Toronto Mayor Contender Vows to reverse Scarborough Subway Plans

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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One of the top contenders for the position of Toronto’s mayor, David Soknacki, has revived the debate over Scarborough transit, as he promised to abridge the plans to build a Scarborough subway and reinstate original plans to build a light-rail transit if elected. After a heated debate and serious ordeal, Toronto city council decisively voted to build the two-stop subway extension last year, a project finalized to receive $660-million in funding from the federal funding and another $1.48-billion from the province.

The vote was perceived as a huge success for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who uses “subways, subways, subways” as one of his main campaign platforms. However, on the contrary, Mr. Soknacki alleged that he will bring back the city’s original plan of building an LRT line in Scarborough as he claimed they make better financial sense, consequently paving the way to reverse the need for a planned $1-billion property tax increase. He mentioned on Tuesday that “the Scarborough Light Rail Transit line will have seven stops, be accessible to far more people, cost $1.8-billion already paid for by the province, require no tax increase, not add to the city’s debt, and be built years sooner than a subway.”

Standing by the side of two councilors, Gloria Lindsay Luby and Paul Ainslie, Mr. Soknacki admitted that reversing the decision could cause the city up to $14-million. He alleged that “that money has not been spent yet,” but added that “you take a look at $14-million against $85-million in contract fees – you take a look at the billions of dollars you could save by going with the LRT – it’s a wise decision.”