The first mall in Canada with an indoor water slide? That was Shoppers World Brampton in March of 1984.

British Columbia company White Water Slide Ltd. built the largest indoor water slide in North America at the mall, following a growth in popularity state-side. Around 70 million people used indoor water slides in the United States in 1983.

An ad for White Water in the Brampton Guardian, March 7, 1984, read in part: “Come on, slip into your bathing suit in our change rooms and climb up, up, way up to the rooftop tower. One, two, three … go! Feel the rush of excitement as a carpet of water plunges you into a safe, see-through fiberglass tunnel of curves and turns and wild dips … and a final splash of fun as you slip into the crystal clear receiving pool. Ready for more? You got it. The indoor adventure of a lifetime is waiting for you at Shopper’s World, Brampton.”

The glass-heavy tower reached the height of 55 feet (16.5 metres), leading to a slide 384 feet (115 metres) long, taking people on a 40-second plunge into a four-foot (1.2-metre) deep pool.

Ten ride tickets cost $3.50, or $4 on weekends.

Attraction general manager Jim Lucas told the Guardian, “we’ve glassed in the pool so everyone can watch. I call it a human aquarium. At night the flumes light up so you can actually see people slide down.”

The $800,000 attraction was built in a hurry, aiming to open before March break. A late-February opening had been planned, but bad weather interfered. With inflation, the attraction’s price is equivalent to $1.77 million in today’s dollars.

The British Columbian company planned a “three chute” location of the same height at Hamilton’s Eastgate Mall, to open in July 1984, to be followed by locations across Canada and the United States.

The attraction closed on December 30, 1985, despite making a profit. When the slide was removed in January 1986, the current manager told the Guardian he blamed the closure on previous staff, a hike in insurance due to incidents elsewhere, and a rent increase for the decision.

Sunshine Beach’s opening that summer wasn't mentioned as a cause, but it surely contributed. That park was later renamed Wild Water Kingdom and has since been replaced by Wet’n’Wild Toronto. Splashworks at Canada’s Wonderland opened in 1992. While West Edmonton Mall opened in 1981, its indoor World Waterpark didn't open until 1986.