$15B federal transit fund ‘positive sign’ for Yonge North Subway Extension

'We cannot wait any longer to get shovels in the ground,' Markham mayor says of York Region’s top transit infrastructure project

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 11, 2021
Heidi Riedner

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $15 billion for new public transit projects over the next eight years, and that’s a "positive sign" for moving the Yonge North Subway Extension off the back burner, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti said.

The new program announced Feb. 10, consisting of a permanent public transit fund of $3 billion per year (recurring) starting in 2026, represents a stable public transit infrastructure fund that will support projects such as subway extensions, Scarpitti said in reaction to the news.

"This is a positive sign for the Yonge North Subway Extension, which is York Region’s top transit infrastructure project," Scarpitti said, adding it is one of the most studied and justified transit projects in the country.

"We cannot wait any longer to get shovels in the ground."

The Yonge extension has been in the works for years and was one of four projects Premier Doug Ford included in the $28.5-billion overhaul of provincial rail plans he announced in April 2019.

Despite the province and York Region reaffirming their commitment to the project by signing an agreement to share the costs, the extension is not fully funded, with the province asking the federal government to contribute 40 per cent of the estimated price tag, which runs anywhere between $5.6 billion and $9 billion, according to various reports.

By earmarking infrastructure dollars, Trudeau is backing a 2019 election campaign promise he made during a whistle stop in Markham, where he signed a shovel showing his support to begin construction of the subway extension in the current term.

The project is also an "ideal project" to kick-start the economy and advance the government’s climate change targets, Scarpitti said.

"The impact of this project is significant," he added. "It will support more than 60,000 jobs and reduce our carbon footprint, saving more than 13 tonnes of greenhouse emissions per workday."

The subway extension supports the GTA’s top two employment hubs -- Markham/Vaughan and Toronto -- and is said to be the only inter-regional transit plan that can deliver on the provincial objective of a connected GTA.