Ontario Premier called out for inaction on promise to remove Highway 407 tolls in Durham: Oshawa MPP

Promises made by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to buy Highway 407 and remove the tolls to help ease chronic gridlock have so far come up empty, with concerns raised that the pledge may only come true as an election goodie or tied into funding Ford’s other highway projects, including a tunnel under Highway 401.

Oshawa MPP Jennifer French, the NDP Critic for Infrastructure, Transportation & Highways, called out the government’s inaction on Highway 407 as the region faces some of the “worst traffic worldwide.”

“People deserve a government that gets them where they need to go, safely and efficiently,” said French. “While people are stuck in gridlock across the GTA, the 407 sits half-empty – and this premier isn’t doing anything about it.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Ford has claimed to be “in conversation” to get rid of the tolls, but media reports say the operators of the highway had not engaged in any discussions regarding a potential sale.

As well, a Freedom of Information Request filed by the NDP for documents relating to the reacquisition of the 407 revealed that “no such records exist.”

“We’ve put forward solutions that could make life easier for drivers,” French said. “They could subsidize tolls for truck drivers or take tolls off the 407 East altogether – but the government has failed to take any action.”

Tolls have been removed before. When Highways 412 and 418 – connector routes between Hwy 407 with Hwy 401 in Durham Region – were built they were tolled but pressure from French and other opposition members forced Ford to remove them in 2022.

Oshawa MPP Jennifer French

The provincially-owned 22-kilomtre stretch of 407 East through Durham remains the only public toll highway in Ontario. Revenue from those tolls provide the province with about $72 million a year, according to a report from the Ministry of Transportation.

Ford has already asked transportation officials to conduct a feasibility study on digging a tunnel under Highway 401 to ease traffic and transit going across the GTA, despite critics saying the cost could be as high as $60 billion.

Gridlock, according to the premier, costs the economy $11 billion a year.

The Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government sold Highway 407 in 1999 for $3.1 billion dollars to a consortium that included SNC Lavalin, Quebec’s provincial pension fund and Spanish company Ferrovial. The highway is now 50.01 per cent owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.