City council votes to wind down Green Line LRT with costs totalling $2.1B

With few options left on the table, Calgary city council voted to move forward with winding down the Green Line LRT, incurring costs totalling at least $2.1 billion. 

That figure includes a minimum of $850 million to discontinue the project, on top of the roughly $1.3 billion already spent.

Members of council who voted in favour of the motion, argued the project was effectively dead the day the city received a letter from Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen, outlining that provincial funds would be withdrawn. 

They also said that with no provincial funding committed in the future, the project as currently envisioned is not possible to achieve.

WATCH | Administration recommends to wind-down Green Line LRT:

How much would Calgary spend to wind down the Green Line LRT?

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With the provincial government pulling its funding from the Green Line LRT earlier this month, City of Calgary officials say they have no choice but to wind down the project. Early estimates of the minimum costs involved put the city's total spending at over $2 billion.

The motion was passed 10-5, with councillors Dan McLean, Evan Spencer, Sean Chu, Sonya Sharp and André Chabot voting against. 

"I don't know why [the province] did this, but withdrawing the funding killed the project," said Mayor Jyoti Gondek at a council meeting on Tuesday.

"There is no more Green Line as we've known it. There is no mandate for the [Green Line] board anymore as we know it. The thousand people that work on the Green Line project do not have a project to work on."

Coun. Sharp had put forward a motion to "stall" the wind-down, but it was defeated 9-6. 

Those in favour of that motion argued for keeping options open and for trying to find more middle ground with the province. 

"I wasn't in agreement with the winding down [because it's] essentially throwing away two billion dollars," said Coun. Chabot.

"Surely there's pieces of that that we can salvage, which is why I supported the concept of putting a pause, asking the province to come up with a plan, hopefully using some of our design as part of their ultimate alignment."

Gondek said the province had been clear in conversations with her that it would not compromise on its position. 

"I find it fascinating that people are saying just pause it. These are the very same members of council who complained on social media yesterday about potential property tax hikes … who are coming now today and saying we think it's OK to burn $1,000,000 a day, to wait and see for four months what the province comes back with. Are you kidding me? This is absolutely ludicrous."

The Green Line board said that if council had voted to stall the wind-down, the city would have incurred $20-30 million in burn costs per month.

Dreeshen responded to council's vote on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying they are more than welcome to proceed with the project without provincial funding. 

"It is unfortunate that some members of council would rather see the Green Line cancelled entirely rather than finding a far more cost-effective and longer above-ground alignment that will actually reach hundreds of thousands of Calgarians in the southeast of the city.

"Regarding wind-down costs, I don't see why Alberta taxpayers should be asked to pay for decade-long mismanagement and decisions of past mayors and city council." 

Dreeshen reiterated the province's plan to present city council with an alternative alignment in December, after consulting with an independent engineering firm.

Winding down the project includes dissolving the Green Line board as well as dealing with ongoing construction contracts the city has entered into, among other items.

Officials said the city plans to work with the province so that it is made whole for direct and indirect costs related to the transit project that it has already incurred.

The wind-down will have far-reaching effects on the city's budget if the government of Alberta does not provide financial assistance, council heard Tuesday.

While the plan is not set in stone, the wind-down is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and another update from the city is anticipated in January 2025.

City officials also said Calgary may be vulnerable to litigation from contractors because of broken agreements, although it's unclear to what extent. 

Almost 250 employees and consultants were involved in the Green Line on behalf of the city, and about 800 staff were brought in as contractors. There are more than 70 contracts that need to be addressed as a part of the wind-down.

Bitter words

The province and council continue to exchange bitter words on who is to blame for the project going off the rails.

In a video posted Monday evening to X, formerly Twitter, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen blasted the Green Line in its current form, calling it a "vanity project," saying it was poorly planned and "drawn up on a napkin."

On Tuesday morning on CBC Radio's Calgary Eyeopener, Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said the province's decision to pull its funding from the project amounted to setting $1 billion "on fire," calling such a decision both "stupid" and "malicious."

In an interview with CBC News on Aug. 1, Dreeshen said the province's portion of the funding was "100 per cent" secure.

But on On Sept. 3, he reversed course, saying that the province would be pulling its $1.53 billion in funding from the $6.2-billion transit project if the city doesn't rejig the line's route and extend it farther south.

The city has already spent more than a $1 billion dollars on land acquisition, utility work and new rail vehicles for the project. The current city council approved an updated, shortened version of the Green Line LRT in July with an added $700 million in costs.

The dispute has become highly politicized, as former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, who left city hall in 2021, became leader of the Opposition NDP in June.

Dreeshen has labelled the Green Line project the "Nenshi nightmare." He has said the former mayor is responsible for mismanaging the project from the start and that it was never properly engineered.

Nenshi, in turn, has blamed Dreeshen for turning the project into a political football and putting jobs at risk.

Nenshi responds

On Tuesday afternoon, Nenshi responded to news of the project's wind-down costs at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce event hosting the provincial NDP leader.

"They lit $800 million on fire. Why? So they can insult me," said Nenshi. 

"By the way, the 'Nenshi nightmare' merchandise will be available from the Alberta NDP store just in time for Halloween. So thank you Premier Smith and Minister Dreeshen for helping me raise a lot of money for the NDP."

Nenshi referred to the Alberta government's handling of the Green Line as "petulant toddler decision," adding he believes the situation will erode confidence in the construction sector's willingness to invest in provincial projects.

"The sad news is when you elect an NDP government in 2027 and we resurrect it, it's going to be way more expensive."

In a scathing thread posted to social media Monday, Gondek skewered the province over its decision to pull its portion of the funding for the Green Line LRT, calling it "political stunting."

Premier Danielle Smith has previously said the province thinks it can do a better job than the one currently proposed by the city.