In Retro T.O., we revisit key moments in recent Toronto history that still reverberate today. This week: the Toronto Islands are usually a peaceful place—but that wasn’t the case back in the summer of 1980, when the City tried to oust residents.
As residents of Algonquin and Ward’s Islands arrived at their mainland jobs on the morning of July 28, 1980, the siren atop the Ward’s Island Association clubhouse wailed. Quickly, an emergency phone chain contacted residents and their supporters. People rushed to the waterfront to catch water taxis, private boats, and any other means of travel back to the Islands. After years of threats, it appeared that the York County Sheriff was on his way that dreary, drizzly morning to deliver writs of eviction that would force 700 people out of their homes.
Ever since Metro Toronto assumed control of the Toronto Islands in 1956, it intended to convert all of the remaining residential areas into parkland. While the communities at Hanlan’s Point and Centre Island vanished by the late 1960s, residents at the eastern end successfully fought for a series of lease extensions. This created great animosity between Islanders and suburban politicians who, depending on your point of view, either believed that the land should be green space for future generations to enjoy or were wielding their power so that downtown Toronto (which tended to support the Islanders) didn’t always gain the upper hand in Metro affairs.
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from the July 5, 1980, edition of the Toronto Star
As positions hardened, Metro Chairman Paul Godfrey appeared determined to oust the residents at any cost. He was backed by officials like Etobicoke Controller Bill Stockwell, who felt city politicians were spewing “a lot of crap” about the issue. From October 1977, Metro Council tried to issue writs of eviction but ran into numerous legal hurdles. Metro officials grew so angry that by, July 1980, they ignored provincial requests for compromise. The Islanders, often portrayed as rent-dodging urban professionals squatting on what should have been public land, had to go.
Under these conditions, signs of a siege mentality developed. Residents held rallies for their cause and got to know City Hall well. On the islands, an emergency CB-radio network was established, as was a “home guard” to defend their homes if the Sheriff ever showed up. Lessons on effective obstruction techniques were provided by Greenpeace and other activists. Unhelpfully, some politicians repeated rumours that some residents were armed for battle.
July 1980 began with a pro-resident rally at Ward’s Island on Canada Day that drew 2,700. Mayors past (David Crombie) and present (John Sewell) offered support, while urban theorist Jane Jacobs observed that “this community is lovable, unique, and a lovely thing. Reasonable people don’t destroy a lovable, unique, and lovely thing.” The next day, following advice from the provincial attorney-general’s office, the Sheriff’s staff refused to accept eviction writs from Metro, claiming the documents had expired. A fuming Godfrey held a press conference to announce Metro would take the issue to the Ontario Supreme Court.
Tensions mounted as everyone waited for Justice John O’Driscoll’s decision. Islanders carried on as best they could, working on their homes despite the threat of eviction. Yet, as resident Brenda Willis told the Star, “People sit on the boat and cry, and we have to build their spirits again. We try to keep the bad news from the older people.” Sewell and several city councilors vowed to stand with the residents in blocking the Sheriff whenever he arrived, a move that struck media outlets like the Star as an irresponsible disregard of their duty as elected officials to uphold the law.
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from the July 25, 1980, edition of the Toronto Star
On July 24, 1980, O’Driscoll ruled that the writs did not have an expiry date. While Sewell vowed to fight on (“You can’t be a fairweather friend in this game”), Metro officials and their allies felt vindicated. Anyone who tried to stop the Sheriff “from closing his giant nutcracker on the Islanders,” wrote Sun City Hall columnist and staunch Islands-community detractor John Downing, “deserves to be crushed as well.” While a final attempt was made by the Islanders to appeal the evictions, there was a feeling that violence would ensue when Metro made its move.
When the Islanders returned to their homes on July 28, 1980, they prepared for battle. Street signs and house numbers were removed. Around 3:30 a.m., the siren sounded again. Everyone amassed at the Algonquin Island bridge where, garbed in rain gear, they formed a human wall 10 people deep and raised banners pleading “Save Us Bill Davis.” Two cars pulled up. Acting Sheriff Joseph Bremner and his deputy failed to sway community leaders to meet privately in their vehicles. Instead, in front of chanting protesters and the media, Toronto Island Residents Association co-chairs Elizabeth Amer and Ron Mazza negotiated with Bremner. The Sheriff agreed to wait 24 hours until the appeal could be heard and departed peacefully. The sun came out. As Sally Gibson noted in her book More Than an Island, “They had stood together—and had won. Not the war. But a real moral victory. And, if need be, they would do it all again.”
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from the July 29, 1980, edition of the Toronto Star
There would be a few more fights, but the eviction threat gradually faded. Recommendations from a report prepared by lawyer Robert Swadron (whose hearings Metro refused to participate in) led to provincial legislation in December 1981 that allowed the community to stay until 2005. Metro proved itself a sore loser through tactics like attack ads and taking its time to clear winter snow. Ultimately, the community’s survival was secured through the Toronto Islands Residential Community Stewardship Act in 1993, which granted Islanders permission to purchase 99-year leases from a land trust.
Additional material from More Than an Island by Sally Gibson (Toronto: Irwin Publishing, 1984), the July 3, 1980 edition of the Globe and Mail, the July 5, 1980, July 19, 1980, July 23, 1980 editions of the Toronto Star, and the July 25, 1980 edition of the Toronto Sun.
