Ontario promotes interim Metrolinx CEO to permanent position

Michael Lindsay is the new CEO of Metrolinx. (Metrolinx)

The interim head of Metrolinx has been appointed as the transit agency’s permanent chief executive officer.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced Michael Lindsay’s appointment to the permanent position on Wednesday.

“Michael has done an outstanding job in his role as acting CEO, and I have complete confidence that he will continue to lead with the same dedication and vision,” Sarkaria said in a statement.

“His leadership is critical at a time when we need to protect Ontarians and support workers, while delivering the largest transit expansion in Canadian history.”

When Lindsay was named interim CEO in December, the government said his top priority would be opening the long-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

Lindsay revealed in a news conference last week that the province was in the process of transferring control of the Crosstown vehicles to the TTC.

The province has not announced when the Crosstown, which will be called Line 5, will open but Premier Doug Ford recently said it could open as early as September.

Lindsay was previously the president and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario and served as a special advisor to the Ford government in 2019 on the upload of the TTC.