Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is not ruling out ever allowing jets to land at Toronto’s island airport, but he is focused for now on a broader transportation picture. Ontario Premier Doug Ford had pitched a plan to expand Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to allow jets to land, framing it as a way to boost the economy.
The land is governed as a tripartite agreement that was formerly between the city of Toronto, the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority, which is a federal agency, but the province took over the city’s role earlier this year.
Carney’s government rejected Ford’s vision last month following a consultation largely opposed to the idea of jets, and he says today that the results of the consultation were clear but “forever is a long time.”
Sources who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal discussions have said Ford and Carney had a handshake deal in which the province supported Carney’s high-speed rail plan in exchange for federal support for the airport expansion.
However, when asked on Wednesday if he ever told Ford he would greenlight the project, Carney said no.
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