Canada’s first national urban park is set to come into its own.

Ottawa will announce on Friday it is committing almost $145 million to create the country’s first national urban park along the GTA’s Rouge Valley, the Toronto Star has learned.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Environment Minister Peter Kent will announce in Scarborough — appropriately near where the Rouge River flows into Lake Ontario — that the federal government will spend $143.7 million over 10 years to develop Rouge National Urban Park.

“This is best news I have heard,” said Alan Wells, chair of Rouge Park Alliance on Thursday. “It is more than what we’d estimated. I’m glad this is quickly moving forward.”

The nearly 50-square-kilometre green space, which stretches roughly north from Lake Ontario and is bordered by Toronto and Markham on the west and Pickering to the east, has long been a popular spot for runners, hikers and cyclists.

The Conservative government committed to creating the urban national park during the 2011 federal election campaign and reconfirmed its commitment in the Speech from the Throne.

Since 2006, the federal government has added more than 133,000 square kilometres to existing lands and waters administered by Parks Canada — almost a 50 per cent increase in protected areas equivalent to the size of Greece.

“This will be the first national urban park that will happen to be within easy travel distance of 20 per cent of Canada’s population,” a senior government source told the Star. “It will be easily accessible by foot, car, bike, public transit.”

The establishment of the Rouge Valley national urban park will improve quality of life for the region, create jobs and protect the natural beauty for generations, the government source said, adding that the GTA ministers will also announce annual operating funds.

In the interim, Parks Canada and the government will consult with all affected communities to determine actual boundaries of the proposed park — 15 times larger than Central Park in New York — that takes in parts of Toronto, Markham and Pickering.

Wells, meanwhile, hoped the first installment of the $143.7 million would go toward restoring some parts of the park that are not natural forest land.

He also said the Rouge Park Alliance had handed over trail plans in Markham to Parks Canada. “It will be nice to see those implemented, too,” said Wells, adding it would be great if the group’s strategy of maintaining active farms in the park is continued.

But most importantly, one of the first things that needs to be done is have an education and interpretive centre, said Wells. It would not only give information about the features of the park but also explain the history of Rouge Valley and of the national parks system.

Wells, who has been the chair of the Rouge Park Alliance for five years, said staff from Parks Canada have been working on the transition for the past eight months.

The urban park will be open for public well within the year, he said.

When it formally opens to the public, Rouge Valley National Urban Park will have woodland trails, wetlands, an education and interpretive centre, cultural events and examples of sustainable agriculture.

By its completion, 7 million people will live within an hour’s drive of the Rouge National Urban Park, which will be the first national park accessible by public transit.

A poll by Nanos Research in June 2010 showed that almost 90 per cent of eastern GTA residents surveyed supported the idea of Ottawa making Rouge Park Canada’s first urban national park.

The newest park will join 42 other national parks across Canada.

It will be a legacy for the community and the country, said Pauline Browes, a member of the alliance and a former MP.

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“Even 100 years later, people will say this is magnificent . . . that we managed to save this gorgeous oasis within an urban centre,” she said.

“It is a dream come true.”

With files from Raveena Aulakh

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