Ontario is officially taking over the financial burden of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, which have until now been the only roadways of their kind in the province that are operated and paid for by a municipality rather than the provincial government.

The move is expected to provide Toronto with a whopping $7.6 billion in capital relief as it continues to struggle with, as Premier Doug Ford said in September, deep and unsustainable financial challenges.

It is part of a larger deal announced Monday that will also bring $1.2 billion in new operating supports to Toronto over the coming three years, to be used towards things like increasing homeless shelter capacity and finally opening the long-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT to the public.

The city will also be getting new subway trains and funds for transit safety, recovery and sustainability — a provincial commitment that hinges on the City's agreement to up police presence on the TTC and continue to expand cell service throughout the network.

Approximately 300,000 motorists traverse the Gardiner and DVP each day, many of them not residents of the city itself.

As fomer Mayor John Tory said when he asked the province to take control of the thoroughfares last year — and was denied — "it is particularly aggravating when almost a majority of the users of those very same two roads are people that don't pay a penny towards the cost of keeping them up."

The proposed State of Good Repair Spending for the Gardiner alone in the 2023 Capital Budget and 2023-2032 Capital Plan, per Matt Elliott's City Hall Watcher newsletter, is $1.9 billion. This is compared to $1.3 billion for every other road in the city, and $33.2 million for the DVP.

He’s going to sell it to developers. surprise

— Blue (@Blue20019726) October 28, 2023

But, when rumours that the change was finally coming began circulating again last month, people began to express concern about Ford's leadership screwing up yet another thing in the province, as many feel he has done or tried to do with healthcare, the Greenbelt and Ontario Place.

"These two highways are vital to the success of the province's economy and this deal will ensure that these critical transportation assets remain in good condition and keep people and goods moving for generations to come," Ford said in a press conference today announcing the "game-changing, historic" decision.

He also added that neither will ever be tolled.

John Tory’s legacy is cemented today: the full rebuild of the Gardiner Expressway and senseless destruction at Ontario Place.

Billions of public dollars spent to make Toronto worse https://t.co/Z4a7rOF8tD

— Alex Bozikovic (@alexbozikovic) November 27, 2023

In exchange for the much-needed help from the provincial government, the City has agreed not to stand in the way of the controversial development of Ontario Place, accepting that the province has the authority to advance project approvals for the waterfront property "and intends to do so imminently."

It is something that some residents are now crying betrayal over, with a few noting that Mayor Olivia Chow may never have been elected if she'd vowed not to fight Ford on his Ontario Place revitalization plans.

But, as Ontario Place for All Co-chair Norm Di Pasquale wrote of the news on X, "it's worth noting the Province can expropriate and rezone OP without the city's approval. There was nothing for the city to cede."

One potential win for those opposed to the current Ontario Place plans is that Ford is now "exploring relocating" the 3,000-spot mega-garage that the public only just found out about last month.