Advocates hail feds’ rejection of island airport plan, while trade groups pan it

The federal government’s decision to halt Ontario’s plan for a major expansion of Billy Bishop airport will guard Toronto’s waterfront against serious setbacks to its revitalization, advocates say — while proponents of the project dub the move “disappointing.”

The project would involve increased pollution and “massive destruction” of the Toronto Islands after billions of dollars invested in lakefront rehabilitation over the past couple of decades, said Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence.

He pointed to the nearly kilometre of lakefill needed to build a runway and taxiways as well as the “gridlock” and aircraft emissions the additional plane traffic would cause on shore.

“The federal government listened to the people of Toronto who organized by the tens of thousands to push back against this proposal,” Gray said. “It shows that people working together can make real change and protect their city.”

On Friday, federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said the government is “exclusively” focused on approved safety upgrades already underway at Billy Bishop, rather than on building it out to allow jets to land.

He said the conclusion was based on public consultations that garnered more than 87,000 responses. But MacKinnon also left the door open a crack to a potential change of course in future years, framing the decision as “at this stage,” instead of as a final one.

Giles Gherson, CEO of Toronto Region Board of Trade, called the decision “disappointing.”

The 1983 operating agreement governing the airport locks it into a single “aging” aircraft type — turboprops — and needs updating, with appropriate guardrails for concerns ranging from flightpaths to passenger growth, he said.

“The future of Billy Bishop is not a choice between the status quo and an intrusive mega-airport on the water — it is between stagnation and a valuable regional airport that modernizes with staged growth over time to meet the needs of a rising population,” Gherson said in a statement.

“The board is not looking for revolution, we’re looking for Billy Bishop’s evolution.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s proposal to extend the runway 600 metres west — on top of the 150-metre runway end safety zones already in the offing — drew criticism from environmental and community advocates over concerns around the project’s effect on noise, traffic and pollution levels as well as affordable housing and the Toronto waterfront itself.

It made up one piece in a broader bid by the Ford government to overhaul the city’s shores. The grand plans include a redeveloped Ontario Place, currently under construction, a possible new island to hold a massive convention centre and legislation that saw the province take over the city’s role in Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in order to expand it — an effort that is now grounded.

Ontario Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the province will continue trying to advance an expansion, stressing its benefits for job creation and economic growth.

“As this work continues, we look forward to seeing and anticipate a plan that ensures the project protects public spaces, including the Toronto Islands, addresses potential noise and environmental impacts, expands and improves Little Norway Park, supports new housing opportunities in the area, and delivers lasting benefits for local communities,” he said in an emailed statement.

Ken Greenberg, an urban designer who helped lead a group called Reality Check that opposed the provincial plan, said the expansion would have undone five decades of progress in reconnecting Toronto with its place of origin on Lake Ontario.

Greenberg described the Toronto harbour, which is formed by the islands that lie just offshore and host Billy Bishop, as the “crown jewel” in the waterline of Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe.

“The Toronto waterfront is the most democratic space we have,” he said, pointing to its roughly 18 million annual visitors. “This is cottage country for Torontonians who don’t have cottages.”

Proponents such as the Toronto Region Board of Trade have argued that small jets such as the Airbus A220 that would operate out of Billy Bishop are fuel-efficient and at least as quiet as the roughly 150 turboprop planes that currently touch down there daily.

Greenberg took issue with the characterization. “There’s no such thing as a whisper jet; it’s an oxymoron,” Greenberg said. “The difference is not a single airplane, it’s the frequency.”

The Ford government has said the airport would eventually notch a projected 10 million passengers a year and generate $8.5 billion in annual economic benefits.

In March, the premier said he aimed to make the airport a so-called “special economic zone.” Under a law passed last year, the designation allows cabinet to sidestep any and all provincial and municipal laws in a given area.

Under another bill that received royal assent last month, the province took Toronto’s spot in a tripartite agreement that governs the airport land. Previously, the accord was between the city, the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority, a federal agency.

Critics note that the province has not furnished a detailed business plan or conducted health or environmental studies on the would-be airport expansion, which the port authority projected would cost between $4 billion and $5 billion over 25 years.

Anne Golden, former CEO of the Conference Board of Canada, called the economic arguments “bogus.”

“Toronto has to be connected to a global world,” she acknowledged, but said Pearson airport plays that role, with a multibillion-dollar expansion underway.

In May, a report from city staff warned that an expansion at Billy Bishop could create “adverse effects” for housing, congestion, the environment and the waterfront more broadly.

The federal government’s decision Friday echoes one from 2015, when then-prime minister Justin Trudeau refused to reopen the tripartite agreement, effectively quashing a push by Porter Airlines to operate jets at the airport.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2026.

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press