Scheer promises to financially support Ontario Line, Yonge Subway Extension if elected

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer has promised to financially support the Ontario Line and Yonge Subway Extension if he were to be Prime Minister.

Scheer made the announcement Tuesday in Markham alongside Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti and Richmond Hill Mayor David Barrow.

“The Ontario Line and the Yonge Subway Extension are two great examples of projects that reduce commute times and relieve traffic congestion for hard-working commuters,” Scheer said, adding Liberal leader Justin Trudeau failed to deliver despite his government’s $187 billion infrastructure spending commitment.

The announcement was made as part of the Conservative Party of Canada’s plan to “prioritize projects that get Canadians home faster,” according to a press release.

The Yonge Subway Extension would be 7.4 km and will connect Toronto to Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill. The project is estimated to cost $5.6 billion and is set to be functional shortly after the Ontario Line opens.

The Ontario Line is set to be 15 km and will increase passenger capacity by 30 per cent and will run from Ontario Place in the city’s west to the Ontario Science Centre in the east. It will cost $10.9 billion and is scheduled to be done by 2027.

The provincial government, led by Premier Doug Ford, announced a $28.5 billion expansion of Ontario’s transit network in April.

The plan included changing the composition of Toronto’s downtown relief line and renaming it the “Ontario Line.” The newly dubbed line will “double the length” of the original relief line south, the government said at the time.

“Justin Trudeau was elected on a promise to invest in infrastructure and get these kinds of projects built. But four years later, he has spent the money but has nothing to show for it. We got the deficits without the infrastructure,” Scheer said. “Once again, he is not as advertised.”

Scheer said commute times in Toronto are up on average almost eight per cent since 2013 and the person’s average commute is 42 minutes.

When the provincial government made the announcement in April, Ford said he hoped the federal government, the City of Toronto and York Region would help to fund more than half of the project. However, he said if that wasn’t the case, the province would foot the entire bill.

It is not clear how much funding Scheer’s government would provide if he were to be elected.

Canadians head to the polls Oct. 21.