Toronto City Council approves nearly $30 billion Ontario transit plan
Written by: Chelsea Gould
Toronto City Council approved a transit deal Tuesday that maintains city ownership of the subway network while allowing the province to develop its major transit project.
The provincial government, with some federal funding, will invest nearly $30 billion into transit projects. These include the province’s envisioned relief line to be completed by 2027 and Scarborough’s three-stop extension plan by 2030.
After months of negotiations with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, councillors approved the deal with amendments in a vote of 22 to three.
Since the province first passed legislation in April to upload the subway system under provincial jurisdiction, Toronto City Council has been actively opposed.
Tory considers the approved deal a successful compromise. “This agreement … is a good deal for the city as a whole, and transit riders in particular,” he said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Many of the details around the project have not yet been established, which had some councillors questioning the timeline, costs, inclusionary zoning, maintenance workload, technology and back-up plans, in case the project fails. TTC and city staff said this information would be determined in future agreements.
Toronto Centre Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam was one of three councillors who voted against the deal. She cited lack of a business case and working with external agencies as major concerns.
“I don’t think anybody was ever elected to this order of government, to represent our communities, to say that if somebody cases out our house and then decides not to steal from it, that we should be joyful,” Wong-Tam said, in reference to the province and the city. “We have no idea whether or not this is financially viable and whether or not it will float at the end of the day.”
The city’s Scarborough extension plan will also be delayed, city staff confirmed.
In a press release from advocacy group TTCriders, Brenda Thompson of Scarborough Transit Action said, “Mayor Tory must protect Scarborough transit users by securing funding for replacement buses after the Scarborough RT closes in 2026. The SRT will not last until 2030, when Premier Ford estimates his three-stop subway will be complete.”
The Ontario Line, meanwhile, which will stretch from Exhibition Centre/Ontario Place to the Ontario Science Centre, will take a different route than the city’s originally proposed relief line. Parts of the line are expected to be above ground, marking a reversal from Premier Ford who previously as a councillor worked with his brother, former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, against developing above-ground rail transit in Toronto.
In the Leslieville area, this means additional tracks in an already rail-heavy area, making for noise and safety concerns.
Transfers between the Ontario Line and other transit lines are expected to be made smoother as well, with joint platforms proposed by the Ontario planners.