Ontario Premier Doug Ford has requested that Prime Minister Mark Carney support his priorities for the province, which include strengthening infrastructure, accessing critical minerals including those in the Ring of Fire, building an electric vehicle supply chain, and enacting bail reforms. This follows a March meeting with provincial premiers where Prime Minister Carney asked them to identify “nation-building projects,” which Ford has noted would be achieved with an infrastructure investment to build a tunnel under Highway 401, which would be “transformational” for Canada’s economy by easing highway congestion on one of North America’s busiest highways.
The Premier is seeking proposals for a feasibility study for the tunnel, though he has committed to getting it built one way or another. The request for proposals asks for the study to determine the feasibility of the tunnel as well as other options, including elevated highways or the addition of more lanes or truck-only lanes. The request includes a long-term assessment, with 2051 specified.
The requests drew ire from the leaders of opposition parties who feel that, at a time when workers are losing their jobs and the economy is volatile, projects of this magnitude would only further push the country into debt for a long-term project that could span decades.
Other ideas that were laid out in the letter included large-scale nuclear energy generation and small modular reactors, improved GO passenger train service and a deep-sea port in James Bay.
