Doug Ford reannounces brother’s transit plan, promises relief line

TORONTO – Doug Ford reannounced his brother’s promise to build 32 kilometres of subways in the city for $9 billion – almost half of what it cost per kilometre to build the Bloor-Danforth extension.

The plan was first announced on Sept. 3 when his brother, while still a mayoral candidate, said he would “bore until the cows come home” to get his subways built.

The plan involves subways along Sheppard Avenue, Finch Avenue, a downtown relief line and replacing the light rail transit that’s currently being built along Eglinton Avenue with a subway.

He did not make it clear which subway would be his top priority: he first said the relief line was a “priority” but later said Eglinton, Sheppard and Finch might be built first.

Ford also named eight revenue tools he would use to fund the plan, including tax increment financing which he spent time criticizing John Tory for using.

“Suddenly he wants to use tax increment financing. I know TIFs are risky and that is why I have eight other funding options in my subway plan,” he said.

WATCH: Doug Ford accused John Tory of reversing his position on construction of the downtown relief line.

He would also use public-private partnerships, revenue from the sale of air rights, the strategic sale of assets, and revenue from Build Toronto to fund his subway plan.

“I can tell you there’s $540 million from build Toronto,” he said.

Build Toronto is tasked with bringing revenue to the city by selling city assets – the agency lost money last year and has only injected $30 million into city coffers since its inception.

Doug suggested his revenue tools would “easily” generate about $3 billion but admitted he doesn’t really know.

“I don’t have specifics, if you want me to nail a dollar right on the head, I can’t give it to you,” he said.

John Tory is the frontrunner thus far in the campaign with a strong double-digit lead in most polls. A recent Ipsos Reid poll done exclusively for Global News showed Tory 20 percentage points ahead of Ford and Chow, who were tied at 26 per cent each.

However, subsequent polls have predicted a closer race.  A Forum Research Poll released on September 29 suggested Tory only had a ten point lead over Ford.