The naval shipyards were ordered by the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe in 1793, and were opened in 1798.

The shipyards were situated on Humber Bay, near the western edge of the settlement (east of the ruins of Fort Rouille) and located south of Front Street on the shores of Lake Ontario west of Bay Street (today this is where the rail tracks south of Union Station are located).

Ships were built along the sand shores using the trees from the forests inland and launched into Toronto Bay.

During the Battle of York, Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe dispatched Captain Tito LeLievre of the Royal Newfoundland Fencibles to the naval dockyards to set fire to the incomplete sloop-of-war HMS Isaac Brock.

[citation needed] Numerous builders at mouth of Rouge River 1810–1856 [4] After the War of 1812, shipbuilding yards in Toronto were typically held in private hands.