Ward's Island

The Toronto Islands once held thousands of seasonal cottages and a much larger residential population, but the city moved through the 20th century to clear most of that housing to expand parkland, leaving Ward's Island and neighbouring Algonquin Island as the only surviving residential communities. Cottages on Ward's Island date back to the late 19th century, when the area was a summer retreat before gradually becoming a year-round community for a small, tight-knit group of residents.

Two eviction fights

Metro Toronto moved to demolish the remaining island homes in 1956 and again pursued clearance through the 1960s and into the 1970s, part of a broader plan to convert the entire island chain to parkland; residents organized sustained legal and political resistance both times, eventually securing provincial legislation in 1993 that gave qualifying residents the right to purchase long-term leases on their homes. Around 250 households remain on Ward's and Algonquin Islands today, reachable only by ferry, in what is now recognized as a legally protected, permanent residential community rather than a holdout.

Sources

• Toronto Island Community Association — History
• Wikipedia — Toronto Islands

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