An Ottawa Light Rail Transit (OLRT) train travels along the tracks in Ottawa in June, 2022.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Progressive Conservatives and Liberals vying for voter support in the continuing Ontario provincial election have both promised, if they form government, to take on responsibility for the LRT in Ottawa.
Doug Ford, the Progressive Conservative Leader, made his commitment on the issue in a news conference held in the country’s capital on Tuesday, while Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie promised her support in a statement that also committed to other transportation measures.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who attended Mr. Ford’s news conference, called the idea “a home run for the city of Ottawa.”
Provincial NDP Leader Marit Stiles said in a statement that her party would bring back 50-50 cost sharing on public transit. There were no additional details provided.
Ontario voters go to the polls on Feb. 27.
The Progressive Conservatives say that, if re-elected, they would integrate the operations of the Ottawa LRT with Metrolinx, the provincial Crown agency that manages public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. It would deal with the system’s capital costs while also providing technical expertise.
“We’re going to take the burden off of Ottawa. Their No. 1 anchor around their neck is the cost of this LRT,” Mr. Ford said at his event.
Mr. Ford, seeking another term in government for the PCs, said his party’s plan would free up $4-billion over 30 years for Ontario’s second-most populous city to invest in other priorities.
Ottawa’s 12.5-kilometre Confederation Line LRT system has faced various technical issues since it opened in 2019. It has been the subject of a public inquiry that raised concerns about leadership and management of the line, which runs east-west across central Ottawa. A second phase of the system opened last month.
Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto, said in an interview that the details of the terms of the upload will be key to whether such a plan succeeds, but that local support is also important.
“If this helps solve a financial problem for the city and municipal officials are supportive, I think this could work out,” he said.
After Mr. Ford’s remarks, Mr. Sutcliffe told journalists that he does not yet have all the details but expects that OC Transpo, which manages transit in the Ottawa region, would make decisions about the system’s operation.
Mr. Sutcliffe, who is in his first term as mayor after being elected in 2022, called uploading the LRT the single biggest possible move to address the lack of fairness in support for Ottawa from other levels of government, while helping the city’s financial situation and improving light rail.
“At a high level, this is hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially billions of dollars that the City of Ottawa is committed to spending over the next 20 to 30 years, that will now be the responsibility of the provincial government,” Mr. Sutcliffe said.
Still, the mayor said he expects complicated negotiations ahead. “It’s going to be a long process. It’s going to be a big transaction.”
Mr. Sutcliffe has suggested in the past that the city is not being supported by the province and federal government on transit. He noted that he has spoken previously to Ms. Stiles and Ms. Crombie about Ottawa’s needs.
The mayor said he had been invited to attend the PCs’ event and did so because of the proposal’s significance. “I hope every party that’s running in this election makes a similar promise,” he said.
With a report from Laura Stone in Toronto