West and at the south end of the base property. Access to the north end housing on Robert Woodhead Crescent and John Drury Drive was restricted to base personnel and fenced off from the neighbouring properties. After the military base being closed down, the housing was abandoned and torn down.

Future development

In May 2024, Northcrest Developments took control of the site, following Bombardier's relocation to a new facility. On 17 August 2024, Northcrest unveiled a new identity for the site, naming it YZD, a nod to the former airport code and honouring the site’s legacy of innovation. The $30-billion CAD transformation of the 370 acre site will unfold over the next 30 years. The project includes the creation of seven new neighbourhoods, encompassing over 28,000,000 ft2 of residential space, over 7,000,000 ft2 of commercial and cultural spaces, and approximately 74 acres of parks, green, and open spaces, including the 2.1 km reimagined Runway. The Runway will become the anchor of the community as a pedestrianized open space, while the hangars will be retrofitted to house new commercial and cultural ventures. Upon completion, YZD is expected to accommodate over 55,000 residents and create 23,000 jobs.

Rogers Stadium

Main article: Rogers Stadium (Toronto)

Tenants

• Parc Downsview Park – Government of Canada
  • Bombardier Aerospace - closed in 2023 but will remain at site for up to three years plus two-year extension if needed.
  • Centennial College Bombardier Centre for Aerospace and Aviation at Downsview Campus
  • Tree City
  • The Hangar Sports Complex
    • Toronto Roller Derby
  • The Toronto Wildlife Centre
  • BMO Training Ground, training facility for Toronto FC, a Major League Soccer team, and home stadium for the Toronto FC Academy
• Canadian Armed Forces
  • 4th Canadian Division headquarters
  • Area Support Unit Toronto (formerly Garrison Support Unit Toronto)
  • Denison Armoury
  • 32 Canadian Brigade Group headquarters
  • 2 Intelligence Company
  • 32 Combat Engineer Regiment
  • 32 Service Battalion
  • The Governor General's Horse Guards
• Wilson Yard, the largest subway yard of the Toronto Transit Commission

Buildings located within or next to the airport:

• Bombardier Aerospace facility – southwest end of the airport
• CFB Downsview hangars – northeast end of the airport
• Farmers market – northwest end
• Downsview Park station – north end, combined subway / commuter train station

Former tenants

• Canadian Air and Space Conservancy, formerly the Canadian Air and Space Museum, and the Toronto Aerospace Museum, and before that the original factory for de Havilland Aircraft of Canada (until 2012), now located at Edenvale Aerodrome

Roads

Most of the roads at Downsview are city-owned roadways:

• John Drury Drive - portions are a private access road for the Canadian Armed Forces named for sapper John Drury of the Canadian Engineers
• Yukon Lane - access route into Denison Armoury.
• Carl Hall Road - former section of Sheppard Avenue and named for Private Carl Hall (enlisted as James Edward Robertson), American born World War I member of the 15th Battalion (Central Ontario Regiment)
• Canuck Avenue - short access route in Downsview Park
• Hanover Road - perimeter road along south end of the Bombardier plant.
• Beffort Road - continuation of Dufferin Street at Wilson Avenue and becomes Hanover Road entering Bombardier plant.
• Robert Woodhead Crescent - private access road for the Canadian Armed Forces
• Garratt Blvd - residents route from Wilson Avenue to Hanover Road
• Plewes Road - residential road

Accidents and incidents

• 14 February 1956, a pre-delivery de Havilland U-1A Otter for the United States Army broke up mid-air and crashed near Downsview (into farm field around Finch Avenue West and Keele Street), killing all five on board.

Notes

Citations

References

• Downsview Park
• 410 to 419 Squadrons
• Bruce Forsyth's Military History Page

References

1. (March 25, 2024). "Students' design ideas to help reshape site of former airport". [[Toronto Star]].
2. (8 May 2024). "Bombardier Opens New Plant at Toronto Pearson". [[Canadian Owners and Pilots Association.
3. {{CFS
4. "YZD - Toronto/Downsview Airport".
5. "Closure of Downsview Airport (CYZD) and Toronto Airspace Changes – Downsview, ON".
6. "YZD Homepage".
7. (21 December 2021). "De Havilland Aircraft". [[Downsview Park.
8. (Fall 2024). "Transforming the Downsview Airfield Into a Sustainable Community". Living Architecture Monitor.
9. Trautvetter, Chad. (3 May 2018). "Bombardier To Move Global Family Production to Pearson". AIN Online.
10. (8 November 2018). "Bombardier to Sell Q400 Program to Viking Air". Airways.
11. Northcrest Developments. (2024-08-20). "Introducing YZD: Northcrest Developments unveils new name for the former Downsview Airport lands".
12. Lewis, Nell. (2025-12-10). "Inside the abandoned airport being transformed into a $30 billion sustainable city".
13. "Bombardier to close Downsview and move Global work to Pearson".
14. (24 June 2013). "4th Canadian Division - Ontario". Government of Canada.
15. "The Canadian Air & Space Museum, (CASM) is at the Edenvale Aerodrome!".
16. (21 November 2013). "At shuttered Downsview military base, old homes face their fate". The Globe and Mail.
17. (11 November 2018). "RCAF Station Downsview".
18. {{ASN accident. 19560214-1