Queen’s Park

Queen’s Park — Canada’s first municipal park at the heart of the Legislature

Green, historic and unmistakably ceremonial, Queen’s Park wraps around the pink-stone Ontario Legislative Building in the University District. Old-growth trees, a century of statues and a beloved rose garden put the city’s history right on the lawns, where students, tourists and office workers share the same shaded paths.

Highlights

• Ontario Legislative Building — pink sandstone Richardsonian Romanesque, completed in 1892, dividing the park into north and south.
• Statue gallery — Sir John A. Macdonald, Queen Victoria, John Graves Simcoe, Oliver Mowat, James Whitney and poet Al Purdy (2008), plus Queen Elizabeth II unveiled in 2023.
• King Edward VII equestrian statue — brought all the way from India.
• Rose Garden — on the east side of the Legislature.
• Old-growth canopy — original eastern white pine, red oak and white oak among mature maples and elms.
• War memorials — the 48th Highlanders of Canada Regimental Memorial, the Canadian Volunteer Monument and the Ontario Veterans’ Memorial.

What you’ll find

About 20 hectares (49 acres) of parkland, held on a 999-year lease from the university, with the Legislature at its centre.

• North and south sections split by the Ontario Legislative Building.
• A mature, old-growth tree canopy over shaded paths and open lawns.
• A Rose Garden east of the Legislature.
• Monuments, statues and three war memorials throughout.
• The line of the buried Taddle Creek and former McCaul’s Pond, which once bordered the west side.

Things to do — and who it’s for

• History and architecture buffs — the 1892 Legislature and a century of monuments in one walk.
• Tourists — guided visits inside the Legislature.
• Students — a green break in the middle of the St. George campus.
• Office and government workers — shaded paths and lawns for a lunchtime pause.
• Photographers — statues, rose beds and old hardwoods through the seasons.

Getting there & practical

The park sits in the University and Discovery District, effectively an enclave of the University of Toronto’s St. George campus, with the Ontario Legislature as its landmark. It’s easily reached by public transit and a short walk across campus. Free and open to all, it rewards anywhere from a half-hour stroll to a leisurely afternoon among the monuments.

When to visit

Spring and summer bring the Rose Garden into bloom and the full canopy overhead; autumn turns the mature hardwoods to colour. Time a visit to Victoria Day, Canada Day or Remembrance Day for the ceremonial gun salutes. Because the Legislature stands at its heart, the park is also a frequent site for public rallies.

Good to know

Queen’s Park was dedicated on 11 September 1860 by Edward, Prince of Wales — the future Edward VII — as Canada’s first municipal park, and named in honour of Queen Victoria. It has stayed a civic stage ever since: the Legislature arrived in 1892, and generations of monuments have gathered on its lawns, the newest a statue of Queen Elizabeth II unveiled in 2023.

Visitor tips

• Start at the Legislature and let the north and south sections lead you between the statues.
• Visit the Rose Garden on the east side in late spring or summer for peak bloom.
• Come on a ceremonial day — Victoria Day, Canada Day or Remembrance Day — to catch the gun salutes.

Questions & answers

Why is it called Canada’s first municipal park? It was dedicated in 1860 as the country’s first, named in honour of Queen Victoria.

What’s the building at the centre? The Ontario Legislative Building — pink sandstone, Richardsonian Romanesque, completed 1892 — which splits the park north and south.

How big is it? About 20 hectares (49 acres), held on a 999-year lease from the University of Toronto.

Which statues will I see? Among others: Macdonald, Queen Victoria, Simcoe, Mowat, Whitney, Al Purdy, an equestrian Edward VII from India, and a Queen Elizabeth II unveiled in 2023.

Are there war memorials? Yes — the 48th Highlanders of Canada Regimental Memorial, the Canadian Volunteer Monument and the Ontario Veterans’ Memorial.

Can I go inside the Legislature? Yes — guided visits are offered.