Opposition to the island airport goes back to the 1930s, when a plan to build a tunnel to the islands for a new airport was shut down after a federal election. The Toronto mayor at the time was a Toronto Islands resident and opponent of the project. After his death, Toronto City Council revived the airport project, without the tunnel, to be Toronto's main airport. This airport has remained in use since 1939, serving mainly general aviation. An airport at Malton, Ontario instead became Toronto's main airport and is today's Pearson Airport.