Plans to extend Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport have been halted by the federal government, according to Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon.
The decision comes after a Transport Canada survey received more than 87,000 responses from residents on the proposed expansion.
In March, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced plans to expand Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, with support from the Toronto Port Authority, the federally regulated agency that operates the airport.
Months later the provincial government passed legislation allowing it to take control of Toronto’s portion of the airport lands to replace the cities powers in a three-party agreement that has governed the airport for decades.
Soon after, Transport Canada launched its own consultations to gather feedback on the expansion plans.
The expansion was intended to extend Billy Bishop’s runway to allow jets to take off and land from the waterfront airport.
“At this stage, I can confirm that our focus lies exclusively on the approved safety enhancements, which are currently taking place and are required to maintain safe operations at the airport,” Minister of Transport Steven Mackinnon said in a post to X.
“I want to thank my Toronto caucus colleagues and the Canadians who participated in this consultation process for their vital contributions supporting safe, efficient, and sustainable operations at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.”
Ontario Minister of Transportation responds
In a statement, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria said the province plans to continue expansion efforts at Billy Bishop Airport.
“We look forward to continuing to work to advance the expansion of Billy Bishop Airport,” Sarkaria said.
He said the project would “contribute up to $8.5 billion to Canada’s economy every year, create thousands of jobs, and improve connectivity for millions of travellers and businesses across Ontario, North America and beyond.”
In a statement on Saturday, the Toronto Port Authority said the ministry advised them that at this time, the federal government “remains focused on the implementation and completion of Runway End Safety Areas” at the downtown airport.
“As the owners and operators of the airport, the Toronto Port Authority will work to fulfil this initiative and ensure the needs of the city and region are met for the future,” the statement reads.
‘Disappointing’
Giles Gherson, president and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, called the federal government’s decision “disappointing.”
“To meet the needs of a significantly expanding population, Toronto needs to get on with developing its transportation infrastructure,” Gherson said in a statement to CTV News.
Gherson pointed to how much time is left in the airport’s tripartite agreement, which was signed by the city, the federal government and PortsToronto, the airport’s operator. PortsToronto’s lease was initially set to expire on 2033, but in 2024, Toronto city council voted to extend it until December of 2045.
“Toronto Region Board of Trade is concerned that without modernization of the tripartite agreement, Billy Bishop will simply tread water,” Gherson said, adding that a plan needs to be put in place to accommodate service extension past 2045.
“That plan must include appropriate guardrails around noise, environmental impacts, passenger growth, congestion management, flightpath impacts on housing, and runway configuration—all of which can be accomplished."
Chow thanks Carney
In a post to X, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow thanked the Prime Minister and Minister of Transportation for “listening to the people of Toronto.”
“Thank you to everyone who spoke out, shared your voice, and stood up for our community.”
“Your relentless advocacy has made a difference. Now that this expansion is not moving forward. Chow also called on the Ford government to ”return the city’s land."
In April, Chow threatened legal action against the Ford government over the plans calling the move “a pure power grab.”
When the plan was first announced, Prime Minister Mark Carney called Premier Doug Ford’s idea a “very interesting vision” with “big possibilities,” But days later Carney said he had not formed an opinion on the airport proposal stating,
“I personally, have not formed an opinion just to be absolutely clear, on the airport in part because those full processes have not been done.”
In 2015, Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberal government rejected proposals to expand the airport.
With files from CTV News/CP24’s Joshua Freeman and the Canadian Press