| Little Canada | |
|---|---|
 Little Canada entrance | |
| Downtown Toronto | |
| Coordinates | 43°39′24″N79°22′50″W / 43.65667°N 79.38056°W /43.65667; -79.38056 |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | 5 August 2021 (2021-08-05) |
Little Canada, previously known asOur Home and Miniature Land,[1] is a tourist attraction located in the basement ofThe Tenor, nearSankofa Square inToronto,Ontario, Canada. Its entrance is located next toDollarama and across from both an entrance toTMU station of the Toronto subway andThe Beer Store. Little Canada containsHO scale replicas of natural and man-made structures located throughout Canada, includingGolden Horseshoe,Niagara Falls,Ottawa,Quebec City, and Toronto. HO is a 1:87 scale, so 3.5 mm is equal to one foot. It opened on 5 August 2021.[2]
Dutchman Jean-Louis Brenninkmeijer moved to Canada in 1999 for a two-year stint of specialty retail management training athis family's companyC&A Canadian stores.[3][4] He and his wife Mimi decided to make the move permanent, settling inOakville.[5] He created the concept for Little Canada in 2011[1] shortly after visitingMiniatur Wunderland inHamburg, Germany, the largestmodel railway system in the world.[6][7]
Brenninkmeijer sentemails to eightmodel railway clubs in theGreater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) requesting assistance to realize his vision for a miniature Canada.[5] Only David MacLean, acivil engineer[8] and president ofThe Model Railroad Club of Toronto, agreed to consider the project, and later met with Brenninkmeijer atSquare One Shopping Centre inMississauga.[5] They would eventually meet every other week for 18 months, and in 2013 incorporated Our Home and Miniature Land.[5]
Brenninkmeijer investedCA$5 million to develop the project,[1] and received an additionalCA$12 million for the project from 120 investors.[3] By July 2021, the total investment had beenCA$24 million from 200 investors.[9]
At least 100 model enthusiasts were hired; from 2014 to 2019, they collectively worked about 100,000 hours in a Mississauga warehouse to create the scale-model components.[1] Among them were about 50 artists, including model makers, specialists inmechatronics andanimation, andscenic artists.[9] Other specialists includedarchitects,digital artists,electricians,painters,plumbers,sculptors, and visual artists.[5]
The exhibit was designed to be assembled and disassembled, allowing for it to be moved.[1] The attraction was moved to 10 Dundas Street East in Toronto when two underground storeys[5] of that building were vacated byGoodLife Fitness in mid-2019.[1] They signed a 20-year lease for that location in August 2019.[10] The destinations of the attraction are installed in two storeys covering 45,000 square feet (4,200 m2).[3]
The attraction was expected to open in July 2020, but was delayed as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Ontario.[3] In 2023, Brad Ford was named president and CEO of the company.[11]
The attraction is split into a number of destinations, each representing some part of Canada. At its opening, these included Little Golden Horseshoe (Golden Horseshoe), Little Niagara (Horseshoe Falls and the city ofNiagara Falls), Little Ottawa (Ottawa), Little Toronto (Toronto), Petit Quebec (Quebec City), and Little North (Northern Canada).[3][12][13] The latter was still under construction when the attraction opened in 2021.[2] Each destination undergoes a repeating 15-minute day cycle transition from sunrise to sunset.[2]
The key features of each destination are built to scale, with some landmarks and buildings based on the structure's blueprints.[9] Each was digitally designed and split into pieces that were thenlaser cut from various materials, includingbalsa,plywood, andstyrene.[5] Members of the team designing a destination travel to the site, and each destination has an assigned ambassador who provides "insight into the culture of a place".[14]
The cost to design and build 1 square foot (0.093 m2) was between $500 and $1,200, depending on the complexity of the design; a rural scene would have little variation and fewer features than a city block.[5] Each destination requires 9 to 12 months to complete.[10]
In November 2024, the attraction introduced Mini Media forout-of-home (OOH) advertisements embedded within the exhibits in scaled miniature billboards, transit shelters, murals, and other features.[15][16]
The Toronto destination, which took over 35,000 hours to design and build, includesGO Transit trains andUnion Station,[13] theArt Gallery of Ontario,Toronto City Hall,[4] helicopters,streetcars,[3] theDon Valley Parkway,[4] and theGardiner Expressway.[5] During the morning portion, sound effects include chirping birds, barking dogs, and garbage trucks making rounds.[3] During the sunset portion of the exhibit, the skyline is lit by 30,000LEDs,[3] with sounds ofcrickets andsirens.[9] The replica of theRogers Centre, which cost $60,000 to build and occupies a space of 5 by 5 feet (1.5 by 1.5 m),[5] has a functionalretractable roof and contains ascoreboard that will show highlights from the preceding day'sToronto Blue Jays game.[3] The field depicts the instanceJoe Carter hit awalk-off home run to clinch the Blue Jays' victory in the1993 World Series against thePhiladelphia Phillies.[9]
TheCN Tower was limited to a height of 14 feet (4.3 m), as a1⁄87 scale replica would not fit,[3] andFirst Canadian Place and theToronto-Dominion Centre are also smaller than1⁄87 scale to ensure they would not touch the ceiling.[4][5] The CN Tower also includes several figurines of individuals on theEdgeWalk.[5] The Art Gallery of Ontario building had to be built smaller than scale, with portions truncated to fit within the allocated space.[4]
Also depicted are historic sites and structures such as theDistillery District,Royal York Hotel,St. Lawrence Market, andPrince Edward Viaduct.[8] In August 2025, the attraction renamed its miniature version of Yonge–Dundas Square to LittleSankofa Square in conjunction with the official renaming ceremony at the square by the municipal government.[17]
The Ottawa destination has a replica of theCanadian Parliament Buildings set duringCanada Day,[7] as well as theChâteau Laurier with a missing back wall to enable visitors to see the furnished rooms, and theCanada Revenue Agency building.[3][8] Also part of the destination is theByWard Market[7] featuring horse-drawncarriages,[14] and theRideau Canal.[13] The design includes particular attention to streetscape; for example, street signs have the same design as those in the city.[7]
The Niagara Falls destination features a flowing 50-foot (15 m)Horseshoe Falls,[13][18] theRainbow Bridge,Clifton Hill, andNiagara-on-the-Lake.[9] The latter featuresvineyards.[5]
Little West Coast was the seventh destination in Little Canada, and was unveiled in October 2024.[19] Amongst its features are the cities ofVancouver,Victoria, andTofino, theOkanagan Valley, and rainforests.[19] Its unveiling introduced new animation to Little Canada, including rolling fog at theRogers Pass feature.[19] The Vancouver display includesStanley Park, theGastown neighbourhood withDr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, and theGranville Market.[19]
The destination required about 25,000human-hours of work by 30 employees.[19]
Little East Coast depictsAtlantic Canada in a 720 square feet (67 m2) exhibit, which includes sites fromNew Brunswick,Newfoundland and Labrador,Nova Scotia, andPrince Edward Island.[20] The exhibit was opened on 19 May 2023 and was the first exhibit added to the attraction since its opening in 2021.[20]
Landmarks include theBay of Fundy,Cape Breton Island, theCabot Trail, andGros Morne National Park.[20] Other sites includeLe Pays de la Sagouine and Metepenagiag Heritage Park in New Brunswick;L'Anse Aux Meadows andSignal Hill in Newfoundland and Labrador;Halifax Harbour, the tall ships atLunenburg[3][8] including theBluenose II, andPeggys Point Lighthouse in Nova Scotia; and Confederation House andGreen Gables in Prince Edward Island.[20] The Bay of Fundy exhibit has a 400 litres (110 US gal) basin simulating the bay's tides.[15]
It also depicts activities and events such as theNorth American Indigenous Games.[20]
The Little North exhibit will be kept in a cooler, temperature-controlled room, so that visitors can see their breath as they exhale.[3][12] TheGolden Horseshoe destination includes a 14-foot (4.3 m) replica of theBurlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway,[18] as well as theHighway of Heroes, a bridge over which is dedicated toNichola Goddard, who died in a grenade attack inPanjwayi District inAfghanistan in May 2006, becoming the first Canadian woman to die in combat.[14]
The Quebec City destination is set in the winter[7] and includes theChâteau Frontenac,[13] as well as nearby sites such asMont-Sainte-Anne.[9]
A portion of the exhibit will feature displays of incomplete destinations in progress of construction.[7]
Future destinations to be added includeMontreal, theCanadian Prairies,[13] theCanadian Rockies, andthe west coast.[9] One new destination will open each year, depending on the progress of construction for each new destination, as well as updating existing destinations.[9]
The design team also plans to add a depiction of the memorial of shoes andstuffed toys at theCentennial Flame on Parliament Hill in Ottawa that occurred afterthe discovery of unmarked graves at theKamloops Indian Residential School.[9]
Visitors can enter a booth called the "Littlization Station" at the attraction, which contains 128 cameras that will simultaneously take photographs of the visitor.[12][2] These will be used to create two1⁄87-scale replica3D printed models of the individual, one of which can be placed within the exhibit at a location chosen by the visitor,[1] and the other taken home as a souvenir.[9]
The exhibits contain numerousEaster eggs, such as a red panda from the filmTurning Red in theChinatown section of the Toronto exhibit.[4]
In 2023, Little Canada was named Ontario’s Choice Awards Attraction of the Year by Attractions Ontario.[11]