Vaughan: The making of a city in 25 years

After a quarter century, the City Above Toronto is still forging its identity

Thestar.com
Jan. 6, 2016
By Noor Javed

The city of Vaughan was incorporated in 1991, and still has a lot of growing up to do.

In the history books, the City of Vaughan, as we would know it today, would be considered a newbie. Only 25 years old, one could say the city known as the “City above Toronto” has been through a lot in its short existence: a population boom; natural disasters; and the honour of being the first city outside of Toronto to get the subway.

But like many other GTA suburbs, searching and struggling to find their own unique identity, Vaughan still has a lot of growing up to do. The city is inviting residents to join in a celebration at city hall Thursday, or on social media (#Vaughan25), to reminisce about the days bygone and look to the future. Here’s glance at some of the highlights from the past quarter-century.

1991: Previously known as the Town of Vaughan, the municipality is made up of towns and villages, including Maple, Concord, Kleinberg, Thornhill and Woodbridge. It was incorporated on Jan. 1 and became the first city in York Region, with a population of 100,000 souls.

Vaughan Mayor Lorna Jackson displays the sign declaring her once-rural municipality, now with 104,000 people, the first city in York Region.

2000: Vaughan was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country over the past decade. It even achieved a population growth rate of 80 per cent according to Statistics Canada. The city’s current population is more than 320,000. With the boom, came issues of sprawl, traffic and congestion - which remain.

2002: The closure of the Keele Valley Landfill, which at 240 acres was one of the largest dumps in Canada. For two decades, Toronto had been tossing its trash into the 75-metre-deep pit. Part of it, once used for composting, is now being converted into a park.



Vaughan has a current population of more than 320,000.

2002: The closure of the Keele Valley Landfill, which at 240 acres was one of the largest dumps in Canada. For two decades, Toronto had been tossing its trash into the 75-metre-deep pit. Part of it, once used for composting, is now being converted into a park.

Keele Valley Landfill was closed in 2004.

2004: Vaughan Mills opened up on the corner of Rutherford and Jane Sts. The mall, which has 250 stores, and features the amusement park Legoland, is billed as a tourist attraction for the GTA.

Vaughan Mills shopping centre opened in 2004.

2006: Ontario commits $670 million to extend the Spadina subway to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. The project is being paid for by the province, York Region and the City of Toronto. The subway was slated for 2016 opening, but has been delayed to 2017.

The Spadina subway to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre expansion has been delayed to 2017.

2009: An F2 force tornado with winds peaking at 240 km/hr struck parts of Vaughan, damaging 600 homes and leaving 44 unsafe for occupancy. There were no injuries or deaths but the city was in a state of emergency for two days.

Hundreds of homes were damaged when a tornado struck Vaughan in 2009.

2012: Behold the Leviathan. Canada’s Wonderland opened in 1981 but completed the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the country – coming in at 93.3 metres on the ride’s initial drop at an angle of 80 degrees while reaching speeds of 148 km/hr.

2014: After nearly 23 million rides, the country’s first standing up rollercoaster, Skyrider, had its last hurrah.

SkyRider was the first stand-up roller-coaster in Canada when it opened in 1985.

2015: Vaughan’s hospital project begins tendering process. A complicated land-deal held up the project for a decade, but Mackenzie Heath officials say the project is slated to open in 2019. Local residents started paying off $80-million for hospital lands through a surcharge on their property taxes in 2009 and will do so until 2022.

The Vaughan hospital project is to open in 2019.

2015: Vaughan enters the world of professional sport, with Toronto FC II, a professional soccer team that competes in USL PRO, a division of U.S. Major League Soccer. Toronto FC II began competing last year and plays home games at the Ontario Soccer Centre located in Vaughan.

Toronto FC II plays out of the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan.