‘Scarborough can’t be left out’: Chow, Bradford unveil duelling LRT plans

City Councillor Brad Bradford says there has been ‘silence and no explanation’ as to why the LRT line has been delayed.

A growing divide over how to advance Scarborough transit came into focus Thursday, as Mayor Olivia Chow and Coun. Brad Bradford unveiled competing plans for the same long-delayed LRT line.

The announcements come just days after the city secured funding for a separate waterfront transit project which will connect Union Station to the Port Lands via a $3 billion LRT spanning 3.8 kilometres.

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At a University of Toronto Scarborough news conference, Bradford accused the mayor of abandoning a commitment to advance the Scarborough Eglinton East LRT alongside the Waterfront LRT.

“The deadline set by city council in February of 2025 for staff to report back… passed, no report was offered, no explanation, not even an acknowledgement,” said Bradford, who has previously announced his intention to run for mayor in October’s municipal election.

Bradford announced he will bring a motion to council demanding the overdue report, an explanation for the missed deadline, and a renewed push for provincial and federal funding.

“Mayor Chow (must) pursue provincial and federal funding… with the same energy and enthusiasm that she put forward for the downtown LRT," he said.

His remarks come just days after Chow stood alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford to confirm a three-way funding agreement for the $3-billion Waterfront East LRT. The line is expected to serve roughly 150,000 residents along the waterfront.

‘Scarborough... got left behind’

Bradford argued the two projects were meant to move forward together, not one at a time.

“Toronto City Council voted unanimously to advance two transit projects together… The projects were always a pair, but under Mayor Chow that pairing has been quietly broken, and Scarborough is the half that got left behind," he said.

“People here in Scarborough are tired… they’ve made their peace with the two hour commutes… promises that arrive every few years… that lead to the same place, absolutely nowhere.”

The proposed Scarborough line would run 18.6 kilometres from Kennedy Station to Malvern Town Centre, with 27 stops, including direct service to the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, Bradford noted in a news release.

Despite completing its environmental assessment, Bradford notes the project remains stuck at roughly 10 per cent design, with no committed funding or construction timeline.

Chow pitches top transit expansion priority’

Moments before Bradford’s remarks, Chow’s office released a similar motion to the executive committee aimed at advancing the same project, while rebranding it as the “Scarborough East Rapid Transit (SERT) line.”

“Scarborough can’t be left out. People in Scarborough deserve better transit after years of underinvestment,” Chow wrote.

Her motion calls on council to make the line its top transit priority, push for equal cost-sharing from other levels of government, and establish a working group and community advisory board to advance the project.

“I’m naming it Toronto’s top transit expansion priority. I’ll be working with my provincial and federal counterparts to land a deal to get it built,” she wrote. “We’re grateful for the partnership to build the Waterfront East LRT. Now it’s time to get the Scarborough one funded and built fast.”

Chow who has not yet said whether she will seek re-election has framed her plan for the Scarborough LRT line as part of a broader effort to “reverse years of underinvestment.”

She says the city says will have nearly $378 million set aside by the end of the year to support the project.