The Labourers' International Union of North America was so mad at Premier Doug Ford over the cancellation of Hamilton's LRT they revoked his invitation to their Christmas party.

As soon as he cools down, LIUNA vice-president Joe Mancinelli said he has a question for the premier and Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney: "What the hell were you thinking?"

LIUNA's Christmas party was Tuesday — one day after Mulroney came to town to reveal the province was abruptly pulling the plug on the project, citing cost concerns.

Mancinelli said he and other union members are upset and insulted over the news and how it was delivered.

"Let's face it, what they did and how they did it was horrendous," said Mancinelli, whose union represents more than 52,000 construction workers in the GTA. "They handled it so poorly that the best thing for anyone quite frankly — from the minister to the premier — is to stay away from Hamilton for awhile."

When asked for comment, the premier's office pointed The Spectator to comments Ford made on the radio program the John Oakley Show on Monday.

"I have a great deal of respect for Joe and LIUNA," Ford said. "And I understand where his frustration is. He feels that this should have been communicated probably a little earlier on, a lot earlier."

Ford said his government only had the numbers "a little while ago" and apologized for the previous Liberal government "not being transparent with them."

In October 2018, the premier received a ceremonial shovel and pledge of allegiance from LIUNA after promising to reverse a Liberal law that opened up some work sites to rivals in the carpenters' union.

During his radio interview, the premier vowed to work with the union going forward.

Mancinelli has previously said the LRT project meant "thousands of jobs" to local construction workers and spurred LIUNA to start building two different towers along the route.

The province says it will still invest $1 billion in Hamilton transportation infrastructure.

A task force is expected to report back before the end of February with a list of "alternative transportation projects," said Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Callum Elder.

Mancinelli is also questioning the $5.5-billion figure provided by Mulroney for what the province believes the project is expected to cost over the next 30 years.

The union has started commissioning studies from its infrastructure arm, Fengate Capital, to dissect the claim. The hope is to have them done by the end of January, Mancinelli said.

So far, the province has refused to release its full third-party costing report, arguing it contains "commercially confidential" details.

"The plan is to present the real numbers to the province and show them that they were misguided by whoever this third party is and maybe we can get it back on track," Mancinelli said, adding he does plan to speak to the premier and transportation minister once he's less angry.

While Mancinelli feels betrayed, he said LIUNA won't pull their projects because "we think the city is moving forward in spite of the bad decision."

LRT project boosters have long pointed to project-related development as a way to grow assessment and new residential and commercial taxes along the now-scrapped Hamilton route from McMaster University to Eastgate Square. In Kitchener-Waterloo, officials have said the region's recently completed LRT helped attract $2.4 billion in private investment along the line.

Earlier this year, the City of Hamilton provided The Spectator with a list of more than 35 proposed or ongoing large developments within a short walk of the route.

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Other developers reached Thursday shared similar sentiments to Mancinelli.

Coletara Development president Paul Kemper once told The Spectator "we wouldn't be building" a condo project at the corner of King and Queen streets without LRT.

Last year, he said the project wouldn't stop no matter what happened, but noted a derailed LRT would be "negative for us, obviously ... For some people who have purchased, that (project) was part of their decision."

Last month, crews poured the foundation for the sold-out building, he said.

Kemper said Thursday he's disappointed but hopeful some form of public transportation project might still happen.

One of the city's largest developers — Darko Vranich's firm Vrancor — said it's moving ahead on under-construction projects like the Hampton Inn by Hilton at Queen and King, but has not decided what the cancellation means for upcoming projects along the route.

Chief financial officer Chris Mlinaric said they are "incredibly disappointed" with the province's decision and hopes they reconsider.

The city's director of economic development said Thursday he's not heard that any projects are "dead" due to the cancellation of LRT.

"I think the developers are wise enough not to make any immediate decisions," Glen Norton said in an email. "I suspect that some of them still hold out hope that the project will get resurrected.

"I share their optimism."

npaddon@thespec.com

905-526-2420 | @NatatTheSpec

—With files from The Toronto Star

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