The Lassonde Art Trail is at the heart of a massive $1.25b project to reroute the mouth of the Don River and build flood protection for downtown Toronto. This feat of civil and bioengineering will create a new island in the city harbour currently called Villiers Island. The project will establish a new river valley with functional wetlands and deliver 62 acres of publicly accessible open space along the riverbanks and inner harbour. It will clean and restore soils contaminated from past industrialization, and naturally accommodate the effects of flooding and erosion. In the process it will re-establish aquatic and terrestrial habitat where Indigenous species of plants and animals can thrive.
In master plans for this new neighbourhood and park system, Waterfront Toronto included a vision for a contemporary art trail with embedded supporting infrastructure. In 2022, philanthropist Pierre Lassonde was invited to view progress on the site, and he committed a transformational gift to realize the art trail. This gift of $25M includes $10M for two permanent destination artworks that will be gifted to the City of Toronto’s Public Art and Monuments Collection. The remaining $15M is allocated as a challenge fund to sustain programming over the long-term, and manage the free, outdoor public art trail in parks along the banks of the Don River mouth in Toronto’s transformed Port Lands.
Incorporated as a non-profit charitable organization in 2023, LAT is actively fundraising to unlock the Lassonde family’s matching funds and achieve its goal to be a world-class, dynamic art destination. The two permanent sculptures will be unveiled in 2026 alongside a rotating cycle of contemporary installations from local, national and international artists in collaboration with a range of donors, supporters, city-builders and partners both near and far.



Lassonde Art Trail

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Lassonde Art Trail

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