The Ontario government is putting the wheels in motion to possibly upload responsibility for Ottawa’s light rail network to the province. Premier Doug Ford announced during the Ontario election campaign in February that Ontario would give Metrolinx oversight of the O-Train lines, which would save the city $4 billion over 30 years. On Thursday, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy’s provincial budget mentioned Ontario studying the potential upload of the O-Train system to the province. “The government will be exploring options for uploading the Ottawa LRT, subject to due diligence, to help reduce costs for Ottawa taxpayers,” the budget said. There was no other information about the potential uploading of Ottawa’s LRT network to the province, including a timeline. The 2025 provincial budget also mentions the Ontario government will continue advancing work on a new interchange on Highway 416 in Ottawa’s south end. “The government is working with the City of Ottawa to plan and design a new interchange at Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road to support population growth and development planned by the city for the Barrhaven south area, including housing, commercial areas and employment lands,” the budget said. “This interchange will improve safety and help keep people and the economy moving.” In March 2024, Ford and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe announced a new Ontario-Ottawa deal, which included plans for the new interchange on Highway 416 and Ontario uploading responsibility for Highway 174 from the city to the province. “I’m grateful to Premier Doug Ford and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and all the members of their teams for some of the developments that are highlighted in the budget, including the Barnsdale interchange and the upload of our light rail system,” Sutcliffe told reporters Thursday afternoon. The mayor says the possible uploading of Ottawa’s LRT to the province “will take some time.” “Number one, we need to make sure that it’s the right deal for Ottawa,” Sutcliffe said, adding OC Transpo still needs to be in charge of hiring and scheduling. “There’s a lot of work to do; it’s not a small transaction. It’s really important that we get the right deal for Ottawa, not necessarily a deal on a certain timeline.” Sutcliffe says the city and the province are “always working on things together” and that work will continue “on a number of different fronts, on the items that were included in the budget and on many other things that were not referenced in the budget as well.” Ontario also plans to open two new schools in Ottawa this year: École élémentaire publique Des Visionnaires and the Riverside South Public Secondary School. The Ontario government budget said it plans to spend $200 billion on infrastructure over 10 years, including $30 billion for highway construction and rehabilitation, $61 billion for public transit, $56 billion for health care infrastructure, and $30 billion for more schools and child care spaces. The Ontario government’s budget unveiled an $11 billion plan to shield businesses from the impact of U.S. tariffs. Sutcliffe said Canada’s economy is under threat due to the potential of an ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S. “That has created a lot of economic uncertainty right across the country, including here in Ottawa. Of course, we do not have as large a manufacturing sector as other cities, we’re not steeped in the auto sector like Windsor, but we have a lot of companies that export their products to the United States and all over the world, including the technology sector in Ottawa,” Sutcliffe said. “There is an impact here in Ottawa, directly on certain companies and also, more broadly, just on the economic uncertainty that everybody is experiencing right now because of the tariffs and the trade battles that are going on. Anything that can be done to shore up our economy in Ottawa, in Ontario, across the country is going to help create more economic certainty and strengthen our economy.” Sutcliffe says he has been working on an economic action plan with the Ottawa Board of Trade, Invest Ottawa and other organizations on local solutions for the economy. Auto thefts The Ontario Government’s budget includes new steps to combat and prevent auto thefts, with $6 million in funding. The 2025 budget includes Ontario “permanently establishing a dedicated Major Auto Theft Prosecution Response Team” to focus on “crime hot spots” across Ontario, including in Ottawa. “The team will provide legal advice and prosecutorial support to police services and help dismantle organized crime networks, holding offenders accountable and cracking down on carjackings and home invasions,” the budget says. Ontario announced the establishment of the dedicated prosecution response team at the end of April. Automated camera enforcement Ontario is proposing amendments to the Highway Traffic Act for photo radar cameras and red-light cameras. The budget says proposed changes to the Highway Traffic Act will require municipalities to make automated speed enforcement and red-light camera locations “more transparent” and will require cities to “focus their traffic cameras on road safety objectives.” Ottawa has 60 photo radar cameras and 85 red light cameras. A list of all locations is available on the City of Ottawa’s website and all locations are equipped with signs to warn motorists of automated enforcement, according to the city’s website. With files from CTV News Toronto’s Joshua Freeman and Siobhan Morris
