The cost of building the Ontario Line, one of the largest public transit projects currently underway in the province, is soaring, with the price tag more than tripling from its original estimate. Metrolinx President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Lindsay confirmed the increase at a press conference in Toronto, acknowledging that the budget will remain under pressure. He also cautioned that the figure is likely to rise even further, because a number of contracts on the project have yet to be awarded.
When the Ontario Line was first announced several years ago, the project carried an original price of 19 billion dollars. That estimate has now climbed to more than 34 billion dollars, an increase Lindsay described at what was an otherwise unrelated news conference on Tuesday. He framed the rise as part of a broader pattern in which the direct costs of major projects, from fighter jets to transit lines and hospitals, keep going up.
Part of the latest jump stems from a 4 billion dollar contract that was just awarded to a group to build a portion of the line, including the Pape and Cosburn stations and the tunnelling of that section along Pape. That figure was added to the 29 billion dollars the Ontario Line was already known to cost as of this past June. Contracts for the elevated guideway and several stations have still not been awarded, meaning more costs are expected to be added as the procurement process continues.
On the reasons for the ballooning budget, Premier Doug Ford has in the past pointed to increased inflation as a driver of the higher costs. Lindsay, however, attributed the pressure to supply and demand, describing the current environment as one of the worst supply chain shocks in decades. He said Metrolinx takes the issue seriously and is working to do everything it can to condition those costs and make its expenditures as efficient as possible.
Officials noted that the Ontario Line is not the only transit project in the region to face major cost increases. Toronto's Eglinton Crosstown, Line 5, was originally estimated to cost about 9 billion dollars back in 2015, but ended up at roughly 12 billion dollars by the time it opened. That comparison underscored concerns that large transit builds in the area have repeatedly exceeded their initial budgets.
The timeline for the Ontario Line has also slipped repeatedly, which is expected to add further to the costs. The original completion date offered at the outset of the project was 2027, a target that is now clearly not going to be met. That date was later pushed to 2030, and current expectations place completion at 2031 or beyond, suggesting the final numbers are unlikely to be settled at this point.
The rising costs drew sharp criticism from Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles, who faulted the way the Ford government and Metrolinx handle the projects. She said the pattern of budgets that continue to grow out of control has become worse under Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives, and voiced concern that the schemes keep growing more expensive while never actually being delivered on time. Stiles also warned that the repeatedly extended completion dates are themselves likely to push costs higher still.