Southern Ontario is Canada's most populous area, with the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) alone home to over 6.3 million Canadians. Ontario's population is also expected to grow significantly over the next two decades. This is why the Government of Canada needs to assess the requirement for additional airport capacity in the region.
Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced that Transport Canada has issued a Request for Proposals to hire an aviation professional services contractor to help the department analyze current and future airport supply and demand in Southern Ontario. The contractor will assist Transport Canada officials in scoping the requirements for a comprehensive study of airport capacity in Southern Ontario, as well as a formal consultation process.
Following the scoping of work for the study, Transport Canada will post a second Request for Proposals to engage a third-party contractor to undertake the study as well as the consultation.
This analysis, as well as engagement with local stakeholders, the provincial and municipal governments, and Indigenous Peoples, is a first step towards making a final decision to address future airport capacity constraints in the region, and on the future of the Pickering Lands. We have no intention to proceed with building an airport on the Pickering Lands in the near term and the conclusions of the study could lead, for example, to a determination that an airport on the Pickering Lands is not required in the long term.
