Toronto will get billions for transit
$9B funding boost over 10 years after province agrees to match Ottawa’s infrastructure plan
Toronto’s transit plans received a major boost on Wednesday when the federal and provincial governments announced they would team up to spend close to $9 billion on new projects in the city over the next 10 years.
At a press conference at a MiWay bus garage in Mississauga, the federal and provincial infrastructure ministers ceremoniously signed a bilateral agreement that will pump $8.34 billion in federal funding into public transit projects across the province between now and 2028.
Based on a formula that allocates the funding according to transit ridership, Toronto will receive more than half, or $4.89 billion. In a coup for the city, Queen’s Park will match that with $4.04 billion of its own.
“The city of Toronto is getting a significant amount of money” said federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi. “Toronto’s ridership is larger and we want the resources to go where the resources are needed.” A spokesperson for the Ontario infrastructure ministry confirmed the contribution from Queen’s Park would be new money, in addition to previously announced provincial commitments for projects like the controversial one-stop Scarborough subway extension.
Although the nearly $9 billion investment from the provincial and federal Liberals is not enough to cover all of the unfunded items on Toronto’s transit wish list, it brings the city significantly closer to being able to afford badly needed projects.
The projects council has prioritized for funding are: the Scarborough subway extension; Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack plan; the relief line subway; Eglinton East LRT, and Waterfront LRT network.
Although the federal government would cover up to 40 per cent of the cost of projects, and the province up to 33 per cent, the details of how the funding could be distributed between projects have yet to be worked out.
Tory was out of town with his family and didn’t attend Wednesday’s press conference. But in a statement he called the announcement “good news for transit in Toronto and for all of our residents.”
“This funding is only possible due to the co-operation and mutual respect between the city, the province and the federal government,” he said.
“After years of delays and divisive debates, we are finally getting on with expanding our transit system, we are getting on with working together to build up our cities.”
Ontario Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli echoed those sentiments.
“I often say that the people of Ontario are best served when all levels of government work together,” he told reporters.
While Ottawa’s contribution has been in the works since the federal government’s 2017 budget launch, the provincial commitment was unexpected.
The Ontario Liberals had balked at Tory’s request to match new federal transit spending, arguing the province had already invested substantially in Toronto transportation through projects such as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, Union Pearson Express and the Spadina subway extension.
Chiarelli didn’t explain the government’s change of heart, but it comes fewer than three months before a provincial election.
The transit funding is part of a wider agreement that will put $11.8 billion in federal money into Ontario public transit, green infrastructure and community projects over the next decade. The province is matching that with roughly $10 billion.
Wednesday’s announcement wasn’t all good news for Tory. The federal transit money includes $660 million Ottawa already committed to the Scarborough subway extension, a project currently estimated to cost $3.35 billion.
Tory had pressed the federal government to make the $4.9 billion an addition to the already announced Scarborough money, which would have freed up funding for other projects. Ottawa turned him down.
The federal contribution also includes $1.24 billion Ottawa had earmarked for Tory’s $3.7billion SmartTrack plan.
Toronto’s five priority projects are estimated to cost at least $17.4 billion.
The relief line, which many experts view as the city’s most urgently needed transit project, is estimated at $6.8 billion.
The Eglinton East LRT is expected to cost around $1.6 billion, while the Waterfront LRT network is pegged at a minimum of $2 billion.
Under a cost-sharing arrangement council has already approved, the city would contribute $2.01 billion for SmartTrack.
The city has also earmarked up to $910 million for the Scarborough subway extension, which is also set to receive up to $1.99 billion from the province.
With Wednesday’s announcement, the Scarborough subway project could be fully funded, although its cost is expected to rise.
The city could still be at least $3.5 billion short of being able to fund all four remaining projects. Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 22, St. Paul’s) argued that while the contributions from the other levels of government have created a golden opportunity for the city, council needs to reconsider its priorities.
Matlow has waged a campaign to convince council to scrap the expensive Scarborough subway plan for an LRT network that would cost less and serve more people.
“Imagine if we had a mayor and a majority of council that would actually spend those billions of dollars provided by the federal and provincial governments on the most fact-based projects that would serve the most people in the city,” he said.