After record snowfall didn’t destroy the Science Centre, some question whether it needed to close
The beloved Science Centre closed in 2024 due to concerns that its roof could collapse
This week’s historic snowfall has critics of Premier Doug Ford’s decision to close the Ontario Science Centre once again asking whether it could reopen in its current long-time location.
About a year and a half ago, the Science Centre reportedly closed due to an engineer’s report attesting to risks related to its roof. The report said that the roof was in a state of disrepair and that it was likely to collapse under heavy rain or snowfall.
Related: The provincial government has found a temporary home for the Ontario Science Centre
Well, Toronto just received more snow than the city has ever had in a single day, and the Science Centre appears unscathed.
Adil Shamji, an Ontario Liberal MPP representing Don Valley East, said in a statement that Ford’s claims about the roof had been “rejected by Mother Nature.” Shamji, advocating for the Science Centre to reopen where it is, added, “This also made it the most extreme test of the Science Centre’s integrity—a test that it passed flawlessly.”
Others say there’s more to it. “When there’s children in there and there’s a possibility of the roof collapsing, I’m not going to chance it,” Ford said earlier this week, according to the Toronto Star.
Per the Star‘s story, a spokesperson for Infrastructure Ontario said, “The building is simply unsafe for Infrastructure Ontario staff to assess the roof and interior of the building.”
Ford intends to relocate the Science Centre to Ontario Place in 2029.
“A big concern of ours is that we don’t know if they’ve been keeping the heat on, which is critical for the maintenance of the building,” Councillor Josh Matlow told the Star. “The Science Centre’s roof has more integrity than the Ford government.”
Related: Doug Ford says only “crazy lefties” don’t like his Ontario Place ideas
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
