Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, second from left, and Ottawa Centre candidate Thomas Simpson, second from right, talk with voters during Winterlude festivities in Ottawa on Feb. 2, 2025.
The Ontario government would transfer responsibility for Ottawa's light rail system to the province, according to campaign promises made by Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford and Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie on Tuesday.PC Leader Doug Ford was in Ottawa Tuesday to make the announcement. Minutes before his speech, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie made her pledge in a press release.
However, the Liberal party specified it would not intend to upload the LRT to Metrolinx, as it currently operates. CBC reached out to the Ontario Green Party about their plans for Ottawa's transit and did not receive a response.Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe welcomed Ford's announcement as "a big win for Ottawa."
Sutcliffe has been arguing for months that the capital has gotten a raw deal when it comes to provincial subsidies for transit. Not only did the city incur steep costs to build light rail, but it's also facing a structural deficit as it tries to fund OC Transpo's day-to-day operations.for Toronto city council, and Sutcliffe acknowledged the importance of transparency and accountability if the Crown agency becomes deeply involved in Ottawa transit.
"We're going to take the burden off of Ottawa," Ford said in response to a question from CBC about whether Metrolinx would assume responsibility for all of OC Transpo's debts and lawsuits, as well as its assets.Ford visited a door and window manufacturing plant in Ottawa on Tuesday. It's unclear if Metrolinx would take over that maintenance contract, the rest of the construction costs or debt servicing.PC party officials said there's currently no timeline for uploading Ottawa's LRT, and said more conversations and due diligence would need to take place.
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