Toronto gets two uploads, Ottawa gets nothing

Last week, Premier Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced that the province will upload both the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway in 2027.

Alongside its decision to upload the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, the province is also providing Toronto with up to $353 million to maintain and operate both major transportation corridors until the transfer is fully complete.

For all the fanfare surrounding the so-called New Deal for Ottawa announced in March 2024, Ottawa residents are still waiting for the government to deliver on one of its most important promises: uploading Highway 174.

The Ford government has once again found hundreds of millions of dollars to help Toronto by taking ownership of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway. Meanwhile, Ottawa is still waiting for the government to keep its promise to upload Highway 174. Ottawa taxpayers pay the same provincial taxes as everyone else, but when it comes to provincial investments, our city is always left behind.

If the province can find hundreds of millions of dollars for Toronto, it can certainly find the political will to keep its two-year-old promise to hardworking Ottawa taxpayers.

No one is asking for special treatment for Ottawa. We’re simply asking for our fair share of provincial investments. Ottawa residents have waited long enough.