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Toronto City Hall’s dithering has put Billy Bishop’s future in jeopardy — enough

Alex Chan,RHU,CHS,CFP,CPCA,EPC,CFSB,CLU profile photo

Alex Chan,RHU,CHS,CFP,CPCA,EPC,CFSB,CLU

Certified Financial Planner & Chartered Life Underwriter
Belvedere Financial Solutions Limited
Cell : 604.649.3829
Langley Office : 604.513.1177
Vancouver Office : 604.689.8289

The ongoing debate over Billy Bishop Airport is not just about the airport, it’s about Toronto’s future as a global city. The city should be doing all that it can to improve this unique and irreplaceable economic asset.


iStock-485562297

iStock-485562297

The issue has come to the fore again because federal government’s new standards for airport runways, put in place after a plane overshot the runway at Pearson Airport in 2005, requires Billy Bishop to add 150 metres of safety buffer at both ends of its runways by July 2027.

There’s little debate over this. As Mayor Olivia Chow put it: “That runway is too short. So, what should be the goal? Build as quickly as possible a runway that is long enough to make it safe.” 

The current imbroglio turns on how to best accomplish that.

PortsToronto, which operates the airport and is paying for the construction, had hoped to take advantage of the opportunity to do more than just extend the runways, investing in additional improvements which would make the airport quieter, more environmentally sustainable, neighbourhood-friendly, and accessible.

Because the amount of money is substantial, it asked the city to approve a 40-year extension of its lease, so that it could amortize those investments over a longer period. Such extensions are commonplace for airports, as it makes little financial sense to spend this kind of money and undertake such efforts without a firm commitment that the airport will continue to operate. Just last week Hamilton City Council granted its airport a 49-year land lease so it could make needed improvements.

Toronto City Hall opted to go with the least costly option instead. “That’s not the debate in front of us,” said Mayor Chow. “We can have that conversation after we fix the runway.” But as Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie put it, the question shouldn’t be which option generates “the least amount of controversy, but rather the best option for what is the best city.”

The trouble is that the city’s non-decision puts the airport’s future in limbo. That’s because another, more critical deadline is looming: the airport’s current lease runs out in 2033.

Some wonder if the city punted because of political pressure from activist groups that have long wanted to see the airport closed and turned into a park. That would be ironic, because the federal government just pledged $30 million to build a preclearance facility that will allow passengers to clear customs, immigration, and agriculture inspections before their flights to and from Billy Bishop take off, making the airport an even more attractive option for travellers.

Securing Billy Bishop’s future should be a no-brainer. Toronto’s downtown is still suffering from the aftershocks of the pandemic and the shift to remote work. Pearson is at least a 40-minute ride from downtown at the best of times and an hour or more in traffic.

Having an airport that is just minutes away from the city’s main business district is a much-needed spur for tourists, business travellers, and conventions. Seamlessly woven into the waterfront and downtown core, Billy Bishop facilitates the flow of people and ideas between Toronto and global cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, and Washington D.C. — the kinds of connections that are ever more essential to success in today’s knowledge economy.

Instead of dithering, the city should work to leverage Port Toronto’s considerable investments for even greater community benefits in the form of reduced airport emissions, less noise, greater energy efficiency, neighbourhood improvements, and more.

We should be doing all we can to create a neighbourhood-friendly, walkable and sustainable downtown airport that can stand as a it a symbol of our unique style of messy, mixed-use urbanism. 

If Toronto is serious about becoming a global city, it needs to act like it. Leaving Billy Bishop to twist in the wind sends exactly the wrong message.

Richard Florida is professor at the University of Toronto and a visiting distinguished professor at Vanderbilt University. He is author of 2023 report on the economic impact of Toronto’s downtown airport that was partially supported by PortsToronto and Nieuport Aviation.

Alex Chan,RHU,CHS,CFP,CPCA,EPC,CFSB,CLU profile photo

Alex Chan,RHU,CHS,CFP,CPCA,EPC,CFSB,CLU

Certified Financial Planner & Chartered Life Underwriter
Belvedere Financial Solutions Limited
Cell : 604.649.3829
Langley Office : 604.513.1177
Vancouver Office : 604.689.8289