Premier Doug Ford is rolling out a $28.5-billion public transit expansion plan for the Greater Toronto Area that seems long on ambition, but is so far short on specifics.

Speaking in Burlington Tuesday, the premier announced the price tag but didn’t immediately say which projects the investment would pay for, or how much municipalities such as Toronto would be asked to kick in as part of the spending plan. Instead, he promised to reveal more details on Wednesday, a day before the Conservative government will table its provincial budget.

At least one change the province is planning has been revealed: provincial government sources confirmed to the Star the Conservatives plan to give the proposed relief line subway a new name: the “Ontario Line.”

“We’re announcing a phenomenal, just outstanding transit plan on Wednesday. It’s going to be the largest infrastructure project in transit in North America. It’s going to be $28.5 billion that we’re looking to invest into Ontario to get people moving from Point A to Point B,” Ford said Tuesday in Burlington.

“That’s just the transit side. We have some fabulous ideas for the QEW and the Gardiner, as well as the 401 because not every single person hops on the subways. But we’re going to have an incredible transit system and a transportation system to get people moving and get people from Point A to Point B, but get goods from Point A to Point B,” the premier said.

While it remains unclear what the City of Toronto’s contribution to the $28.5 billion would be, insiders said the province could demand as much as $7 billion.

The city and province are in the midst of talks over the Ford government’s contentious proposal to have Queen’s Park take ownership of Toronto’s subway network. The outcome of those discussions was expected to play a major role in determining the future of the city’s transit, but the premier appears set to unilaterally announce his own plans Wednesday.

Speaking at city hall ahead of a meeting of his executive committee Tuesday morning, Mayor John Tory said the province hadn’t shared details of its proposal with city officials.

He confirmed he had declined an invitation to attend the provincial announcement because the province hasn’t briefed him on its details.

The mayor and other senior city officials remain in the dark on key issues that include proposed cost-sharing agreements between the city and province for new transit, and what type of “alternate” technology Ford’s government plans to use to build the relief line subway.

“I just don’t think it’s prudent for me as the head of the council and the mayor of Toronto to go to announcements where I’m not fully informed,” he said.

The province was expected to give Tory’s office a briefing later Tuesday.

The mayor stressed that he was determined to wait until Ford outlines the province’s plan before passing judgment.

He said he wasn’t concerned the announcement would preclude the city and province reaching an acceptable deal through the upload talks. Tory said he was confident the Conservative government would include its plans as part of those negotiations.

However, Tory acknowledged he was concerned about the city being asked to contribute money for transit assets that it wouldn’t own should Ford carry out his plan to take over Toronto’s subway system.

He also reiterated that he would oppose anything that would prevent the city from moving ahead with transit lines it’s already approved.

“I believe that we have made remarkable progress on developing and approving a plan,” he said. “Now is not the time to delay, now is the time to build.”

Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park) criticized the mayor’s wait-and-see approach, and said the city should pull out of the upload talks because the premier had breached the agreement that called for transparency and consultation as part of the discussions.

“We’re already over the line. I’ve told the mayor publicly and privately that I think it’s time for him to stand up and lead (and walk away from upload talks),” Perks said.

Read more:

Toronto mayor warns Ford government against transit delays as report finds SmartTrack, Scarborough link in jeopardy

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Toronto has spent $200 million on the four transit projects the Ford government wants to revamp

How Ford’s transit plans could impact Toronto

On Tuesday afternoon, Tory’s executive voted to advance work on several key transit projects, including the relief line and Scarborough subway extension. Those decisions are scheduled to go to council later this month for final approval.

But although the city has spent years and millions of dollars advancing design work on those projects to the point they’re approaching the procurement and construction phase, at least some of the current plans could be derailed if the upload takes place. Ford’s government has announced its intention to make significant changes to the city’s plans if it takes ownership of the network.

The province would relaunch the Scarborough subway extension as a three-stop project instead of the single stop the city has envisioned, and use an unspecified “alternate” technology to deliver the relief line, which would connect the eastern end of Line 2 with Line 1 downtown and is seen as urgently required to relieve pressure on the busiest part of the TTC network.

The Conservative government would also put a significant portion of the planned Eglinton West LRT underground — an expensive option that city planners have recommended against — and accelerate work on a Line 1 extension to Richmond Hill.

In Question Period Tuesday, Ontario NDP transit critic Jessica Bell accused the Conservatives of plotting a “misguided hostile takeover” of Toronto’s transit system.

“The city has spent years in partnership with the province developing plans for the relief line, the Eglinton West LRT, and the Yonge subway extension,” she said, noting the city has already spent more than $200 million on those projects.

“But now the premier wants to rip up these schemes and replace them with his own plan, setting us back years and costing us unknown millions of dollars,” she said.

Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek defended his government’s plans, arguing the province could use its greater financial powers to build new lines faster and at less expense.

“The relief line should have been built a decade ago. We’re actually going to make it happen and we’re going to partner with the City of Toronto to make it happen,” he said.

“We’re not going to be forcing the hand of the City of Toronto in any way because we’re having constructive discussions that have been positive and moving in the right direction.”

The province’s move to rename the long-planned relief line subway as the “Ontario Line” follows a flurry of rebranding efforts in recent weeks. Ford’s government has also announced plans to change the motto on the province’s licence plates, and overhaul the official Ontario trillium logo.

With files from Jennifer Pagliaro, David Rider, and Rob Ferguson.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

Read more about: