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It’s a move that has upset the city of Hamilton, the local chamber of commerce and union leaders — the Ford government has walked away from the steel city’s LRT plan.

Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said the planned LRT line would cost far more than promised and leave provincial taxpayers on the hook.

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“It is frustrating news, but the stark fiscal reality is that the project will actually cost five times more than the previous government led us all to believe,” she said.

The province claims the total project would cost $5.5 billion — $4.6 billion of which would be capital costs that the province would be expected to pay.

Mulroney said the province can’t fund such a project and has appointed a transit task force to look at more affordable options for the city and report back by the end of February.

A less-costly LRT system is not off the table, said a senior government source and the offer of $1 billion for a transit project still stands.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger called the move a betrayal of the city by the province.

“This will not only hurt Hamilton’s economy but Ontario’s economy,” Eisenberger said.

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NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said her party will “fight like hell” for the project.

“We’ve seen this time and time again over the last 18 months: Doug Ford makes stuff up to justify deep cuts,” Horwath said.

More worrisome for Premier Ford is that his government has raised the ire of Joe Mancinelli, VP and regional manager of the construction union LIUNA.

Mancinelli, an ally of Ford in the last provincial election called the decision “cowardly and disappointing” on Twitter, and spent the day ducking Ford’s phone calls and blasting the premier in media interviews.