LILLEY: Ford's plan for jets at Billy Bishop common sense for jobs and growth
· Toronto Sun
In Doug Ford’s world, expanding Billy Bishop airport on Toronto’s waterfront is about driving dynamic economic growth. Ford announced on Monday that his government will introduce legislation this week to take over the city’s role and portion of airport lands to ensure a smooth expansion.
Saying he has support from the federal government in Ottawa, Ford said the expansion of Billy Bishop is going ahead despite the naysayers and opposition from voices at city hall.
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“This is long overdue and this is the exact reason we’re doing it,” Ford said of councillors and others who oppose airport expansion. “They don’t want to create more jobs, they don’t want to create economic development, they don’t want to create a competitive environment and convenience for the people of Toronto.”
Ford said it’s time to realize that Billy Bishop is an important airport for all of Ontario and, in fact, the entire country.
10th busiest airport in Canada
At 2.1 million passengers last year, Billy Bishop is the 10th busiest airport in Canada. With an extension of the runway, the introduction of jet service and U.S. Customs pre-clearance, the airport could grow to between 3.5 and 4.5 million passengers a year, which could see it outpace Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
Along with that expansion would come thousands of direct and indirect jobs and billions in economic activity. There would be expanded routes to locations such as Vancouver, Los Angeles or Cancun.
As Ford said, competition with flights out of Pearson would drive prices lower for consumers.
Critics of airport expansion range from those who live on the Toronto Islands and want no activity at the airport, the folks Ford called squatters just weeks ago, to those claiming opposition due to environmental concerns. Yet, the jets that would use Billy Bishop after the expansion, such as the Embraer E195 or the Airbus A220, would be quieter and have a smaller carbon footprint than the Dash 8 Q400 that currently services the airport.
These critics aren’t actually concerned about the environment unless you accept that they don’t want any development at all.
Critics sound off
Failed NDP candidate and NoJetsTO spokesperson Norm Di Pasquale typifies this group of people. Di Pasquale was quick to issue a statement denouncing the move to expand Billy Bishop.
“It’s our Waterfront and we deserve to be consulted and have our environmental rights considered,” Di Pasquale said.
PRESS RELEASE: NoJetsTO Condemns the Reckless Stripping of Environmental Rights and Protections from Proposed Island Airport Jet Expansion #topoli #onpoli #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/KB4Z16tVkN
— NoJetsTO (@NoJetsTO) March 23, 2026
The fact is, Mr. Di Pasquale, that this has been debated for more than 20 years and your side anti-development, turn-everything-into-a-park side has lost to Doug Ford.
“They don’t want this airport to move forward. They don’t want 23,000 jobs in construction. They don’t want tens of thousands of jobs, and tourism and visitors coming here. They do not want it. They don’t want to build anything,” Premier Ford said.
“We take a different approach; we want to create jobs and economic opportunities for the people of Canada, Ontario, and Toronto.”
In the face of Canada’s stagnating economy and the trade uncertainty south of the border, this is the type of infrastructure projects that government needs to get behind. This project should have gone ahead more than a decade ago but was stopped due to partisan politics and a Liberal government in Ottawa that didn’t like development, didn’t appreciate job creating projects.
That won’t be a problem this time; Ford says the Carney government is on board.
“As far as I’m concerned, in my conversations, we’re moving forward,” Ford said.
Billy Bishop is ready for takeoff. It’s time to extend the runway, let the jets fly and watch prosperity land on Toronto’s doorstep.
