Ottawa, province, city to buy Canadian, single-source Toronto subway contract: TTC

A Toronto Transit Commission sign is shown at a downtown Toronto subway stop Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

All three levels of government have agreed to single-source a Toronto subway contract in an effort to support Canadian jobs, the city’s transit agency announced Friday.

The Toronto Transit Commission said in a press release that the decision to pursue the contract for Line 2 subway trains from Alstom Transport Canada comes in the face of U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty.

The TTC said the base procurement is 70 new train sets in total, including 55 that will be jointly funded by the federal, provincial and municipal governments. The current competitive process for the trains has been cancelled and all bidders have been notified, it said.

Part of Alstom’s requirements for building the trains will be to “maximize Canadian content.” Alstom Transport Canada is a Canadian subsidiary of a company based in France, and has facilities in Quebec and Ontario, including in Thunder Bay, Brampton and Kingston.

The announcement comes after the province previously called for a single-source deal for the new fleet.

In June, provincial transport minister Prabmeet Sarkaria penned a letter to his federal counterpart Chrystia Freeland requesting that Ottawa consider sole-source procurement of the trains.

Speaking at an unrelated press conference Friday, Sarkaria said he was pleased the contract would move forward with a single source, noting the work will be done at Alstom’s Thunder Bay site.

“I think it’s a great story to see one of the largest transit operators in this country making a concerted effort to go local,” said Sarkaria.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she supported building the subway trains in Ontario “from Day 1.”

“Creating local jobs for people in Thunder Bay is a huge investment,” she said at the same press conference. “Why would we send this investment elsewhere?”

The TTC said negotiations for the contract are expected to take place over the next few months.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.

Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press