Toronto just got $226 million to build John Tory's overdue pet project

On Thursday, Toronto city council voted unanimously to receive $226 million in provincial funding for the delivery of the SmartTrack Stations Program, a project proposed by former mayor John Tory as the focal point of his 2014 mayoral election campaign. 

Originally, the program involved the construction of 22 stations on existing GO Transit rail corridors to expand rapid transit in high-density communities in Toronto, however, the project has since been amended to include just five stations. 

The new stations — Finch-Kennedy, East Harbour, King-Liberty, St.Clair-Old Weston, and Bloor-Landsdowne — are projected to bring approximately 110,000 new daily riders to the network by 2031 and reduce congestion on nearby roads. 

"Following Council's request in March, the City and the Province successfully negotiated construction funding terms, signalling a commitment for the SmartTrack program and ensuring the transit initiative can proceed to construction as soon as possible," a city press release reads. 

Map of the SmartTrack stations on the GO Network. Photo: Metrolinx. 

The revised program's budget is now $1.689 billion, including $878 million from the City, $585 million from the federal government, and $226 million from the province. 

"Market conditions within the construction sector have changed considerably since the initial budget development," the City announced.  

"Several factors including supply chain uncertainty, continued cost inflation and instability in market participation and labour supply conflated to exert significant pressure on SmartTrack Stations Program delivery. As a result, additional funding is required to deliver the SmartTrack Program." 

Design work is already underway at four out of the five stations, and the City and Metrolinx will proceed with a design-build contract award for Bloor-Landsdowne station. 

City council also voted unanimously to reaffirm its support for fare integration across all transit systems in the Toronto region.