Toronto will finally get its long-awaited 'missing link' waterfront transit line

The long-awaited Waterfront East Transit line is finally getting the green light.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, and Prime Minister Mark Carney were all on hand for a major announcement Monday morning, revealing $8.8 billion in federal and provincial funding for housing and infrastructure projects in the province over the next decade.

The provincial and federal governments finalized the "Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build" on Monday, which will cut development charges and provide HST rebates to incentivize the construction of new homes, and inject desperately–needed funding for major transit projects.

Among the transit projects the new partnership will advance, the long-planned Waterfront East Transit route — set to link Union Station with the emerging Port Lands area — will be funded through a three-way cost-sharing agreement among all levels of government.

"I'm pleased to join with the federal and provincial governments in this partnership to build more housing, transit and support good jobs," said Chow.

"We have invested in the design of the Waterfront East Transit line," said Chow, adding that Monday's "historic announcement" will result in "better transit, benefiting our city for generations."

The project was approved in 2018 and is set to run 3.8 kilometres from Union Station, south to the ferry docks, and east along the burgeoning eastern waterfront — set to be built out with thousands of new homes in the years to come.

Long considered a missing link in the city's transit network, it has remained unfunded despite approval almost eight years ago.

City of Toronto

While the project awaited the funding announcement that finally arrived on Monday, extensive preparation was undertaken, including construction of a bridge over the Keating Channel and the ongoing realignment of Queen's Quay East to permit a straightened right-of-way for the future line.

Local residents and businesses have for years been lobbying for a transit line to serve the area, and, in lieu of funding, the City instead pushed for interim bus lanes in late 2024.

In addition to serving a pocket of the city primed for exponential growth in the coming years, the new LRT would also mean even more construction at Union Station, a transit hub that has been undergoing various upgrades and additions since 2010.