TORONTO — Mayor Olivia Chow has thrown her weight behind the Ontario government's call for 55 new subway trains to be built in Thunder Bay.
Before the city can award Alstom a the contract, Chow said Tuesday that the federal government must give its consent.
At a transit-related event in Toronto, Chow said one of the city's priorities related to transit "is to persuade the federal government to accept, (for) the 55 subway trains, that it needs to be a tendering process.
"So that we could immediately take the jobs and put it in Thunder Bay and build those new subway cars right here in Ontario. But we're waiting for the federal government go give us the go-ahead."
Newswatch has now learned Chow met Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson near the end of May, and with Prime Minister Mark Carney the following day, asking Ottawa to waive a requirement of the Canada Public Transit Fund that contracts be publicly-sourced through a Request for Proposals.
It's unknown if Robertson is considering this, or when a decision might be made.
Newswatch reached out to the ministry for information but has not yet received a response.
The Ontario government has been pressuring the City of Toronto to consider a sole-source procurement with Alstom, but the city can't do that without federal approval.
In a letter to Mayor Chow in late April, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the province will work with the federal government in the event that sole-sourcing requires any changes to the scope of the project.
The $1.2 billion dollar project is to be funded equally by Toronto, the federal government and the Ontario government.
Chow's office released a statement Tuesday saying "The mayor supports buying made-in-Canada subway cars. To that end, we're working with the provincial and federal governments to make that happen. This work continues – our conversations have been very positive and we are optimistic about a path forward."
The TTC issued a Request for Proposals to supply the subway trains in December 2024 as part of a competitive bidding process.
Multiple potential vendors responded with submissions, according to the TTC.
A spokesperson indicated Tuesday the bids are still under review.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, now the minister of Transport and Internal Trade, proclaimed last November that she expected the subway trains would be built at the Alstom plant in Thunder Bay.
Justin Roberts, the head of Unifor local at the plant has said receiving this contract "would mean the world" to the employees.
