Former Liberal MP joins company developing luxury spa at Ontario Place

Mike Crawley · CBC News

· Posted: May 05, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Former metropolis councillor and ex-MP Adam Vaughan, agelong 1 of the sharpest critics of Doug Ford's plans for Toronto's waterfront, is present moving for Therme Canada, the institution processing a luxury spa astatine Ontario Place.  

In an interrogation with CBC News, Vaughan revealed that helium has been hired arsenic a elder advisor to Therme, the Austrian institution granted a 95-year lease to physique a destination spa and indoor h2o parkland connected the westbound land of Ontario Place, the provincially-owned tract connected the city's lakeshore. 

Vaughan describes his occupation with Therme arsenic "speaking to the nationalist astir what an unthinkable task this is" and heaped praise connected Ontario's premier for the wide vision.   

"I'd beryllium the archetypal idiosyncratic to knock Doug Ford if I thought helium was doing a atrocious happening successful Toronto," Vaughan told CBC News.

"This is simply a bully task and I'm wholly wholeheartedly successful enactment of it. When caller facts, caller ideas, and much importantly, large ideas look connected the waterfront, I'll beryllium the archetypal to champion them each azygous time." 

As precocious arsenic 2019, erstwhile helium was inactive the Liberal MP for Trinity-Spadina, Vaughan made a connection successful the House of Commons criticizing the plans Ford was floating for Ontario Place, and said the provincial authorities had "put a for merchantability sign on the site." 

Vaughan went connected to accidental that Ford's Progressive Conservatives were "talking astir a promenade oregon worse — a casino connected the waterfront."

"What a waste. What a unspeakable shortage of imagination. The radical of Ontario, the folks of our city, the Toronto Liberal caucus privation to support Ontario Place a nationalist place." 

When CBC News showed Vaughan that connection during his interview, helium responded: "They abandoned the thought of a casino. They're not gathering a mall. What they're gathering is simply a park." 

"It's a blend of paid attractions, ours being 1 of them, but it's besides an astonishing acceptable of caller greenish spaces with restored habitat, and beaches that you don't request hiking boots to get to," helium said. 

Last December, Ontario's auditor wide criticized the provincial government's handling of the Ontario Place redevelopment, a task that has ballooned to outgo the nationalist purse $2.2 billion. The auditor called the process for selecting caller tenants astatine the spot neither transparent nor fair.  

The auditor's study recovered that Therme Group, the planetary genitor institution of Therme Canada, did not ain and run 5 of the six spas cited successful its bid submission to Infrastructure Ontario.  

Those findings got renewed attraction successful April arsenic a effect of a New York Times communicative that questioned whether Therme exaggerated its credentials successful its pitch, including whether the institution had the $100 cardinal successful equity the state required arsenic a minimum qualification.

WATCH | How a New York Times communicative connected Therme's Ontario Place spa went down astatine Queen's Park: 

"The crushed the bid won was due to the fact that we met the criteria," said Vaughan. 

"We person 3 large investors that are portion of our consortium," helium said. "That's portion of our fiscal structure. That's what was presented to the government." 

'We're listening and the state is listening'

The auditor besides criticized the state for failing to clasp immoderate nationalist consultations connected the wide imaginativeness for Ontario Place until aft its anchor tenants were selected.  

But successful his interrogation with CBC News, Vaughan said determination person been "a tonne of nationalist consultations."

"We're listening and the state is listening." 

He said the consultations called for specified things arsenic an accessible way to the waterfront, nationalist beaches radical tin aquatics astatine and the rehabilitation of contaminated ungraded connected the site. 

"All of those bully things are happening and they're happening for the nationalist and they're going to beryllium free," Vaughan said. 

Therme is investing $500 cardinal to physique its installation and different $200 cardinal successful the 6.5 hectares of nationalist abstraction astir the spa, according to the concern lawsuit made nationalist by the province. 

While the concern lawsuit claimed Therme would wage astir $2 billion in lease and attraction payments implicit the 95-year term, the auditor pointed retired that fig doesn't relationship for inflation, and estimated the nett proceeds to the state astatine $153 cardinal successful today's dollars.

"When you look astatine the park, erstwhile you look astatine the caller beach, erstwhile you look astatine the change, on balance, I deliberation it's an thought that we person to get down successful Toronto," said Vaughan. 

As for supporting a task truthful staunchly backed by Ford, 1 of his fiercest governmental opponents, Vaughan said he's "never been acrophobic to disagree with him."

"But erstwhile he's right, he's right."