After years of campaigning by members of the Rouge Park Alliance, environmentalists, and local politicians, the federal government announced during the May 4, 2011 throne speech that Rouge Park is to become Canada's first national urban park.

During the transition from Rouge Park to the Rouge National Urban Park, the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) will serve as the managing organization for operations in the park.

"All Canadians should be proud of our national park system, and to have them running this park here would be good for the people here and good for Parks Canada," said Alan Wells, Chair of the Rouge Park Alliance. Rouge Park lies within an hours drive for 7 million people, and would be the first national urban park easily accessed by public transit. Many organizations, including Ontario Nature and the David Suzuki Foundation have expressed their support for this initiative.

Be sure to check out Parks Canada for the latest information on the transition.

Parks Canada Newsletters:

Further information: