A Porter passenger plane takes off from Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto in March.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail
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Billy Bishop Airport, located on the western edge of the Toronto Islands, just south of downtown, has long been the subject of controversy. There was opposition to its expansion when Porter Airlines launched back in 2006, and again in the early 2010s when Porter wanted to allow jet traffic. The latest push to expand Billy Bishop took off in earnest in the spring, when Ontario Premier Doug expropriated Toronto’s stake in the agreement between three levels of government that govern the airport. However, after six weeks of public consultation, the Liberal government declined to allow jets at Billy Bishop “at this stage.”
Jeff Gray covers Ontario politics for the Globe. Today, he’s here to explain why the question of expanding Toronto’s downtown airport is so hotly contested, the unique agreement that governs it and where the saga goes from here.
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