Critics are slamming Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s plan to erect a $400-million above-ground parkade as part of the controversial Ontario Place redevelopment project in Toronto.

This week, Ford announced that the province has scrapped plans for a previously proposed underground parkade and intends to build an expanded 3,500-spot structure instead. Critics claim that an above-ground parkade will block views of the lakeshore.

“His goal here is to make money off the backs of the people of Ontario to access their own parkland,” New Democrat MPP Chris Glover told The Toronto Star.

Ford dismissed concerns about view obstructions, stating that a berm will barely make the planned five-storey parkade noticeable. He told reporters that the parkade will generate projected revenues of $60 million per year.

“It’s going to be spectacular,” he said while unveiling final redesigns for Ontario Place.

But Coun. Ausma Malik told the Star that Ontario Place should connect people to the city’s waterfront, not block them.

Mayor Olivia Chow told the Star’s editorial board that she offered land for underground parking at Exhibition Place, on the north side of Ontario Place, but the province rejected the offer.

“This is not revitalization,” Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner told the Star. “It is a reckless misuse of public land and a waste of money.”

The proposed $2.2-billion Ontario Place redevelopment project is slated to include a new science centre and Therme-owned waterpark and spa.

Therme is slated to operate the waterpark and spa under a 95-year lease of the provincially owned site.

In December 2024, the province’s auditor-general cited a lack of transparency in the Therme deal and said that the company gained access to provincial executives that is not usually granted. The auditor-general also reported that Therme appeared to lack sufficient finances.

Meanwhile, Groupe Nordik, the Canadian spa company behind the Thermea Spa Village brand, distanced itself from the Ontario Place redevelopment project. Groupe Nordik issued a news release stressing that it has “no affiliation whatsoever” with Therme after receiving increased enquiries about its association with the overseas company. Groupe Nordik is locked in a legal dispute with Therme over rights to the Thermea trademark.

Also, a New York Times investigation raised concerns about Therme’s credentials. The Times reported that Therme allegedly exaggerated its track record and financial resources while securing a deal with the Ontario government.

The Times also reported that Therme allegedly misrepresented itself, misleading the Ontario government while advancing plans for a multi-billion-dollar expansion to other major markets in North America, Europe and the Middle East.

Under the terms of its long-term lease with Therme, the Ontario government is responsible for the upfront costs of hundreds of millions of dollars, the Times reported.

The Times investigation found that Therme only operates one spa in Romania, outside Bucharest. But the company allegedly presented itself as an industry player that operated as many as six spas in Europe, according to the Times.

The Ontario NDP has called for the province to scrap the spa project in wake of the Times’ findings.

But Ford defended the province’s deal with Therme as solid, the Star reported.

“I’m very, very satisfied,” he told reporters.

The revamped Ontario Place is also slated to include a Live Nation amphitheatre that will operate year-round and a 3,400-square-foot Indigenous cultural pavilion.

In a news release, Ford said the province is rebuilding long-dormant Ontario Place into a “world-class destination for families and tourists” accessible by car, GO train or the Ontario Line’s nearby Exhibition Station.

“The investments we’re making will help keep 5,000 workers on the job, despite the economic uncertainty caused by [U.S.] President [Donald] Trump’s tariffs, and will help protect and grow Toronto and Ontario’s tourism sector for decades to come,” said Ford.

Pictured: Illustration showing parkade at the Ontario Place redevelopment project.

Image: Government of Ontario