Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area

We conducted an environmental assessment to develop the overall design concept and set objectives. It was approved on May 27, 2015. View The Lakeview Waterfront Connection (LWC) Project Environmental Assessment (EA) now called the Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area.

Environmental Assessment Objectives:

• Naturalization: Restore diverse terrestrial, aquatic and wetland ecosystem habitats and linkages.
• Public access: Provide safe and accessible access to and along the waterfront with recreational, educational and cultural heritage opportunities.
• Fiscal viability: Maximize public benefit and value by reusing locally generated soil from existing municipal projects.
• Compatibility: Ensure that the conservation area is compatible with existing infrastructure.
• Coordination: Coordinate with and inform other local planning and development initiatives.

Through consultation with our Indigenous partners, community advisory members and partner organizations, we‘re building an accessible network of trails, boardwalks, lookouts and gathering spaces. These new amenities will provide scenic connections to the lake, wetlands, grasslands and forest environments at the conservation area showcasing the diverse cultural and ecological history of the site. 

The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation are the treaty holders for the lands and waters where the conservation area is being constructed. It’s located on the boundaries between the Toronto Purchase (1805) and the Head of the Lake Purchase (1818). 

As part of the fundamental commitments of the project and Credit Valley Conservation’s growing relationship with the Mississauga’s of the Credit First Nation, the Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area will provide opportunities for Indigenous Placemaking to express the enduring presence of Indigenous people on the Treaty lands of Mississauga’s of the Credit First Nation. 

We’re rehabilitating the eastern Mississauga waterfront by replacing the existing shoreline with a more natural, diverse and ecologically functional shoreline. Construction and habitat restoration activities include:

• Building three offshore islands to protect the shoreline from wave action and to create underwater habitat for a variety of aquatic wildlife.
• Building three coastal wetlands to provide important fish, wildlife and bird habitat.
• Planting trees and shrubs to grow a forest and planting flowers and grasses to grow a meadow
• Re-connecting Serson Creek to Lake Ontario and restore the buried creek to allow fish to access the creek from the lake.

See our six year construction update (2016 to 2022) for more information.

We plan on opening the new Jim Tovey Conservation Area to the public in July 2025. We can’t wait to welcome you!

As of December 2022, we have responsibly reused approximately 1,483,600 cubic metres of clean excess soil, 69 per cent of which comes from Region of Peel capital works projects. We treat this material as a valued resource to enhance the local environment and improve our waterfront. This saves Region of Peel residents on transportation and tipping fees related to other Regional works projects. It also keeps thousands of trucks from driving long distances to northern municipalities to dispose of the soil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We’ve responsibly reused approximately 262,000 cubic metres of clean rubble on the site to date.

Our restoration crews have planted over 76,321 wetland plants and 36,260 trees and shrubs by hand to provide food and habitat for wildlife. 

We plan on opening the new Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area to the public in July 2025. Subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates regarding the opening date.

Input from local residents, the public and private sectors, all levels of government, and Indigenous Communities have been valuable in shaping the project. We continue to seek and welcome your questions and comments. Please fill out our contact form on this page.