After the Pride weekend, many people traditionally head to Hanlan's Point Beach on the Toronto Islands. The beach is considered the oldest continuously existing gathering place for the gay community in Canada and has been an important retreat for homosexual individuals for decades. Now the beach is facing new threats.

The most important things at a glance

• Ontario plans the expansion of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
• Critics fear significant consequences for the gay cult beach Hanlan's Point.
• The very first Pride event in Canada took place on the beach in 1971.
• A extension of the runway in Lake Ontario is planned.
• Environmental, noise, and wastewater issues are at the center of criticism.
• The city of Toronto is simultaneously investing in the protection and rehabilitation of the beach.

Airport instead of gay cult beach?

One danger became public in June, as weather and erosion increasingly threaten the iconic beach where Canada’s very first Pride event took place in 1971. Already, 75 percent of the original beach has vanished into the waves, and now new peril looms for this historic and important place in the community: Premier Doug Ford plans to expand Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, allowing larger and noisier jets to take off and land. Hanlan's Point is only a few hundred meters south of the airport. Today, the sounds of airplanes are already part of everyday life at the beach. Opponents of the project, however, fear significantly more serious consequences.

"When you look at the area around the airport, Hanlan's Point is right next to it," said Norm Di Pasquale, program director of the NoJetsTO initiative. "If the airport is to be expanded, this is likely one of the first places at risk." The Toronto Port Authority, which operates the airport together with the City of Toronto and Transport Canada, estimates the cost of an expansion at four to five billion Canadian dollars over 25 years. After the expansion, about ten million passengers could be processed annually.

Massive environmental damage

According to Di Pasquale, the runway is to be extended by 900 meters into Lake Ontario. "They want to extend the runway by 900 meters into Lake Ontario - that’s taller than the Burj Khalifa." The construction will have far-reaching consequences. "It will require significantly more material than on solid ground. This will take longer, be more expensive, and lead to considerably more disturbances," said Di Pasquale. "We will have unbearable construction noise for 25 years along our central waterfront promenade."

In addition to the noise, the initiative also warns of ecological impacts. Breeding areas for birds could be affected by new flight routes. Furthermore, Di Pasquale points to the results of an environmental impact assessment: "The environmental impact assessment concluded that it would take twice as long for wastewater from the central shoreline to be flushed out." After heavy rainfall, this could lead to a deterioration in water quality in Lake Ontario. The provincial government has not yet released a concrete expansion plan. However, with Bill 110, it created the possibility to take control of urban airport areas and designate the area as a "Special Economic Zone."

A historic place

Toronto's Mayor Olivia Chow described the move as "land grabbing" and referred to it as a "undemocratic overreach of power." Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney initially called the proposal an "interesting" idea with "great potential," but later stated that he had not yet formed a definitive opinion. Transport Canada has since launched a public consultation on the future of the airport. Meanwhile, NDP MP Chris Glover is calling on the federal government to intervene. "We don't need a consultation to recognize that this is a bad idea," he said. "The federal government must fulfill its responsibility to the people of Toronto and stop Doug Ford's takeover of the airport and the islands."

The Friends of Hanlan's initiative is about much more than just a construction project. "Hanlan's has been a gay place for almost a century," said co-founder Travis Myers. "It is Canada's oldest still-existing gay venue and the historic site of the country's first Pride event in 1971. It is a free, accessible place where the entire community can come together," Myers explained. Many other meeting spots have since been commercialized.

Rescue of the cult beach

Regardless of the expansion plans, the city of Toronto aims to secure the beach in the long term. Last month, the city council approved a program to combat ongoing coastal erosion. Among other things, 20,000 cubic meters of new sand are planned for the beach season of 2027, as well as additional plantings worth $400,000. According to the mayor's office, a long-term plan will also be developed to enhance the beach, protect nature, and shape future development in collaboration with citizen initiatives.

Regarding Carney's participation in the Toronto Pride, Myers added: "We saw how the Prime Minister marched at Toronto Pride and showed solidarity with the community online. Now he has the opportunity to turn his words into action and demonstrate what protecting the queer community looks like in practice."