Approval was granted by the federal Department of Public Works in part to stimulate the depression impacted construction industry.

The building was strategically located south of Union Station and was connected directly to the train platforms via an underground tunnel.

[24] Amid World War II, upon completion in 1941, the building would be temporarily handed over to the Department of National Defence for wartime storage purposes, and be finally turned over to Canada Post in 1946.

Required modifications were made to the building to return it to its postal delivery purposes as a result of alterations done by the Department of National Defence.

The structure's most notable features, which have been retained, are the exterior 13-part series of limestone bas relief carvings by Louis Temporale Sr. CM, which depicts the history of transportation and communication in Canada.

[24] Carved in 1938–39, the bas relief begins with scenes showing human speech, a runner carrying a message, aboriginals communicating by smoke signal, a group of voyageurs, a schooner and a Royal Mail steamship crossing the Atlantic Ocean from England, the CN train used during the 1939 Royal Tour, the mythical flying boat named 'Canopus' and northern travel by dog sled.

In a cost-cutting move (part of larger overall service changes and cuts made to the Crown Corporation under the Brian Mulroney Progressive Conservatives), Canada Post decided to close the facility and move operations to an alternate more modern circa 1970s letter processing faculty on nearby Eastern Avenue.

[21] The 1980s real estate boom saw the building site become surrounded by numerous skyscrapers, hotels, convention centres, SkyDome stadium and condo towers.

In the early 1990s, real estate developers Bramalea Limited and Trizec arranged to purchase the building from Canada Post, with plans to redevelop the site into a 230,000-square-metre (2,500,000 sq ft) office, retail and residential space.

[27] By this time, a deep prolonged recession had taken hold in the province, which saw many downtown Toronto high-rise construction projects paused or cancelled outright.

[29] On September 30, 1993, the NBA awarded the team to Professional Basketball Franchise Inc. (PBF), a company headed by Canadian businessman John Bitove.

[21] The Raptors would initially play their first two seasons just a few hundred metres (a few thousand feet) away in the multipurpose SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) stadium while the arena was constructed.

MLGL declined to allow Maple Leaf Gardens to be used for the NBA upstart as a result, pushing Bitove to secure rights to have the Raptors' opening seasons played at SkyDome until construction of the new stadium was complete.

During the early stages of construction, MLGL floated to the media plans of their own to build a competing single-use stadium on adjacent property just to the north of the stadium atop the train sheds at Union Station (similar to how Madison Square Garden was constructed) as the new home for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As a result, MLGL offered the city $156 million (in 1997 dollars) in cash and assets to settle any and all outstanding claims and to buy the air rights above the Union Station train platforms.

[5] After the purchase of the Raptors and the Air Canada Centre, the new owners entered into a design-build contract with PCL Construction with the commitment to finish the stadium in 24 months by March 1, 1999.

Opening events took place early the next year and Steve Stavro (who was the majority shareholder of MLGL) was named CEO.

These projects included the Bay West Teamway, Union Plaza, the Galleria (shopping centre), and Bremner Boulevard.

[35] Several nicknames for the arena would emerge including 'The Hangar', but it would be the acronym 'ACC' that became the most commonly referenced shorthand for the venue and is still commonly used by local residents, even after the venue was renamed Scotiabank Arena, out of habit and nostalgia, rather than in opposition to commercialism as is the case of the nearby SkyDome (later renamed Rogers Centre), given that it still had a commercial name.

[37] The statues were situated in multiple waves from 2014 to 2016 and include Ted Kennedy, Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler, Borje Salming, Syl Apps, George Armstrong, Mats Sundin, Dave Keon, Turk Broda, and Tim Horton.

In 2017, the final four statues were unveiled including Red Kelly, Frank Mahovlich, Charlie Conacher, and Wendel Clark.

The $500 million development includes two restaurants, Hotel Le Germain at Maple Leaf Square boutique hotel, extensive retail shopping, including a 840-square-metre (9,000 sq ft) Leafs, Marlies, Raptors, and Toronto FC store, two 54-storey condominiums, a Longo's supermarket, and a public square.

The outside wall of the atrium features a 9.1-by-15.2-metre (30 by 50 ft) video screen overlooking the plaza, which often broadcasts games taking place inside the arena.

During Raptors playoff runs, the square has acquired the nickname "Jurassic Park" after the 1993 film adaptation that inspired the team's name.

[49] Lacrosse The Toronto Rock also moved to the Air Canada Centre from Maple Leaf Gardens for the 2001 NLL season.

The show featured hundreds of cast members, including honorary men and women from the Canadian Armed Forces.

Headline performers included Laura Wright, Alessia Cara, The Tenors, Sarah McLachlan, and La Bottine Souriante.

The event featured an arrangement of international headline music artists, coming together to celebrate and recognize the Invictus Games competitors.

The closing ceremony featured headline musical guests Bachman & Turner, Bryan Adams, Coeur de Pirate, Bruce Springsteen, and Kelly Clarkson.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the viability of securing multi-entry visas, the semifinals were moved to the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.