Ontario Line cost jumps to $34B, more than triple amount initially projected

The cost of the Ontario Line transit project has more than tripled since it was first announced seven years ago and the final price tag could be even higher, Metrolinx said.

Construction was initially projected to cost $10.9 billion when it was announced in 2019. But that’s climbed to around $34 billion. Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said supply chain shocks and trade uncertainty contributed to the cost. “When the Ontario Line began as a project, we lived in a different world in respect of major capital project delivery,” Lindsay said.

The 15.6-kilometre rapid transit line will have above-ground and underground sections, and is planned to run between 15 Toronto stations and more than 40 transit connections.

At first, the Ontario Line was expected to be completed by 2027. That timeline was later pushed back to 2030, then 2031. Most recently, Metrolinx has said it will be done sometime in the early 2030s.

As recently as June, the baseline price tag for the Ontario Line was roughly $29.8 billion. Last week, two European companies were awarded a $4.32-billion contract to build a set of twin tunnels and two underground stations on the line. Metrolinx has yet to award a contract for the elevated parts of the line, so a final cost remains to be determined. Lindsay said Metrolinx awards contracts competitively in effort to keep costs down. 

In response to questions about the opposition's criticism of the growing cost, Dakota Brasier, a spokesperson for Ontario Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, said the minister had no further comment beyond what was said in the news conference. At the news conference Sarkaria did not comment on the $34 billion figure specifically, but at one point called the Ontario Line a "legacy project." "We want to see stuff built in this province. That's the vision that the premier has. That's the vision that has gotten us elected on three majority mandates," he said.

Source: Metrolinx