CFB Downsview
The February 1, 1968, unification of the RCAF, Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Army to form the Canadian Forces saw RCAF Station Downsview renamed Canadian Forces Base Toronto (Downsview), later shortened to just Canadian Forces Base Downsview (or CFB Downsview).
Operational units continued to use CFB Downsview through the 1970s and 1980s; however, municipal planners and real estate developers were increasingly coveting the property during Toronto's unprecedented urban development during this period.
The first of several non-military events made use of the base in 1984 with the Papal Visit by Pope John Paul II to Toronto where he held an outdoor mass for hundreds of thousands of worshippers.
Noise complaints and other restrictions on the use of Downsview during the 1980s, followed by the end of the Cold War, and coupled with the rising real estate value of the military base, saw the federal government decide to close and decommission CFB Downsview. The base closed on April 1, 1996, the 72nd anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force, along with its Detachment on Avenue Road.
In 1995 the "Downsview Framework Plan" was released and the Canada Lands Company was directed to manage the planning and development process for the property.
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