Walk Liberty | Location 9

Welcome to Walk Liberty!

Walk Liberty is an interactive, online portal that showcases the rich history, public spaces, and dynamic and eclectic businesses of Liberty Village. Get outside, explore the neighbourhood and support your local businesses. 

This is one of ten stops along a walking tour of Liberty Village. 

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📍Atlantic Avenue | Exhibition Station

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Liberty Village’s history is closely tied to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) and to Exhibition Place, the grounds on which Toronto’s grand annual fair occupies. The CNE began as the Toronto Industrial Exhibition in 1879 to promote Canadian agriculture and technology, occupying the western portion of the Garrison Reserve. For many years, Dufferin Street was the CNE’s main entrance, with streetcars and railway trains unloading fairgoers right at the gate. 

Though Exhibition Place today is best known for annual events such as the CNE, the Royal Winter Fair, and the Honda Indy, the grounds are home to dozens of sporting events, concerts, conventions, and trade shows. In 1968, GO trains began stopping at Exhibition Place, and in 1998, a proper, underground connection to Atlantic Avenue was added. This connection allows sports fans attending games at BMO Field and Coca-Cola Coliseum to visit Liberty Village’s cafés, pubs, and restaurants before and after games, and for Liberty Village workers and residents to easily get to GO trains and TTC streetcars on the south side of the tracks. 

Exhibition Place has long been a centre for professional sports. The Toronto Blue Jays played at Exhibition Stadium from 1977 to 1989 before moving to SkyDome. Coca-Cola Coliseum, to the east of the Horse Palace, is the home of the Marlies, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ American Hockey League affiliate. To the south is BMO Field, home of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and the Toronto Argonauts, North America’s oldest professional sports club. The Toronto Raptors – yet another championship team – have their practice and training facility on the Exhibition Grounds. Enercare Centre and Beanfield Centre (located in the Art Deco Automotive Building) host conferences and trade shows, including the popular One Of A Kind show.

Immediately south of this point is the Horse Palace, one of the oldest buildings on the Exhibition grounds. It is the home of the Toronto Police Service’s Mounted Unit; officers can often be spotted exercising their horses through Exhibition Place and Liberty Village.

Exhibition Station will transform the western terminus of the planned Ontario Line, which just started construction. One complete, the Ontario Line and upgraded GO Transit service will bring frequent and reliable rapid transit to Liberty Village’s front door.