An ambitious expansion of rapid transit in the Greater Toronto Area is underway. Representatives from governments at multiple levels gathered at Exhibition Station Thursday morning to announce work on the Ontario Line has begun.
“Right now, two tunnel boring machines are about to begin digging twin tunnels which will run six kilometers from the launch shaft near Exhibition Station to just west of Lower Don River,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
When finished, the Ontario Line will run 15.6 kilometres and make rapid transit accessible to more people.
“Nearly 230,000 Torontonians will live within walking distance of rapid transit. A trip from Pape and Danforth to Queen and University, 25 minutes today, will only take 12. That's the kind of change that transforms how a city moves,” said Toronto mayor Olivia Chow. “King West, Chinatown, Distillery District, Leslieville, these new station names tell you exactly who this line is for. Every neighborhood along this route will be better connected with faster access to jobs, schools and opportunity.”
The estimated cost of the Ontario Line is $4 billion (CDN), part of a broader $70 billion investment in public transportation expansion and improvement.
“Our government is on a mission to get transit built for the people who need it the most, to fight gridlock, and to get people and goods moving,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation for the province. “And we're doing it while we're supporting thousands of good paying jobs for the workers of Ontario.”
As supporters of the project see it, this investment in expanded rapid transit may seem costly and construction may take much time – completion is expected some time in the early 2030s. But it’s an expense city, provincial, and federal officials believe will improve the economy by eliminating some of the traffic delays which slow production down.
Speaking about this was Evan Solomon, Member of Parliament for Central Toronto. His other roles in Canadian federal government include the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario.
“Public transit is not just about getting people A to B, and anyone who lives in Toronto knows that's tricky. It's about time precious time,” he said. “It's about affordability, it's about productivity, and it's about the quality of life, and it's about whether a parent gets home early to tutor their kid or take them to hockey practice, or a student can get to class more easily, or a worker can access more jobs. Whether a city can grow without grinding to a halt. This is why this project is so critical.”
It’s also a demonstration, as they see it, of a Canada that’s working to become more self-sufficient, especially in an era of Trump tariffs. Ford estimates gridlock is costing Ontario more than $56 billion each year, and he suggests it could reach $145 billion in the next 20 years unless action is taken to ease traffic and transport.
“We can't afford to be complacent, and we can't accept the status quo. We can't control President Trump, but we can control the choices we make here in Ontario, Toronto and with the federal government, by building the most competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy in the G7 so we can stand up to the tariffs, economic uncertainty and anything else that comes our way,” Ford said.