Premier wary of funding Stage 3 LRT amid system shutdown

Ontario's premier says he wants to get the first two phases of Ottawa's light rail system working before paying the province's share to extend light rail further west to Kanata and Barrhaven.

Premier Doug Ford made the comments in an interview with CFRA Thursday morning, adding that he's not happy with the current shutdown.

"I'm not happy at all, I've never seen more of a mess building a transit system," said Ford.

The full length of the Confederation Line was shut Monday after regular maintenance uncovered the line's latest issue with a bearing.

There is still no indication of when trains will be cleared to resume service, with R1 replacement buses running in the meantime.

"There's not going to be a commitment from the province until we straighten out Stage 1 and get on time with Stage 2," he said.

A spokesperson in the premier's office confirmed the province "will not be committing any funding for stage 3 until we have seen considerable action taken to improve the reliability of the Ottawa LRT system."

"The people of Ottawa deserve accountability for their money, and a reliable and safe transit system." 

Ford said he's in regular contact with Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and has asked the province's transportation minister to offer help any way the province can. He said he's thought many times about getting government agency Metrolinx to take over Ottawa's projects.

A spokesperson for Sutcliffe said the mayor wasn't available for an interview. In a statement, Sutcliffe said he respects the premier's concerns.

"Right now our focus is on fixing the Confederation Line and providing reliable transit service to riders," the statement said.

Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones told reporters in Ottawa Thursday the light rail problems are "incredibly frustrating" and she wants to see them fixed as quickly as possible.

A spokesperson for Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney said she wasn't available for an interview, but in a statement said the province doesn't want a repeat of the same problems.

"To ensure respect for taxpayer dollars and transit riders, we will not enter discussions on funding for phase 3 until the City of Ottawa demonstrates the opening of a safe and reliable system in phase 2."

WATCH | A bird's eye view of Thursday's commute:

A bird's eye view of the crowds waiting for R1 bus service

1 year ago

Duration 1:00

Transit riders are forced to take R1 bus service after the LRT was shut down Monday. Service has been unpredictable and irregular and with more buses on the roads, traffic is backing up more during rush hour.

More than $3.5B cost for Stage 3

The provincial and federal governments each pledged $600 million to the first stage and $1.2 billion to the second, which is scheduled to open after delays between this autumn and the end of 2026, extending to the east, west and south.

There have been problems since those second-stage funding commitments from the province in the spring of 2019.

A provincial inquiry last year found both city officials and the companies that built the first, currently out-of-service stage made "egregious" errors during construction and testing and lost sight of the public interest in their race to finish the project.

"[Ottawa LRT] was just absolutely in shambles and stunk to high heaven," Ford said soon after that inquiry's final report.

The city estimated in June 2022 it would cost $3.52 billion dollars for the Stage 3 leg of LRT to connect Baseline station with Barrhaven Town Centre, which is south of Strandherd Drive.