Toronto Waterfront Property Ownership (landlots), 1961-1998
Waterfront Ownership Source Information

Waterfront ownership data included in this package of shapefiles were compiled and created as part of my doctoral research on the political history of waterfront development in Toronto. The process went as follows.
	First, I generated a base map encompassing the central waterfront area utilizing shapefiles obtained from the University of Toronto Map and Data Library, including census tract boundaries, roadways, and national topographic information. Next, I began manually digitizing ownership data obtained from large-format scans of land surveys produced by the Harbour Commission, which covered much of Toronto’s central waterfront up to the year 1990. Throughout the process, I added labels at the block/parcel level noting the apparent land owner (federal government, provincial government, City of Toronto, Metro Toronto, Toronto Harbour Commission, private individual/company, or “unknown,” for areas with insufficient data), and when possible, basic land use descriptions (for example, park space, industry, and so on). Note that I only included data pertaining to landlots, not waterlots (areas of shallow land covered by water). Unfortunately, the challenge of differentiating between waterlots of different depths was beyond my technical abilities (or anyone not trained as a professional surveyor).
Next, I georeferenced the data in order to calculate land ownership totals (acres, hectares, and square kilometres). To ensure accuracy, I verified the data by cross-referencing with relevant municipal property data maps available through Robarts Library. Where there were gaps — for instance, the years 1961 and 1971, for which no property data maps were available — I consulted municipal assessment rolls housed at the City of Toronto Archives, as well as relevant documents obtained from the Archives of Ontario, Waterfront Toronto, and via an Access to Information request filed with the Toronto Port Authority. Where discrepancies arose — say, in cases where two maps revealed conflicting ownership information for a given land parcel —  I used what I believed to be the most credible data available. Although I cannot guarantee error-free work, I did make every effort to be as judicious as possible.
	
Gabriel Eidelman
PhD Candidate
Dept. of Political Science
University of Toronto
May 2012

GIS Source Files:
DMTI Spatial Inc. 2002. CanMap Route Logistics Toronto (CMA) Subset 6.2. Retrieved from University of Toronto Data and Map Library. http://maps.chass.utoronto.ca/cgi-bin/files.pl?idnum=122&title=CanMap+Route+Logistics+Toronto+(CMA)+Subset+6.2+2002 (accessed March 25, 2010).
Natural Resources Canada, Geogratis. 2001. National Topographic Data Base (NTDB) 030M11. Retrieved from http://www.geogratis.ca/geogratis/en/download/topographic.html (accessed March 25, 2010).
Statistics Canada. 2001. Census of Canada Geography Files 2001. Retrieved from University of Toronto Data and Map Library. http://www.library.utoronto.ca/datalib/datart/maplib/cc01/Toronto_CT.zip (accessed March 25, 2010).

Toronto Harbour Commission surveys consulted:
Toronto Harbour Commissioners. 1961. Toronto Harbour Commissioners Condition Plan, 1st January 1961. [Map]. Toronto: Toronto Harbour Commissioners. University of Toronto Libraries Call Number: G3524 .T621 G46 14 1960.
Toronto Harbour Commissioners. 1971. Port and Harbour of Toronto, January 1st, 1971. [Map]. Toronto: Toronto Harbour Commissioners. University of Toronto Libraries Call Number: G3524 .T621 G43 12 1971-1971.
Toronto Harbour Commissioners. 1980. Port and Harbour of Toronto, January, 1980. [Map]. Toronto: Toronto Harbour Commissioners. University of Toronto Libraries Call Number: G3524 .T621 G43 12 1971-1980.
Toronto Harbour Commissioners. 1990. Port and Harbour of Toronto, January, 1990. [Map]. Toronto: Toronto Harbour Commissioners. Provided by Gene Desfor, York University.

Municipal property data maps consulted:
City of Toronto, City Surveyor. 1979. Property Data Map. June-September. Toronto: Department of Public Works. University of Toronto Libraries Call Number: G3524 .T61 G461 1979.
Sectors:
49G-123
50G-123
51G-112/121/122/123
52G-121/123
City of Toronto, City Surveyor. 1981. Property Data Map. December. Toronto: Department of Public Works. University of Toronto Libraries Call Number: G3524 .T61 G461 1981.
Sectors:
47H-111/112/113
48G-121/122/123
49F-123
49G-111/112/113/123
50F-111/112/113/121/122/123
50G-111/112/113/121/122/123
51F-111/112/122/123
51G-111/112/113/121/122/123
52F-121/122
52G-111/112/113/121/122/123
53G-111/121/122/123
City of Toronto, City Surveyor. 1990. Property Data Map. Toronto: Department of Public Works. University of Toronto Libraries Call Number: G3524 .T61 G461 1990.
Sectors:
47H-111/112/113
48G-113/121/122/123
49G-111/112/113/123
50G-111/112/113/121/122/123
51F-123/124/125/126
51G-111/112/113/121/122/123
52G-111/112/113/121/122/123/124
53G-111/112/113/121/122/123
City of Toronto, City Surveyor. 1997. Property Data Map. June. Toronto: Department of Public Works. University of Toronto Libraries Call Number: G3524 .T61 G46 2 1997.
Sectors:
47H-11/12/13
48G-21/22
49G-11/12/13/23
50G-11/12/13/21/22/23
51G-11/12/13/21/22
51F-23/24/25/26
52F-11
52G-11/12/13/21/22/23/24
53G-11/12/13/21/22/23

Municipal assessment rolls consulted:
City of Toronto Assessment Rolls (1834-1997). City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 612.
1961 Ward-Divisions accessed: 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-1, 5-1, 6-1B, 8-1
1971 Wards-Divisions accessed: 1-1, 2-1, 4-1, 6-1/2/4, 7-1/5, 8-1, 9-1

Supplementary sources:
City of Toronto, Planning and Development Department. 1982. The Central Waterfront: Proposals. March. Toronto: Department of Planning and Development. (Specifically, Maps 4 and 5)
City of Toronto, Planning and Development Department. 1983. Railway Lands Part II: Development Concept. September. Toronto: Department of Planning and Development. (Specifically, Map 5)
City of Toronto, Planning and Development Department. 1984. The Central Waterfront: Final Recommendations. March. Toronto: Department of Planning and Development. (Specifically, pgs. 68, 73, 152-53, 160)
City of Toronto, Planning and Development Department. 1991. The Railway Lands Review: Proposals. March. Toronto: Department of Planning and Development.
City of Toronto, Commissioner of Planning and Development. 1992. East and Central Bayfront Principles Report. City of Toronto Land Use Committee Report No. 7. April 1. Provided by Gene Desfor, York University.
Intergovernmental Staff Forum. 1977. Toronto Island Airport Study Program: Summary of Alternative Scenarios. May. Toronto: Intergovernmental Staff Forum. (Specifically, Fig. 4, pg. 9)
McLaughlin, Stephen. 1987. Federal Land Management in the Toronto Region. A Report for Ministerial Consideration on the Effective Management of Federal Lands in the Region of Metropolitan Toronto. June.
City of Toronto, City Works Services. 1998. Map to Illustrate Ownership of Harbourfront Lands. February. Provided in digital format by Waterfront Toronto, March 2011.
City of Toronto, Land Information Services. 1998. Aerial Photography. April. Toronto: City of Toronto, Corporate Services. University of Toronto Libraries Call Number: G3524 .T6 G46 5 1998.
	Sectors: 50-F, 51-E, 51-F, 52-F
Toronto Economic Development Corporation. 1991. Schedule A: Agreement of Purchase and Sale between TEDCO and THC. Sketch of the Lands. November. Archives of Ontario, RG 19-157, B388992.
Toronto Economic Development Corporation and Toronto Harbour Commissioners. 1994. Agreement of Purchase and Sale. July 18, 1994. Obtained from the Toronto Port Authority via Access to Information request, May 2012.
Toronto Harbour Commissioners and the Corporation of the City of Toronto. 1994. THC Subsidy Agreeement (II). October 31, 1994. Obtained from the Toronto Port Authority via Access to Information request, May 2012.