1939 – Malton Airport (now Pearson International Airport) Opens


The Malton Airport was built in 1937 on land south of Malton purchased by the Port Authority of the City of Toronto. This land consisted of thirteen farms, some of the best farm land in the province. The purchase price ranged from $120 per acre to $210 per acre.

Three runways were constructed, each 3,000 feet long and 150 feet wide, only two of which were paved. In 1938 the first aircraft to land there was an American Airlines DC-3.

The building was used as the airport terminal until 1949 when it became an operations and administration centre.



The Airport was renamed Toronto International Airport in 1960 and officially renamed Lester B. Pearson International Airport in 1984.