Ontario Liberals promise to pay 50 per cent of Ottawa's Stage 3 LRT project
Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca is promising to help cover the cost to build light rail transit into Kanata and Barrhaven if he wins the provincial election.
"Fifty per cent of provincial funding for Stage 3 of Ottawa's regional transit plan is in the platform," Del Duca told CTV Morning Live Friday morning."Applying the lessons that have been learned from the previous stages.”
Mayor Jim Watson asked the provincial party leaders last week if they would commit to funding 50 per cent of Stage 3 of LRT funding, extending the Confederation Line into Kanata and Stittsville, and from Baseline Station to Barrhaven Town Centre.
A 2018 study pegged the cost of extending LRT from Moodie Drive to Kanata and Stittsville at $1.8 billion, while a 2020 report estimated running LRT to Barrhaven and separating VIA Rail tracks from transit would cost $3 billion.
Del Duca was in town Friday morning announcing his party’s platform for Ottawa, while also accusing Premier Doug Ford of turning his back on the capital.
The Liberals say if elected, they would build 10,000 new affordable homes in Ottawa over the next 10 years, ensure 26,000 more seniors in Ottawa are supported with the Home Care Guarantee and build the new Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus by 2028.
The PC government has pledged funding to open the new hospital by 2028.
Del Duca says Ottawa will ensure Ottawa "gets its fair share” under a Liberal government.
"The biggest opponent for the people of Ottawa is in fact Doug Ford himself. In the midst of the most difficult moment that this community has faced in a very long time, Doug Ford chose not to show up," Del Duca said, noting he visited Ottawa during the Freedom Convoy protest in February.
"I heard the anxiety and the angst from the people living in the downtown area, in particular, small business owners who felt they'd been completely abandoned. Remember, Doug Ford chose to go snowmobiling instead of coming to Ottawa during that occupation.
"So, the people of this city know Doug Ford is not a friend, his local MPPs didn't show up to do the job that was required either. Ontario Liberals will have Ottawa's back."
This is Del Duca's second trip to Ottawa during the provincial election campaign.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath made her first campaign stop in Ottawa on Tuesday, while Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford has not stopped in the capital during the first two weeks of the campaign.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.