New federal legislation may be the magic words that get Ontario to hand over more than 20 square kilometers of land to Canada’s first national urban park.

Ontario and Ottawa have been trying to work together on the Rouge National Urban Park since 2012, but the Wynne government and that of former prime minister Stephen Harper had been at loggerheads over the level of environmental protection. As a result, the province held back its lands from the park, technically established last year, including the section that contained the actual Rouge Valley.

But that was before last October's federal election and subsequent Liberal majority government in Ottawa. The Trudeau regime's tabling of new legislative amendments last week could now pave the way for Ontario to transfer its lands to the park, which is spread across eastern Toronto, Pickering, Markham and Stouffville.

“The new legislation is a significant improvement that both elevates ecological integrity as the guiding principle, yet remains sensitive to agricultural interests in the park,” said Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with the new federal government as we review the strengthened environmental protections in the legislation, and work to quickly expedite our approvals process."

The Trudeau government said in a release that the amendments to the Rouge National Urban Park Act “will protect the Rouge's important ecosystems and heritage as well as ensure ecological integrity is the first priority when managing the park.”

The Wynne and Harper governments had specifically scrapped over how farmers in the area would be treated. Duguid said the agreement signed between Ontario and Ottawa in 2013 “required that environmental protections meet or exceed provincial standards, and that the interests of farmers in the park are appreciated and carefully considered.”

The Trudeau government says its new bill will offer farmers in the area leases of up to 30 years, instead of their current one-year terms. Furthermore, the new amendments would add another 17.1 square kilometers of land to the park.

“We have worked in close collaboration with the Government of Ontario, Indigenous Peoples as well as with local stakeholders and I am delighted that we are taking steps to strengthen ecological protections for the Rouge and to respect and promote a vibrant farming community within the park,” said federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna in a release.

On Wednesday, a group of park supporters - including former Toronto mayor David Crombie - called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Kathleen Wynne to cancel plans for a Pickering airport in the eastern GTA and to lump those lands into an expanded Rouge Park. Doing so would increase the size of the park to about 120 square kilometers.

All told, the new Rouge National Urban Park is currently proposed to be more than 79 square kilometers in size – 22 times larger than New York City’s Central Park.

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Ontario aims to ‘expedite’ approvals after feds tweak Rouge National Urban Park legislation

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