Ontario transportation minister calls on feds to help fund Scarborough subway

After Toronto city council voted to do an about-face on a transit strategy in its eastern suburb of Scarborough, Ontario's transportation minister said he was willing to play ball.

But the federal government would have to join the game.

Minister Glen Murray announced on Thursday that Queen's Park would commit $1.4 billion to a Scarborough subway project – covering about two-thirds of its $2.3 billion price tag.

"This is the first real money in this project," Murray told reporters. "We are supporting the city under the condition that it gets help federally. This is how you start."

Toronto council voted this week to set aside a $1.8 billion plan to build a light-rail transit line through the region. It was a council-approved plan that would have its $1.8 billion budget covered by Metrolinx, the province's transit agency.

[ Related: Toronto council votes to bring subways into Scarborough ]

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford led a charge to abandon the light-rail plan and instead extend the subway line by three stops. Council voted to increase property taxes to cover some of the cost, demanded $1.8 billion the province and asked the federal Conservative government for about $250 million to cover the rest of the tab.

Murray told reporters the province was ready to cover $1.4 billion for the new plan and called on federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to pick up the rest. He said the rest of the money that had been bookmarked under the previous plan would still need to be spent on upgrading and improving the subway’s final station.

[ More Brew: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford confused about current transit plan ]

Murray said the federal government pays one-third the cost of large projects in other parts of the country. Further, he suggested it was odd that Ford would ask so little from the Conservatives in Ottawa, while demanding so much from the Liberals at Queen’s Park.

“I appreciate the advice from Mayor Ford, but I don’t think Mayor Ford wants to go explain to Torontonians why, if the federal government is paying one-third of the rate of anyone else’s projects, Scarborough citizens are somehow less,” Murray said.

“The mayor has been very clear in my conversations with him that he and I are going to stand up for Scarborough.” Toronto Transit Commission Chair Karen Stintz expressed frustration with the announcement, saying on Twitter the province should pay the $1.8 billion they had promised to the previous plan.

No word yet on whether the feds are willing to play ball. Flaherty had previously said the government was willing to move $333 million allotted to transit expansion in a different part of the city and move it to the Scarborough subway project, but Toronto's city manager later underlined that money would not be moved.

That leaves questions about whether the feds will pay either the $250 million requested under council’s spending plan, or the $766 million remaining after the province puts in what they are willing to pay.

Thursday's spending announcement does open up another interesting possibility. Toronto council decided that, should they be unable to secure proper funding (which includes $1.8 billion from the province) the subway project could be scrapped and the LRT plan could return to the books.

This means, surprise, surprise, that amid all the bluster and demands and negotiations and politicking, Scarborough could end up with its LRT, after all.

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