Ottawa mayor, Ontario transport minister ‘recommit’ to upload of LRT, Highway 174

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and the Ford government inked an agreement to have the province take over the city’s light-rail transit and Highway 174.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria have “recommitted” to the upload of the O-Train and Highway 174 from the City of Ottawa to the province.

Sarkaria joined Sutcliffe on Tuesday morning for his Mayor’s Breakfast series, where the pair agreed to continue working toward the Ontario government’s promises of taking over operation of Highway 174 in the east end and having Crown agency Metrolinx take over responsibility for the O-Train.

This visit comes one day after Premier Doug Ford was in Ottawa, where he reiterated his election promise to upload the LRT.

Neither the province nor the city have proposed any specific timelines for these uploads.

“This Memorandum of Understanding represents a firm commitment by both Parties to advance, in parallel, two strategic priorities: completion of the due diligence to support the Ottawa Road 174 3 stage phased ownership, and a structured and thorough evaluation of the OLRT with a view to long-term provincial stewardship leading to a provincial upload,” said a document, signed by Sutcliffe and Sarkaria on Tuesday.

Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal, Sutcliffe said Tuesday’s announcement creates a framework for how these two uploads will be completed.

“It’s a complicated deal. It’s multibillion-dollar deal. There’s a lot of different aspects to it: contracts, relationships, assets, property, the trains, the tracks, the stations, the air rights. There’s a lot of different pieces that have to be worked out,” Sutcliffe said.

The uploading of the 174 was part of the 2024 Ontario-Ottawa deal, and includes a three-stage, phased plan, according to the province. In the meantime, the government has offered millions of dollars to the city to support expenses on the highway.

Sutcliffe said that plan will provide a model for the LRT upload.

“The thing that’s been great about the 174 — and this is the model we’re going to follow with the LRT as well — with the 174, once the province made the commitment to upload the 174, they started working with us on the 174 as partners,” Sutcliffe said.

“Even though the deal wasn’t done, they advanced us some money for construction costs, for repairs, for operating costs, and with the LRT, we are already starting to work in partnership, and that’s part of what this deal outlines.”

He pointed to a recent shipment of 11 axles from Metrolinx to help return vehicles on O-Train Line 1 to service as OC Transpo and the Rideau Transit Group deal with the spalling issue that was discovered earlier this year.

Sutcliffe says once the upload of the LRT is complete, it will save the city $85 million per year.

“We’re going to work hard to get this done. But I think, more importantly, what residents are going to see, and what transit riders are going to see is we’re going to start working as partners on this system from this point forward,” Sutcliffe said.

“So, even before the upload is officially complete, it’s a little bit like we’re moving in together. We’re going to be living together before we actually have a wedding ceremony.”

A “ceremonial signing,” MPP says

MPP Stephen Blais, who represents Orléans residents, called Tuesday’s meeting a “ceremonial signing.”

“A year later, there’s clearly been no progress,” Blais said.

“Today was an opportunity for the province to come to Ottawa and pretend like they are doing something for Ottawa. If you’re going to sign an agreement, you don’t do it in a big kind of Donald Trump-style motif. You actually put some meat on the bones. It’s been a year.”

Blais worries about the lack of timeline and budget discussions for both the LRT and Highway 174.

For the upload of the LRT, Blais questions if the city will still maintain power.

“The mayor says that local control over decision-making will continue, that OC Transpo for the city of Ottawa will maintain control. But somehow the province is going to pay all the bills. That, to me, doesn’t make sense.’

Blais also worries about “huge budget gaps” with OC Transpo’s finances “each and every year.”

“And as a result, Ottawa residents are really suffering. The buses don’t come. They show up late when they do,” Blais said. “There is no game plan that’s public.”

There was no mention of the Ottawa LRT in Ontario’s 2026 budget, but the 2025 budget included a line about exploring options for an eventual provincial upload.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Leah Larocque

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