Bridges, roads, public transportation, nuclear power plants… Ontario faces significant infrastructure renewal needs for which funding has yet to be found. The Gardiner Expressway, Pickering Nuclear Power Plant, Toronto Subway Line 2 and the Manitoulin Island Bridge are four iconic examples.
Ontario's Financial Accountability Office (FAO) estimates the value of Ontario's public infrastructure in good condition at $708 billion.
In its November 2023 report, the BRF predicts that without adaptation measures, climate change threats will increase maintenance costs by an average of $4.1 billion per year.
In a proactive scenario, these additional costs would then fall to 3 billion. Of course, the faster the infrastructure is renovated, the lower the additional annual costs will be.
But maintaining existing structures isn't always particularly attractive to policymakers, notes Brian Lewis, Ontario's chief economist through 2022.
A new announcement always creates more excitement, he explains.
On the contrary: modernization can even provoke negative reactions and raise questions about the reasons for the repair and the condition of the infrastructure.
Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute and professor of geography and urban planning at the University of Toronto, adds that maintenance is often a place where budget cuts are made because they seem to result in short-term savings without much impact.
Gardiner Highway
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The Gardiner's condition is deteriorating and destruction and reconstruction are planned. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Michael Wilson
The Gardiner Highway is showing its age. The 18-kilometer-long expressway, completed in 1966, is facing major renovation.
In November, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow signed an agreement to allocate $1.2 billion over three years to address the Queen City's chronic budget problems, including of support for Gardiner and Don Valley Highways (DVP).
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The Gardiner Expressway looking towards Lake Shore Boulevard in downtown Toronto is pictured on November 30, 2023.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Evan Mitsui
The province must pay more than 200 million to the city in 2024, then 150 million the following year, pending official support from Gardiner; Not enough to continue rebuilding, but more than simple maintenance at $16 million a year.
In its 2023-2032 capital expenditure projections, the city budgeted $1.9 billion for rebuilding part of the Gardiner and, more anecdotally, $33.2 million for the DVP. The contract document states the cost to Gardiner could be as much as $6.5 billion.
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Infrastructure specialist Matti Siemiatycki believes that under-investment in maintenance in Canada is affecting several public services, including community centers and hospitals. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Gary Asselstine
For Matti Siemiatycki, the curtainer is a symbolic example of a lack of interest in maintenance work. It's less glamorous, it's tedious, it's expensive and disruptive. But sooner or later the bill comes.
We saw parts of the Gardiner falling from the sky because the concrete was so old
Pickering Nuclear Power Station
While the Pickering Nuclear Power Plant, the oldest operating nuclear power plant in the country, was scheduled to close in 2024, the Ontario government decided in 2022 to extend its lifespan. And most importantly, ask Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to explore the possibility of rehabilitation to extend its lifespan by several decades.
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The Pickering Nuclear Power Plant in Ontario supplies approximately 14% of the province's electricity needs.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Kevin Frayer
OPG says it has submitted a feasibility study to the government, which will decide what to do next. The company says it's premature to talk about a deadline or budget. It should be noted that OPG is 100% owned by the provincial government.
The process, which would affect four of the six active reactors, is not new.
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In July, the Ford government announced the construction of three new small modular reactors on the site of the Darlington nuclear power plant. (archive photo)
Photo: Ontario Power Generation (website)
OPG is currently modernizing Darlington Power Station. An investment began in 2016 and was valued at $12.8 billion at the time. Two reactors have been completely renovated and the other two are under construction and are scheduled for delivery in 2025 and 2026.
The carriages of line 2 of the CTT
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Keele subway station, line 2.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Patrick Morrell
The 55 trains on Line 2 are at the end of their service life. Some of them have been around for 27 years. Their condition has become a safety concern, particularly after the derailment of a train on Line 3 in July.
This incident, which brought Line 3 to a premature standstill, made people aware of the importance of well-maintained infrastructure, said Mr. Siemiatycki.
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Toronto Transportation Commission spokesman Stuart Green says his company needs outside money to maintain the network. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada
In addition, they are no longer compatible with the automated system planned for the extension to Scarborough.
We need a total of 80 trains at a cost of $2.5 billion, including 55 for Line 2, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) spokesman Stuart Green said in October, pointing out that the company does not have the funds have the power to replace them.
For Matti Siemiatycki, it's partly about managing his assets, partly just about liquidity and whether these organizations have the resources. He added that the CTT has decades of maintenance backlogs that it is trying to catch up on.
Toronto Subway Line 2 cars are reaching the end of their lifespan. (archive photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press / Tijana Martin
The City of Toronto has committed to funding a third with $800 million. The second third appears to be included in the recent agreement with the province.
The agreement will see the provincial government provide $758 million to order 15 additional trainsets for the subway extensions to Scarborough and Yonge North.
However, this state funding is fragile because it depends on the federal government providing the same amount.
The Little Current Bridge to Manitoulin Island
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The Little Current Swing Bridge is the only land connection to Manitoulin Island.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Pierre-Mathieu Tremblay
The Little Current swing bridge, the only link connecting Manitoulin Island to mainland northern Ontario, needs to be replaced.
In 2021, the solution chosen was to build a second swing bridge parallel to the current structure. It will be wider, with two lanes and not just one. Other ideas such as a tunnel were ruled out.
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The new swing bridge would be built west of the current bridge.
Photo: Ontario Ministry of Transportation
Certain phases such as planning, design and environmental assessment are completed. The province still has to take care of land acquisition, rights of way and, above all, the exact design. She has not yet given a timeline or cost. The current bridge will then have to be dismantled.
Sometimes haphazard planning
In general, Brian Lewis reminds us that maintaining infrastructure is a quicker way to revive the economy.
For example, if a government wants to create jobs through infrastructure during a recession, maintenance will move faster than new projects.
Even though maintenance budgets are planned every year, the planning is sometimes risky, explains the economist. The government has a three-year financial plan. Beyond that, no detailed forecasts are available. This can be a problem if maintenance is planned for 10 or 15 years.
According to the Financial Accountability Office, local governments will bear the majority of climate-related infrastructure costs, 70%.