In the long history of aviation at Toronto Pearson, the Avro Arrow holds a special place. Constructed at a factory that once stood at the northern edge of Pearson (then known as Malton Airport), when prototypes of the jet rolled off the production line in the 1950s they were considered most advanced aircraft of their era. Capable of reaching nearly twice the speed of sound, the Avro Arrow is still viewed as one of Canada’s greatest engineering achievements.
To commemorate this feat of flight and the 14,000 workers from the GTA communities who helped build it, a replica of the Avro Arrow was recently erected at Paul Coffey Park in Mississauga. The multi-year effort to install the replica was led by Malton’s Business Improvement Area and supported by a $10,000 donation from Pearson.
With its distinctive delta wing and elongated nose, the plane is an instantly recognizable addition to the park. Installed to look as though it is soaring skyward, it now stands just a short distance from the site where the original plane was built.
Pearson’s contributions to honoring the legacy of the pioneering jet and the communities that built it also include a donation of limestone slabs from the former Avro Arrow building. These are on display at the aircraft viewing platform at Max Ward Memorial Park.
Although the Avro Arrow program was cancelled before it entered large-scale production, its legacy lives on in the Pearson Economic Zone, where manufacturing and aviation companies are a major component of an area that employs 500,000 people.
Today, the aircraft manufacturing mantle at Pearson itself has been picked up by Bombardier, which opened one of the world’s most advanced private aircraft assembly plants at the airport in 2024. The factory produces Bombardier’s Global series jets. The family includes the Global 8000, the world’s fastest business jet, which continues Canada’s legacy of innovation in aviation.