Rail

Ontario and Toronto sign preliminary transit partnership agreement

Feb. 17, 2020

The agreement is the first of several outlining how the province and city will work to deliver on multi-year transit initiatives.

Mischa Wanek-Libman

Toronto Streetcar Motion Blur Jorge Vasconez Unsplash Cc

The city of Toronto and the province of Ontario signed the preliminary Toronto-Ontario Transit Partnership Agreement Feb. 14, which is the first of several agreements the city and province will develop related to transit initiatives.

The agreement commits the province and city to deliver the province’s four priority transit projects, state of good repair work on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) network, as well as station and capacity projects.

Toronto Mayor John Tory called the signing of the agreement an important step to ensure both governments work in full cooperation to get the work done.

“People want us to get on with building new transit in Toronto and upgrading our existing transit system,” said Mayor Tory. “As Mayor, I am committed to working with councilors, city staff, the government of Ontario and the government of Canada on the acceleration of these transit projects and improving our existing transit system. This is exactly what the city, provincial and federal governments should be doing, people want transit and they want us to find ways to speed up transit construction, so it gets built as soon as possible.”

The agreement relates to how the both governments will deliver:

The province of Ontario’s four priority transit projects: The Ontario Line, Line 2 East Extension (three-stop expansion of Line 2 into Scarborough), Yonge North Subway Extension and Eglinton Crosstown West Extension
TTC state of good repair enhancements, modernization/upgrades and other expansion to the TTC subway system
The Bloor-Yonge Capacity Enhancement Project
The stations program for GO Expansion/SmartTrack in Toronto
Commitment to ongoing Province-City engagement and collaboration to support delivery.

Ontario Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney reiterated the provincial government’s commitment to improved transportation networks in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and said she requested the federal government contribute a minimum of 40 percent of project cost to the provinces four priority transit projects.

“Based on preliminary cost estimates for Ontario's subway projects and Ottawa's role to make a minimum 40 percent contribution to these major infrastructure projects, we call on the federal government to contribute the approximate CA$6 billion (US$4.53 billion) in additional funding beyond what has already been allocated. Working with our partners, the delivery of the subway expansion will get people moving in Canada's largest city, while providing lasting benefits to the regional economy of the GTA,” said Minister Mulroney.

About the Author

Mischa Wanek-Libman | Editor in Chief

Mischa Wanek-Libman serves as editor in chief of Mass Transit magazine. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the magazine’s editorial direction and is based in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Wanek-Libman has spent more than 20 years covering transportation issues including construction projects and engineering challenges for various commuter railroads and transit agencies. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.

She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and serves as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.

She is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a major in magazine journalism and a minor in business management.