This guest post was written by Myles Stocker, TTCriders member.
Long-frustrated transit activists have reason to be optimistic. On October 19th, the federal Liberals were elected into power with a majority government. There are now infrastructure-friendly politicians in office at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government. John Tory, Kathleen Wynne, and Justin Trudeau have all shown a willingness to work with each other. This rare opportunity must not be wasted.
The TTC needs to be funded, maintained, and expanded. For decades, various levels of government have let down our beleaguered transit system. Canada remains the only G7 country without any national transit strategy. The Progressive Conservatives of the 1990s cut provincial operating funding that has still not been restored by the current governing Liberals. City Council slashed bus routes, cancelled LRT lines, and reduced service to levels it is only now able to restore. Even now, fares are set to increase again.
The 90s and 00s were bleak times for the TTC, but there have been signs of improvement over the past few years. The Eglinton-Crosstown and Finch LRTs will be welcomed, while City Council has restored the service cuts of the previous administration. GO RER, if implemented wisely, can do wonders for regional commutes. UPX, though underused and overpriced, can easily be made into a useful service if re-imagined as a true public transit line. These are encouraging signs.
The time has to be now. There are no elections to worry about for the next few years. There are Liberal majorities at the federal and provincial levels of government, and each majority was won in part due to promises to improve transit.
This is the time to make progress. This is the time to make smart choices. This is the time to follow through on campaign promises, because it could be decades until Toronto, Ontario, and even Canada have this chance again. John Tory, Kathleen Wynne, and Justin Trudeau need to work together to be the leaders that the TTC needs to get our transit system back on track.
This is the time to work together to make that happen.
TTCriders asked all federal MP candidates from the four major parties about their commitments to public transit. Read their responses to our transit policy survey and see where your candidates stand on improving public transit!
Transit and environmental groups across Canada have released the results of a policy survey on public transit commitments from federal parties. Candidates from the Liberal, New Democrat, and Green Parties provided responses or shared commitments in their party platform. See where federal parties stand on key transit issues ahead of this election!