Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster resigns after 7 years at transportation planning agency

Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster has resigned his role as the head of the transportation planning agency, the Ford government has announced, as the province faces consistent challenges in completing multiple transit projects.

A statement from the government said Verster had accepted a new position elsewhere and would leave as early as Dec. 16. It did not say where Verster was heading.

Michael Lindsay, who heads up Infrastructure Ontario, will take temporary charge of the massive transit agency.

News of Verster’s imminent departure began to spread on Monday morning, with suggestions he was ready to resign from the agency he headed up for more than half a decade and move on.

On Monday, Global News revealed Verster receives an annual vehicle allowance in excess of $12,000 despite not owning a car.

In a separate story, text messages disclosed by Verster through a freedom of information request to Global News revealed that Doug Ford’s chief of staff had not fully backed up his phone and lost months of text messages apparently related to government business.

By Monday afternoon, the government had issued a statement confirming Metrolinx’s CEO was on the move — and that Lindsay would take over his role. The statement highlighted that opening the unfinished Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which was a target when Verster was appointed in 2017, would be a “top priority” for Lindsay.

“With his many years of service helping to build our great province as President and Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Ontario, no one is better positioned to take on this role than Michael (Lindsay),” Ford said in a statement.

“I have given Michael a clear mandate to open Eglinton Crosstown as soon as it is safe to do so. That is his top priority.”

Under Verster, and the Ford government, Metrolinx’s role was massively expanded to lead transportation planning for GO transit, subway and light rail construction across Ontario.

Despite the new remit, however, the government’s projects led by Metrolinx have been hit with repeated issues, delays and lawsuits, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which was supposed to open in 2021, has been hit with multiple lawsuits and is still without an opening date. Verster had said he would announce its opening three months in advance.

Similarly, the Finch West LRT is without an opening date — and a fledgling lawsuit filed by the group building the line admits the project is struggling with “delays, dysfunction and ballooning costs.”

In Mississauga, the Hurontario LRT was supposed to open in 2024 but it too is now without an opening date. A recent credit report suggested problems with how the track was laid on the project and squabbles among contractors.

As pressure grew over the government’s light rail struggles in mid-October, Metrolinx shuffled its top staffers.

Two senior staff in charge of rapid transit and planning moved on from the company, while the planning department was given a complete overhaul.

Verster has been singled out by political detractors who believe the CEO should be held accountable for the ongoing delays in delivery of key transportation projects.

Ford, however, had long backed the CEO.

“I want to thank Phil for his many years of service to Ontario,” Ford said in a statement.

“Phil led and supported explosive growth in transit construction, including the largest expansion of public transit in North America. The transportation landscape in Ontario will be permanently better because of his contributions.”

At a recent news conference, Ford acknowledged the outgoing CEO has a difficult role.

“I’m a fan of Phil,” Ford said during a recent Ontario Line announcement. “This is no easy task that we put on his back.”

The premier’s confidence in Verster was reflected in his yearly salary which increased by 65 per cent when his contract was renewed in 2020. Verster had an annual salary of around $506,280 in 2018 before gradually increasing to $838,097 by the end of 2023.

Under Verster, the agency itself has also become bigger and more expensive.

Data from the sunshine list in 2023, which tracks public sector salaries, suggested roughly half of all Metrolinx employees earned more than $100,000. The salary disclosure list suggested that last year roughly 3,000 Metrolinx employees took home $410 million between them in salaries.

The NDP, however, has consistently called for Verster’s ouster as the agency struggles with getting multiple projects over the finish line.

“I am so thankful,” NDP MP Joel Harden in the Ontario Legislature who called the departure an “opportunity” for the province to right the ship.

“I hope the premier encouraged that action,” Harden said. “The NDP certainly did.”

The province said Metrolinx’s board of directors would begin the search for a new permanent CEO “soon.” A new interim president and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario will also be announced.