Toronto is getting a $4.8 billion transit investment from the federal government

Toronto will be getting a $4.8 billion transit investment from the federal government.

Mayor John Tory said he was thrilled about the investment that will include the Relief Line, Smart Track, the Eglinton East LRT and Waterfront transit.

“This is a huge victory for Toronto and will lead to better transit for the entire region,” said Tory in a release.

Today’s announcement from @SohiAmarjeet is a huge victory for Toronto & will lead to better transit for the entire region. pic.twitter.com/94qX9X6GEI

— John Tory (@JohnTory) July 6, 2017

Tory also mentioned that provincial partners will be required to contribute at least 33% of the project costs and he encouraged the Province of Ontario to commit to a 40-40-20 cost share arrangement for the projects.

Thrilled to announce Toronto will receive approximately $4.8 billion from the Government of Canada for our transit network expansion plan. pic.twitter.com/1lnGJjzZX8

— John Tory (@JohnTory) July 6, 2017

Tory went on the thank Infrastructure Minister Amerjeet Sohi for the investment.

“I would like to thank Minister Sohi and the federal government for providing transformative transit investments based on the ridership of municipal transit systems of which the TTC carries the highest numbers of riders from throughout the region each and every day,” said Tory.

Last month, the federal government confirmed its commitment to the city’s TTC relief line, providing more than $27 million through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund to support the planning and preliminary design. The relief line is a future rapid transit line that would relieve overcrowding on the Yonge Subway Line, and provide riders with more travel options.

The latest funding is in addition to Ontario’s $150+ million to advance planning and design work for the relief line as part of the Moving Ontario Forward plan. As well, locally, the City of Toronto will also be contributing more than $27 million to the next phase of planning and design work for this important project, which is in addition to $4 million already spent on the relief line planning work, according to Infrastructure Canada.

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