8.8B Funding for Toronto's Waterfront LRT

0:00Big news from Toronto's Transascene, leaders from Ontario, the city, and the federal government just unlocked $8.8 billion in funding for housing and infrastructure projects over the next decade. This Canada Ontario Partnership deal, Slashes Development Charges, offers HST rebates to speed up home building and pours cash into key transit lines, including the waterfront east route. That line, a light rail transit from Union Station down to the ferry docks and east along the waterfront, spans 3.8 kilometers to connect with the booming portlands area. Approved back in 2018, it sat unfunded for years until this three-way cost-sharing agreement made it official on Monday. Mayor Olivia Chow called it a historic move for better transit that will serve the city for generations. Local residents and businesses have pushed hard for this, especially as thousands of new homes pop up in the area. In the meantime, the city added interim bus lanes late last year to ease the weight. Prep work has been rolling already,

1:03like building a bridge over the Keating Channel and straightening Queen's Quee East for the tracks. Union Station, already in constant upgrades since 2010, will see even more action to handle the extra riders. With growth exploding along the waterfront, this line feels a crucial gap, linking jobs, homes, and transit in one smooth flow that sets Toronto up. For the long haul, that wraps Canada News Today, brought to you with AI. I'm Cory with the story.