Mayor John Tory is welcoming the commitment of $2.6 billion in SmartTrack funding from federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

The Liberal campaign pledge made in Woodbridge on Thursday, includes an additional $2 billion toward electrifying the GO train system.

The Trudeau announcement is confirmation that SmartTrack will go ahead, said a statement from the mayor.

“We now have express commitments to fund SmartTrack from both Mr. Trudeau and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government. NDP leader Thomas Mulcair has also committed to creating a transit fund that could fund the federal investment in SmartTrack,” according to Tory.

The money would be part of the Liberal commitment to spend about $20 billion more on transit as part of an overall $60 billion infrastructure investment over 10 years.

“GO is a vital service for folks here. For many, travelling across the region would be impossible without GO trains. GO train service means you can get to work every morning and back home for dinner at the end of the long day. That means if you live in Milton, you can get to an afternoon Jays game. If you live downtown you can visit your family in Whitby for Thanksgiving,” Trudeau said.

The opposing parties have been critical of the Liberal infrastructure platform because, rather than committing to deficit elimination, Trudeau has said he would continue to run a modest deficit through 2019 in order to boost the economy.

Promising to build a partnership with Toronto if elected, Trudeau took shots at what he called the “underinvestment” in infrastructure by the Conservative government under Harper.

The announcement took place in the Woodbridge-Vaughan riding of incumbent Julian Fantino, the former Toronto police chief who was dropped from the veterans affairs portfolio in Harper’s cabinet.

Liberal Francesco Sorbara is vying for that seat, along with New Democrat Adriana Marie Zichy.

Tory joined Harper at a TTC shop in June when Harper announced a Conservative government would also contribute $2.6 billion to SmartTrack and for the announcement of a new public transit plan that would grow to $1 billion a year.

The NDP has promised to immediately eliminate the deficit and spend $1.3 billion per year in a 20-year transit program, with the greatest share of the money coming to the Toronto region.

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