When it comes to transportation, Ottawa treated as a 2nd class city

A little over a year ago I asked the Financial Accountability Office to review the funding of transit agencies in Ontario. They agreed, and over this past year have been collecting information and performing their analysis.

They released their report last week and the results are staggering.

The report highlights significant disparities in operational subsidies for local and regional transit across the province. The report highlights that provincial operating funding for Transit in the GTA dwarfs all other regions of Ontario and is more than five times higher than it is for Ottawa.

Transit agencies in the #Toronto economic area will receive provincial subsidies of $196.49 per resident in 2024-25 while in the #Ottawa area we will receive $31.91 per resident.

Ottawa is being treated like a second-class city by the Ford government. With less than one fifth the funding they offer in the GTA, it is clear that Ottawa is being left behind. We have to wonder why does the Ford government believe that residents of Ottawa and eastern Ontario are worth so much less than those who live in and around Toronto?

You might recall the “new deal for Ottawa” announced earlier this year. In that deal, Ottawa was also significantly left behind when compared to the “new deal for Toronto”. In those deals, Ottawa residents are only receiving 46% of those in Toronto.

Moreover, as I pointed out at the time, the “new deal for Ottawa” includes no money for public transit, while the deal for Toronto includes hundreds of millions. And GTA transit riders are now saving $1,600 a year with the Ontario One Fare program.

At the time the Mayor and some Councillors said I was being too negative and grasping at straws.

As OC Transpo faces a $120 million operating deficit, and the Mayor is considering massive tax increases, fare increases and service reductions, it has been clear for some time that Ottawa needs more support from the province.

One has to wonder why the “new deal for Ottawa” was signed and then celebrated only to go asking for more money from the Province only a few months later.

Residents in Ottawa pay provincial income and sales taxes just like everyone else.

The FAO report highlights that the taxes we pay here in Ottawa have a dramatic benefit for public transit riders in the GTA while our local transit agency OC Transpo continues to struggle with the basics.