Renaming the Science Centre public transit station on Toronto’s Line 5 after the Ford government abruptly and controversially shut the nearby Ontario Science Centre down two years ago cost taxpayers $618,000, according to records obtained by CTV News.
The money paid for some 600 new signs and stickers around the transit network, including a large vinyl wrap around what is now Don Valley Station, and rankled opposition MPPs who saw it as yet another expense in the more than $1.4 billion plan to move the Science Centre to a new home at Ontario Place.
“The entire endeavour to relocate the Science Centre has been an exercise in wasting money,” said Adil Shamji, a Liberal MPP who represents the area.
“The thought now that they are so committed to such a ridiculous exercise that they would spend nearly $1 million just to change the name on a station is preposterous. It just goes to show how completely and utterly out of touch this government and this premier is,” Shamji said.
Metrolinx didn’t disclose the expected cost of the renaming at the time, and when CTV News originally requested a breakdown in a freedom of information request, the agency provided 50 pages, with only five not blacked out entirely; two of those were Metrolinx’s logo.
CTV News appealed to Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, which mediated the dispute. Metrolinx agreed to provide a total cost current to June 2026.
The $618,000 figure was included in the Line 5 budget and bundled with other signage changes required for the project, such as the closure of TTC Line 3, to minimize overall cost impacts, the agency said.
“The costs were covered through the overall project budget for Line 5 Eglinton and included changes to approximately 600 internal and external signage, system maps and wayfinding, and updates to the voice announcements and visual displays,” Metrolinx said in a statement.
The station was originally named for the Ontario Science Centre, which was designed by renowned architect Raymond Moriyama, built in 1969, and filled with hands-on exhibitions aimed to inspire a passion for science among visitors, including many children.
The building that housed it was shut down with just hours notice on June 21, 2024, when the Ford government said issues with the roof made the building unsafe.
But the government’s rationale was disputed by critics who pointed out the engineering report provided other options for closure, including cordoning off potentially unsafe areas. A city inspector who visited the site that day observed that “critical areas shored as per engineer’s report and no immediate concerns observed,” CTV News reported at the time.
The building has been fenced off since then but still stands. The roof withstood a record-breaking snowfall earlier this year.
At the other end of the planned Ontario Line, a new, smaller science centre will be built, as part of a revamped Ontario Place that includes a spa and wellness centre built by Therme.
At the time, a business case analysis suggested that keeping the Science Centre in Flemingdon Park would cost $1.3 billion over 50 years, with just $1.047 billion to move it to Ontario Place.
In 2024, Ontario’s auditor general found that estimated cost increased by over $400 million to $1.444 billion, and pegged the cost of the Ontario Place development to taxpayers at $2.2 billion.
The province is obligated to provide Therme a parking lot, and awarded a $200-million contract to build a five-storey structure in June.
At the legislature on Thursday, MPPs reacted to the news of another added cost with disbelief.
The Ontario Green Party’s Mike Schreiner said it was an “unnecessary and irresponsible” cost.
“It’s bad enough that we’re subsidizing the Therme Mega Spa by $2.2 billion. It’s bad enough that we had to see the closure of the Ontario Science Centre, and a much smaller one at Ontario Place. And now we have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to change the name of the transit station,” Schreiner said.
The extra cost of the station, and those other costs, could be saved if the provincial government just reversed course, said NDP MPP Chris Glover.
“Let’s just keep the station name the same and reopen that world class Ontario Science Centre,” Glover said.
Locals haven’t changed how they refer to the station, said Jason Ash of the Save Ontario’s Science Centre campaign.
“It’s like Donald Trump renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America. Just because he’s changed the name doesn’t mean people have to go along with it in their hearts,” Ash said in an interview outside the renamed station.
There are some things that are evocative of the Ontario Science Centre that have survived the name change, Ash said as he walked through the station.
The name on the exterior glass panels is likely still there under the vinyl wrap, and the art on the station walls is called “Total Lunar Eclipse,” which is a science theme, Ash said.
The future of the former Science Centre site is still undetermined. A report provided to the City of Toronto pointed out that the City of Toronto and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority own the land and lease it to the province, which owns the buildings.
“No single level of government can determine the site’s future alone,” the report said.
As for the station, when it is finished, Metrolinx described it as a “vital transit hub” that will connect the Ontario Line to Line 5 and local and express bus routes.
“Before Line 5 Eglinton opened, the station was renamed to Don Valley Station. The new name reflects the station’s proximity to the Don Valley Parkway, Don River, and the Don Valley itself. It also ensures easy wayfinding for customers while aligning with Metrolinx’s naming principles,” the agency said.
