Toronto, CA 🇨🇦 Closed Airport
ICAO
CA-0484
IATA
-
Elevation
- ft
Region
CA-ON
Local Time
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 43.714666° N, -79.455904° E
Continent: North America
Type: Closed Airport
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Barker Field (CA-0484) in Toronto, Canada, originally opened as Century Airport in 1927 in Downsview, North York Township. It was renamed Barker Field on June 6, 1931, to honor decorated World War I flying ace Lieutenant Colonel William "Billy" Barker, who died in an airplane crash in 1930. Located at the northwest corner of Lawrence Avenue and Dufferin Street, the airfield utilized grass and dirt runways and served as a base for several air operators, including Toronto Airways, Century Airways, and National Air Transport, and hosted Canadian Colonial Airlines' passenger service to Buffalo and Leavens Brothers Air Service's aviation training school. The airfield was owned by Cyril L. Murray from 1937 until the late 1940s. Barker Field has since closed and "vanished from the landscape," with little remaining to indicate its aviation past, implying the site has been redeveloped.
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Mid-2023. While the military base (CFB Toronto) closed in 1996, the airfield remained operational for its primary tenant, Bombardier Aerospace. Bombardier ceased all flight operations and permanently closed the airport in mid-2023 as part of its relocation to Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Economic and Urban Redevelopment. Bombardier Aerospace, the final operator, sold the land in 2018 to facilitate a massive urban redevelopment project. The closure was a planned part of vacating the site to allow for the construction of a new mixed-use community. It was not closed due to an accident or sudden failure.
The site is undergoing a complete transformation. The former airport lands are being redeveloped into a large-scale, mixed-use community. A significant portion of the property is already Downsview Park, a national urban park. Other active uses on the site include Centennial College's aerospace campus (housed in the historic de Havilland buildings) and Downsview Park Studios, a major film production facility. The runway and taxiways are in the process of being dismantled to make way for new roads, parks, and buildings.
Downsview Airport was a cornerstone of Canadian aviation for over 90 years. It was established in 1929 by de Havilland Canada as a manufacturing plant and airfield. It is the birthplace of many iconic Canadian aircraft, including the DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-6 Twin Otter, and the Bombardier Dash 8 (Q400). In 1947, the site was acquired by the government and became Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Station Downsview, later Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Toronto. It served as a critical military air transport and search-and-rescue base during the Cold War. After the military base's closure, it remained a vital center for aerospace manufacturing and flight testing under Bombardier until 2023.
None. The closure is permanent. The land is among the most valuable undeveloped parcels in Toronto, and a comprehensive, multi-decade redevelopment plan is already underway. There are no plans or prospects for the site to ever operate as an airport again.