Ontario Place often evokes an instant nostalgia. Many locals can recall the joy of days spent at the amusement park, the wonder of watching a movie at the Cinesphere, or even the excitement of working their first summer job.
Ali Weinstein’s Your Tomorrow embodies all of this magic, but the film is more than just a love letter to Ontario Place. The documentary captures a pivotal moment for the beloved waterfront park—its final days before undergoing massive redevelopment.
Weinstein filmed at Ontario Place for nearly 100 days, capturing the natural beauty and thriving community of the 155-acre space. From birdwatchers to gardeners, security guards to swimmers, the film observes an eclectic and diverse cast of characters, each with their own unique relationship to Ontario Place.
“I wanted to capture this moment in Ontario Place’s lifespan before it was redeveloped into something entirely different and the natural wonder and wildlife and community that had been built up there was gone,” Weinstein says.
Since filming Your Tomorrow nearly two years ago, this has already started to happen.
“Everything that used to be on the West Island at Ontario Place while I was filming – all the hundreds of trees and old buildings and rides – are all demolished in preparation for the building of the big spa that’s supposed to go there,” Weinstein says.
Your Tomorrow documents a transitional period for an iconic Toronto park. The film is a quiet yet impactful portrait of the meaning community spaces can bring to our lives. It’s a timely reflection on the value of public space, prompting us all to think about what we want the “tomorrow” of our cities to look like.
With the film now available to stream for free Canada-wide via TVO Docs on YouTube, we asked Weinstein about her favourite memories of Ontario Place, connecting with Your Tomorrow’s unique subjects, and the big questions she hopes viewers will reflect on.
Can you tell us about how Your Tomorrow first took shape? Why Ontario Place?
I rediscovered Ontario Place for myself at the start of the pandemic when we all had to socialize outside. I wandered down there one day and realized it was this totally magical, fascinating place with so much to offer — forest, sunset views, rocks, beach, stunning futuristic architecture — and it was all free and open to the public and people were creating art there and having dance parties and swimming and birdwatching. My friends and I would go down often, sometimes just because and other times to celebrate special occasions. It was a space that meant a lot to me during a hard time.
The people we see featured are such a unique, eccentric bunch—can you talk about how you found the film’s characters?
Most people I just met at the site while I was filming and became friendly with them — like Grace and Rocky who would sit on the same Muskoka chairs every day looking at the lake. Or Steve, the swimmer and self-described cyborg who started the group SwimOP. He was there all the time and was always up to something new — testing out a new massive paddle board or making “light paintings” or practicing his underwater instrument, the hydraulophone. I became a bit obsessed with him and the childlike wonder I felt he got to explore when he was at Ontario Place. I think what united all of us was our shared love of this space and most people were really happy to allow me to film them enjoying it in their own way.
The archival footage is incredible—can you talk about what you were hoping it would add to the film?
Thanks! I knew that I wanted to show viewers, especially those who are not local who may not have their own memories of Ontario Place, what it once was. But because I was taking this mostly fly-on-the-wall approach I couldn’t have historians or architects explain what it used to be. So the archival footage was there to help inject those memories into the film and let viewers see visually without direct explanation the original excitement and uniqueness of this place when it opened. The archival sections feel like these little flashbacks throughout the film.
What have been some memorable responses you’ve received from viewers so far?
One man came up to me after a screening and said he felt the film was less about Ontario Place specifically and more about humanity, and I thought that was so nice! I like the idea that people would get absorbed into the personalities and passions of the people on screen and not into the particularities of the politics of the space.
Nearly two years after you filmed, the redevelopment of Ontario Place is still on many people’s minds. What do you think is the impact of having the film release now on TVO? What kinds of conversations do you hope it inspires?
In showing how Ontario Place affected the lives of the people in the film I think it shows the role that public space can have in our lives mentally, emotionally, and physically. Our cities are growing, the Toronto of 2025 is very different than the Toronto of 1971. There are hundreds of thousands of people who live in this city who don’t have outdoor space in their condos and Ontario Place and other parks like it are their literal backyards. We also live in really lonely times. Ontario Place provided an unexpected community space, and every town and city has similar spaces.
I hope this film will get viewers to think about what kind of cities and communities we’re building for ourselves, and how they affect us as individuals. Do we want our politicians to create more space for community or nature or both? A lot feels like it’s not up to us and “progress” often equals profits. I chose the title of my film to be a question to viewers in a way – what do you want for your tomorrow? I hope we can all think about that and how we can make our voices heard.
Do you have your own favourite memory of Ontario Place?
I have so many it’s really hard to pick! Even though I have memories from when I was a kid going down the waterslides and the log ride, there were so many special moments I spent with friends there since 2020. There was one night a group of us were celebrating the marriage of two friends who were part of our regular OP crew, and we biked around the space toasting with champagne, playing music, dancing, and using sparklers (safely) in different parts of the park. It was a really magical night.
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