In November 2015, the Government of Canada said no to jets at Billy Bishop. Transport Minister Marc Garneau closed the file. The airport would stay what it was. No jets.
We residents and the city were trusting that decision and billions have been invested to improve the waterfront – including a $975 million tri-government commitment announced in January 2025.
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Was it naive to trust the federal Government would stick to their “NO”?
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Was it naive to trust that the partners in the Tripartite agreement can’t be unilaterally changed?
We are about to find out.
In March, the Province of Ontario announced it will grow Billy Bishop to 10 million passengers a year, replace the City of Toronto in the tripartite agreement that governs the airport, and “intends to declare Billy Bishop Airport a Special Economic Zone.”
“The Toronto Port Authority has proposed a modernization plan for Billy Bishop Airport that includes updates to the tripartite agreement to allow for modern jet aircraft, changes to the runway to accommodate modern aircraft…”
It’s worth asking how that agency came to be advancing a plan the Province is publicly championing. Who sits on its board, and who appointed them? More on that below.
So the Province of Ontario claims that the TPA is the proponent of a plan that will introduce jet aircraft at Billy Bishop. We did not get this from some media. It says that on the Province of Ontario website. Here.
So who did the TPA propose their plan to? Should be to the other 2 parties in the Tripartite agreement, no?
At Ontario’s Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy on May 19, 2026, MPP Jessica Bell questioned the Toronto Port Authority’s President and CEO, RJ Steenstra. Verbatim from the official parliamentary record:
Why doesn’t the City get to see these plans?
Mayor Chow reported that to see the plans she was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). She refused and since then has been asking for the plans to be released to the public.
What we heard at the townhall
On July 7, the MRA together with several other South Etobicoke organizations co-organized a townhall at Mimico Cruising Club. All 120 seats were booked quickly with many more on the waitlist; about 100 more people watched the live stream; over 500 have watched it since.
If the embedded player does not load: watch on YouTube directly.
David Powell (T.O. Reality Check) framed the scale. Ontario’s stated goal – 10 million passengers a year, making Billy Bishop the fifth-largest airport in Canada. Ottawa’s airport uses 4,400 acres. The entire Toronto Islands total 800.
Tim Gray (Executive Director, Environmental Defence) walked through what a jets-capable runway physically requires: westward lake-fill, jet-blast deflectors, approach lighting in the water. A narrower Western Gap means polluted water sits longer in the inner harbour; ultra-fine particulate matter already spikes with every current takeoff, and would multiply with jets.
Deputy Mayor Amber Morley: “I am firmly and clearly against an expansion at Billy Bishop Airport.” She said the City has been “pushed out of the conversation.” Her supplementary motion (on Nieuport Aviation’s ownership including JP Morgan, the City’s lobbying bylaw, and water-quality impacts) is at Planning and Housing Committee on July 16.
MPP Lee Fairclough, joining by video: “Ford’s project for the Toronto Islands airport is a bad idea.” She voted against Bill 110. She named the risk that expansion serves as a bailout for foreign investors.
MP James Maloney told the room that until a formal proposal is submitted through the Tripartite process, there is “no plan, no proposal, no proponent.” He committed to a townhall if a formal proposal reaches the Tripartite Partnership. He is now endorsing a Toronto mayoral candidate with the words “who understands the importance of working with other levels of government.” (source) As of publication, we have not seen either our MP or that candidate state opposition to this expansion. If either has, let us know and we’ll update. According to the Toronto Star (July 12, 2026), the candidate’s campaign manager previously served as executive director of the Ontario PC caucus under Premier Doug Ford and as deputy chief of staff to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and his communications director is a former executive director of communications for Premier Ford. (Toronto Star, July 12, 2026.)
MP Karim Bardeesy (Taiaiako’n-Parkdale-High Park): “A number in a press release does not a plan make.” He confirmed the Toronto Liberal caucus is coordinating a shared position.
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Bill 110 & Tripartite
On April 23, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria tabled the Building Billy Bishop Airport Act, 2026 – Bill 110. “The proposed legislation marks an important step in the province’s plan to support the long-term modernization and expansion of Billy Bishop Airport…”
But Bill 110 does something more consequential than authorize a land takeover. It rewrites who gets to vote on the future of the airport. Unilaterally. The City of Toronto used to hold one of three seats at the tripartite table – a veto held by an elected municipal government answerable to the people who live under the flight path. That seat was our seat. It guaranteed municipal influence over how this airport grows. On May 28, the Province took our seat by legislation, without our consent. Whether or not you support jets, the fact that a province can unilaterally rewrite the composition of a federal-municipal-operator agreement – unilaterally changing who gets to vote on its own city’s airport – is a democratic scandal on its own.
Not only have we lost our municipal representation at the Tripartite table. For residents of Etobicoke-Lakeshore, it gets worse: our Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP Lee Fairclough) doesn’t have a seat at that table either – and she can’t press the Ford Government on this in Question Period, because the Ford Government adjourned Provincial Parliament for 21 weeks – until October.
Consultation?
Meanwhile, the federal government has opened a public consultation on the future of the airport, running June 8 to July 24, 2026. The public is being asked to comment on a plan the public has never seen.
Ontario is not waiting for the consultation to close. A taxpayer-funded radio ad ordered by the Ford Government is making residents believe the expansion is a done deal and more flights are coming.
Government of Ontario radio advertisement · Kiss 92.5, Toronto · July 9, 2026
“That’s why we’re expanding Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport. This expansion will create new jobs and provide more and cheaper flights…”
Was it naive to trust the Federal Government?
People who bought homes here counted on the 2015 decision. Developers who built nearby housing counted on it. The governments that spent money on parks, transit, and schools planned around it. If that decision changes, or even might change, all of those choices are suddenly up in the air. That uncertainty isn’t harmless. It makes planning harder and riskier for everyone, and the people stuck with the cost are the ones who trusted the Government of Canada back in 2015.
Until March of this year, we trusted that the federal decision would be permanent, and that our seat at the tripartite table would be permanent as well.
What do lawn signs do to help stop the expansion?
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Answer by user votenorm: The last time we fought this battle, signs communicated to prospective politicians the level of support we had in a given neighborhood and directly contributed to them joining our side, then winning the battle!
The sequence of events so far
Province of Ontario
✅ New TPA board Chair: Ford PC MPP Jane McKenna appointed May 2023, elected Chair Mar 2025 →
✅ Announce the plan to get jets to Billy Bishop – “The Toronto Port Authority has proposed a modernization plan… to allow for modern jet aircraft…”Mar 23 →
✅ Unilaterally replace the City of Toronto in the Tripartite Agreement – Bill 110Apr 23 →
✅ Seal government records (retroactively) – Bill 97Apr 24 →
✅ Buy taxpayer-funded radio ads: “we’re expanding”Jul 9 →
⬜ Formally declare BBTCA a Special Economic Zone announced May 28 →
⬜ Obtain federal consent under the Tripartite
Toronto Port Authority (TPA)
✅ Draft & propose the “modernization plan” Mar →
✅ Show Ontario “preliminary work” and Ottawa “some of these plans” May 19 →
✅ Offer Mayor Chow an NDA to view the plan – refused Jun →
✅ Confirm at AGM: no release before federal consultation closes Jun 11 →
⬜ Finalize the plan and publish it
⬜ Extend the runway for jet aircraft
The Toronto Port Authority
The Toronto Port Authority board has nine seats: seven federally appointed, one provincial, one municipal. Only four are filled. All five vacancies are federal.
Until Ottawa fills the five vacant federal seats, the board is chaired by a former Ford PC MPP and cabinet minister — an appointee of the very government now championing the expansion. Whatever the board itself decides, that’s a governance and perception problem worth naming.
Ford: “I’m pretty confident the federal government is in support.”
Carney the same day: “has not formed an opinion.” CBC
Who is left to protect us?
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Our City was removed from the Tripartite table by provincial legislation, without Toronto’s consent.
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Our MPP cannot ask the Ford Government a question in Question Period until October, because Provincial Parliament has been adjourned for a 21-week summer break.
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Our MP has not publicly stated a position on jets – and this week endorsed a mayoral candidate who has not opposed this expansion either.
Things you can do
Submit to the federal Transport Canada consultation – ends July 24
Two fast ways to submit – both count officially:
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Send prefilled email (5 seconds) →
The email opens with subject and body prefilled – just add your name and postal code at the end, edit as you see fit, then hit send.
Waterfront March & Rally – July 26
10:30 AM – 12:30 PM. Meet at Harbour Square Park. Route: Harbour Square Park → Union Station → HTO Park. Community march with boat flotilla, sending a public message that Toronto does not want jets on the waterfront.
Send a preformatted letter to the federal Minister
NoJetsTO and Environmental Defence host a one-click letter tool. Enter your postal code, click send. Ministerial offices track constituent letter volumes on files like this.
Send the letter via NoJetsTO →
Get a sign
We can help you find one, email us.
Primary sources
Everything above is drawn from the public record. If any claim surprises you, check it:
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Steenstra committee testimony – May 19, 2026 (official transcript)
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CBC – Ford “confident” vs. Carney “has not formed an opinion”
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CBC – “Billy Bishop airport expansion off the table, Garneau says” (November 2015)
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CBC – “Ontario Legislature rising for 21-week summer break until end of October” (June 2026)
All quotes are verbatim from the sources linked above. Opinions expressed reflect fair comment on a matter of public interest.