Canadian Air and Space Conservancy

Not to be confused with Canada Aviation and Space Museum.
Canadian Air and Space Conservancy
Map
Former names
  • Toronto Aerospace Museum
  • Canadian Air and Space Museum
Established1997
LocationEdenvale Airport
Coordinates44°26′34″N 79°57′48″W / 44.4429°N 79.9634°W / 44.4429; -79.9634
TypeAviation museum
Websitehttps://www.avroarrow203.com/

The Canadian Air and Space Conservancy (formerly the Toronto Aerospace Museum and the Canadian Air and Space Museum) was an aviation museum that was located in Toronto, Ontario, featuring artifacts, exhibits and stories illustrating a century of Canadian aviation heritage and achievements. The museum was located in a hangar that once housed the original de Havilland Canada aircraft manufacturing building, but in September 2011 the museum and all of the other tenants in the building were evicted by the landlord, the Crown Corporation, PDP (Downsview Park). The site was slated for redevelopment as a new sports centre but after closing the museum the development was placed on hold. The museum is developing a new location and its collections are currently not available for public viewing.[1]

Located in what is now known as Downsview Park, the hangar was later appropriated by the Royal Canadian Air Force as a part of RCAF Station Downsview, and then later as CFB Toronto, which was closed in April 1996. On September 20, 2011, after the order to vacate the premises, the museum's collection was transferred to forty-four, 40-foot freight containers and stored in a parking lot on the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) property in Toronto.[1][2][3][4][5] The collection was then unloaded into warehouse space provided by GTAA, until 2018.

When it was active the institution was largely run by volunteers and had the goal of educating visitors on the Canadian aerospace industry and technology.[6] It is a registered Canadian non-profit organization, operating as the "Canadian Air & Space Museum".[7]

In November 2018 it was announced that the museum would reopen at Edenvale Airport, 100 km northwest of Toronto, near Edenvale, Ontario, in 2019 and be renamed the Canadian Air and Space Conservancy.[8]

  1. ^ a b "Canadian Air & Space Museum - Visit Us". Archived from the original on 9 December 2011.
  2. ^ Amy Dempsey, "Air and Space Museum to become ice rink", Toronto Star, September 20, 2011
  3. ^ Niles, Russ (September 2011). "Canadian Air Museum Evicted". AVweb. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Toronto's Canadian Air & Space Museum shut down". The Vancouver Sun. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  5. ^ Allick, Chantaie (September 2011). "Air museum volunteers still hoping for reprieve". Toronto Star. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Teacher Information". Archived from the original on 5 July 2012.
  7. ^ "About us". Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
  8. ^ Drinkater, Steve (15 November 2018). "Former Air Museum Finds Landing Site". Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. Retrieved 17 November 2018.