Toronto's beautiful waterfront is the place to take a walk on along the beach or boardwalk, sit in a cafe or enjoy a bike ride along a trail. On clear days, you can see boats of all kinds on the water, far and near: sailboats, yachts, cabin cruisers, fishing boats, tourist's cruise boats of all sizes, the famous Island ferry boats, tug boats, and from time to time you might see a majestic tall ship or fast gliding dragon boat.

For some, the long shoreline is a playground for water sports,

canoeing, kayaking and windsurfing. There are countless boating clubs lined up along the waterfront from east to west, and many are near to us, Balmy Beach Canoe Club - one of Toronto's oldest boating clubs, Ashbidge's Bay Yacht Club, Westwood Sailing Club, Mooredale Sailing Club, St. James Town Sailing Club, Water Rats Sailing Club, just to name a few. Look farther toward the east, there's usually a Great Lake freighter leaving or arriving at one of the industrial wharfs. You can tell the ship's origin by their flags, which are often accompanied by the Canadian flag.

Boating, however, is the earliest method of transportation before roads and railways were built, and long before airplanes were invented. It brings goods and people travelling between regions, up and down rivers, and across the sea from one continent to another. Also, the Native People saw boating as a necessity for survival to fish and hunt.

Toronto has a long history with boats and water. More than just recreational or pleasure, our waterfront was a working port. For centuries before there was a city, the Native People living around Lake Ontario and stretching a mile out all around the lake were known as the Mississauga (closely related to the Ojibwa).

When European explorers and traders arrived in "Toronto Bay", they also came by boat. At the time, that was the only option. When the new settlers of Toronto needed to visit family or friends, they went to the wharf along the lakeshore to take a boat. Others took daytrips or weekend vacations to the Beaches and stayed at cottages. Ships full of goods from overseas unloaded on the wharfs, setting up a shore side market. As boat technology changed, our harbour saw more and more steam powered boats, and finally, motorized vessels.

During the mid-20th century, as Toronto's industry grew, our waterfront was not a popular place to visit except for specific park areas like the Toronto Islands, Sunnyside Park and the Beaches. It was filled with empty warehouses and derelict buildings. Most of them being shipbuilding companies that lost business because of the coming of the railways. They were mostly used to store industrial materials. It was a time when few would think of swimming or fishing in the lake.