Canada’s Wonderland has been the country’s biggest theme park for more than four decades, but two questions come up more than any other: exactly when did it open, and who owns it today? Both have simple, well-documented answers.
The park opened in May 1981 north of Toronto and has changed hands four times since, most recently in the 2024 Six Flags-Cedar Fair merger. Here’s the full timeline, the opening-day details, and everything else worth knowing about Canada’s largest amusement park.
Quick Answer
Canada’s Wonderland opened on May 23, 1981, in Vaughan, Ontario, as the first major theme park in Canada. Today it’s owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, which took over in July 2024 when Six Flags and Cedar Fair, the park’s owner since 2006, completed their merger of equals.
When Did Canada’s Wonderland Open? Inside the May 1981 Debut
Canada’s Wonderland’s opening day was one of the biggest public events in the Toronto region’s history. On May 23, 1981, roughly 12,000 guests streamed into the new park near Maple, in the city of Vaughan, for a ceremony built around 10,000 helium balloons, 13 parachutists, 350 white doves, and a pipe band. Four children representing different regions of Canada poured water into the park’s fountain, and a young Wayne Gretzky helped raise the Canadian flag over the site.
The park was the product of a partnership between the U.S.-based Taft Broadcasting Company and Canada’s Great-West Life Assurance Company, who spent the late 1970s scouting sites near Toronto before settling on Vaughan for its highway access via Highway 400 and room to expand. Construction cost roughly 120 million dollars at the time, equivalent to well over 350 million dollars today. Taft’s entertainment arm also owned Hanna-Barbera, so early Wonderland leaned heavily on characters like Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo, a connection that faded once Paramount took full ownership in 1993.
Who Owns Canada’s Wonderland? The Full Ownership Timeline
Canada’s Wonderland has had four owners since that 1981 opening day, and the changes track the broader consolidation of North America’s theme park industry.
Taft Broadcasting, later reorganized as Kings Entertainment Company, built and ran the park from 1981 to 1993. Paramount Communications then bought out its partners in 1993, rebranding it Paramount Canada’s Wonderland and folding it into the Paramount Parks chain alongside sister parks like Kings Island and Kings Dominion. Cedar Fair Entertainment Company acquired Paramount Parks in 2006, dropped the Paramount name, and ran the park for the next 18 years as plain Canada’s Wonderland.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation became the current owner on July 1, 2024, when Six Flags and Cedar Fair completed a merger of equals. The combined company operates under the Six Flags name and now runs Canada’s Wonderland alongside more than two dozen other North American parks. Despite four changes of ownership, the park has never changed its physical anchor: Wonder Mountain, the artificial peak that has defined the skyline since 1981, still sits at the center of the map.
Stats at a Glance
Location: Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, about 30 km north of downtown Toronto. Opened: May 23, 1981. Founding companies: Taft Broadcasting Company and Great-West Life Assurance Company. Current owner: Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, since July 2024.
Previous owners: Kings Entertainment Company/Taft (1981-1993), Paramount Parks (1993-2006), Cedar Fair (2006-2024). Size: 330 acres, plus the 20-acre Splash Works water park. Roller coasters: 18, tied for second-most at any park in the world. Total attractions: 68. Tallest and fastest coaster: Leviathan, 306 feet (93.3 m), 92 mph.
The Ride Experience
The ride lineup is what keeps Canada’s Wonderland in the conversation with the biggest parks in North America. Leviathan, a Bolliger & Mabillard giga coaster that opened in 2012, remains the benchmark: 306 feet tall, 92 mph, and 5,486 feet of track, making it the tallest and fastest coaster in Canada. In 2025 the park added AlpenFury, a Premier Rides Sky Rocket launch coaster the park promotes as having more inversions, nine, than any other launch coaster on earth, along with claims to being Canada’s tallest, fastest, and longest launch coaster.
Where many former Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks use an Eiffel Tower replica as their visual landmark, Canada’s Wonderland has always centered on Wonder Mountain, the mountain-shaped structure that has anchored the park’s skyline since its 1981 debut and now houses a flume ride and light show.
A Canadian Amusement Landmark
More than four decades after that 1981 opening ceremony, Canada’s Wonderland is still the largest and most-visited seasonal amusement park in Canada, and it regularly ranks among the busiest seasonal parks in North America each season. Every ownership change, from Taft to Paramount to Cedar Fair to Six Flags, has kept the park’s original footprint near Vaughan and its Wonder Mountain centerpiece intact, even as the ride lineup has grown from a handful of opening-day attractions to 68 rides today, including 18 roller coasters.
Canada’s Wonderland opening date and ownership history FAQs
When did Canada’s Wonderland open?
Canada’s Wonderland opened to the public on May 23, 1981, in Vaughan, Ontario, becoming the first major theme park in Canada.
Who owns Canada’s Wonderland?
Canada’s Wonderland is owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, which took over in July 2024 after Six Flags and Cedar Fair, the park’s previous owner, completed their merger of equals.
Who built Canada’s Wonderland?
The park was built by the Taft Broadcasting Company in partnership with Canada’s Great-West Life Assurance Company, who chose the Vaughan site for its highway access and room to grow.
How many owners has Canada’s Wonderland had?
Four: Taft Broadcasting/Kings Entertainment Company (1981-1993), Paramount Parks (1993-2006), Cedar Fair (2006-2024), and Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (2024-present).
What is the tallest ride at Canada’s Wonderland?
Leviathan, a Bolliger & Mabillard giga coaster standing 306 feet (93.3 m) tall, is the tallest and fastest roller coaster at the park and in Canada.
Was Canada’s Wonderland ever called Paramount Canada’s Wonderland?
Yes. After Paramount took full ownership in 1993, the park operated as Paramount Canada’s Wonderland until Cedar Fair bought Paramount Parks in 2006 and reverted to the Canada’s Wonderland name.
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