A CAD$60m (US$88.8m, €64m, £53.7m) water park expected to operate 365 days a year is planned for the Greater Toronto Area, with hopes construction will start in spring 2015 ahead of a 2016 curtain raiser.

The marbleLIVE project is led by Toronto entrepreneur John Barrack and marblemedia (a Canadian multi-platform content creator), who believe this summer-all-year theme park will fill a major void in the region's attractions market.

“After you go through the winter that we just went through you realise that you really need to give people of all ages something to do in the winter,” said John Barrack.

The 100,000sq ft (9,290sq m) attraction expects to feature a retractable roof – enabling it to function all year – in addition to sandy beaches, wave pools, crazy rivers, restaurants and live entertainment.

Although the location has not yet been confirmed, the developers have been in discussion with city officials and Ontario's Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport to discuss the park's potential boost to local tourism.

Developers will choose between three short-listed locations to cater for the expected 500,000 visitors within its first year of operation and 230 full-time personnel.

Aside from last year's Ripley's Aquarium launch, marbleLIVE claims to be the first new attraction in the area in over 25 years.