Ford credits Scarborough for fuelling subway push

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford suggested to a radio audience Sunday that he believes a deal is coming together to extend the subway in Scarborough, crediting residents for the part they played in turning up the temperature on the issue.

"We want to talk subways here, folks, because I think and I’m pretty sure we've got a deal going," Ford said when speaking on Newstalk 1010.

On Sunday afternoon, the mayor spent a good portion of his radio show talking about subways, telling listeners that they are worth the investment and making his case for the opportunity in Scarborough.

"I have been fighting to keep taxes low ever since I was elected 13 years ago, but this is an investment, folks," Ford said.

The mayor and his brother, Coun. Doug Ford pointed to last weekend's "Ford Fest," an annual barbecue that the family hosted in Scarborough this year, as a turning point in the current push for extending the subway system in the east end. 

"But where the pendulum swung is when the people of Scarborough spoke out," Coun. Ford said Sunday, on the weekly radio program he co-hosts with the mayor.

"Absolutely," the mayor added.

Ford told his listeners he will be meeting with Glen Murray, the provincial transportation minister, on Monday.

Momentum has been building in recent weeks to replace the aging Scarborough RT line with a subway system, rather than with the light-rail revamp that the province had been set to move ahead with.

The subway debate is shaping up to become a key element of an upcoming provincial byelection in the Toronto riding of Scarborough-Guildwood.

Mayor Ford has long voiced his preference to see subways built in Toronto, as opposed to light-rail lines.