TORONTO — Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming (MTCG) have awarded a contract of $1.04 billion to Ontario Science Partners to design, build, finance and maintain a new Ontario Science Centre facility.
The project team includes:
- Applicant leads: John Laing Limited, Sacyr Infrastructure Canada Inc. and Amico Major Projects Inc.
- Design team: Hariri Pontarini Architects & Snøhetta
- Construction team: Sacyr Canada Inc, and Amico Design Build Inc.
- Facilities management: Johnson Controls Canada L.P.
- Financial adviser: Agentis Capital Advisors
To be located on the mainland of Ontario Place, the new centre will include the preservation of the Cinesphere and Pod complex, a release notes.
The new 400,000-square-foot facility will include interactive exhibits and an improved and upgraded Cinesphere, with more space dedicated to programming than at the previous site.
IO and MTCG selected Ontario Science Partners after a procurement process that began in May 2024. Selection criteria included the evaluation of a proposed design, technical submission and price to deliver the project.
The process started after the provincial government deemed the former Ontario Science Centre site at 770 Don Mills Rd. unsafe for public use in a highly controversial decision in the summer of 2024.
A report from professional engineers found “serious structural deficiencies” with the roof of the building and it was also reaching the end of its useful life, experts stated.
In December 2025, the Ontario government announced Harbourfront Centre will serve as the interim home for the Ontario Science Centre until the new permanent facility is completed.
Ontario Science Partners will now begin mobilizing onsite and construction is expected to start in the coming weeks.
The science centre is slated for completion in 2029.
The province says it “will be a cornerstone of the revitalized Ontario Place, providing new experiences for families, creating more than 1,000 jobs in the construction and tourism sectors, and boosting economic growth across Toronto and the region.”
Final designs for the new Ontario Place were unveiled in June 2025 and feature more than 50 acres of free public trails, expanded green space, playgrounds, interactive fountains, new beaches, event spaces, a modernized marina and the redesigned RBC Amphitheatre.
The Ontario Place and science centre plans coincide with a new waterpark and wellness facility by Therme Canada at Ontario Place’s West Island. Renderings released in July 2025 show an elaborate, sprawling site with twisting and turning waterslides and other areas inspired by global spa traditions.
