Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow moved at jet speed on Monday, filing an urgent motion demanding the province return expropriated waterfront lands to the city just days after Ottawa officially rejected Ontario’s push to bring jets to Billy Bishop Airport.
Chow submitted the motion at Toronto City Hall Monday, a rapid response to federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon’s Friday announcement that Ottawa would not support Premier Doug Ford’s airport expansion plan.
"Council has formally opposed the unacceptable overreach. We still do," she wrote on social media. "Return our waterfront to us."
The federal decision followed a massive public consultation where nearly 87% of more than 87,000 respondents opposed jet service at the island airport.
Chow’s motion calls on the province to repeal Bill 110, the June 2026 law that handed Queen’s Park control of the Toronto Islands and replaced the city in the long‑standing tripartite airport agreement. She argues the province used the legislation to quietly advance expansion plans while forcing city officials to sign non‑disclosure agreements with the Toronto Port Authority.
Chow also raised concerns about who stands to benefit from the multibillion‑dollar proposal, saying the $4–$5 billion, 25‑year expansion would primarily serve Wall Street interests — specifically J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which controls Nieuport Aviation, owner of the airport’s passenger terminal.
Despite Ottawa’s refusal to green‑light jets, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said on social media Friday the province is "continuing to work to advance the expansion."
Opposition leaders took the opposite view: provincial NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Liberal MPP Adil Shamji both applauded the federal block and urged Ford’s government to scrap Bill 110 immediately.
Advocacy groups held rallies across the waterfront to mark the federal decision, calling it a major win for environmental protection, public space preservation, and island communities.
John Gradek, a faculty lecturer in aviation management at McGill University, told CBC that he wasn't surprised by the feds' decision to block jets at the island airport.
"There is no [dire] need to create more capacity," he told them.
