Ontario’s provincial election is on February 27. As part of Environmental Defence’s mission to inform voters about crucial environmental issues, we’ve put together a list of seven things that we believe all political parties should put in their election platforms to strengthen clean transportation options in Ontario.
While provincial and federal funding has poured into battery and assembly plants to build electric vehicles in Ontario, little has been done to actually help Ontarians get their hands on affordable electric vehicles. Ontario has built several new public transit projects, but existing transit services are suffering. Since 2018, per-capita public transit service levels in municipalities across Ontario have been cut, on average, by 18%.
Additionally, Ontario has been promoting car-dependent urban sprawl that will only make traffic congestion worse.
Our ideas for a credible clean transportation plan would cut emissions, actually reduce traffic, and reduce transportation costs for everyday families, whether they drive or take public transit. We encourage voters to use these policy ideas as a guide to assess whether a political party or your local candidate has a credible plan to reduce carbon emissions from transportation, the largest polluting sector in our province.
A credible clean transportation plan should include pledges to:
- Say no to destructive new highways like Highway 413, and instead invest in public transit projects that will actually reduce congestion and carbon emissions by moving far more people at a lower cost.
- Fix the broken municipal public transit funding model by expanding provincial operating funding to ensure that Ontarians can rely on their buses, trains and streetcars to arrive more often and on time.
- Put a “Mode Shift” target in Ontario’s climate plan, which means growing the amount of trips people make using public transportation and active transportation (like walking and cycling).
- Tackle the high costs of public transit construction in Ontario relative to other countries by moving away from public-private partnerships and instead growing public sector building expertise.
- Repeal Bill 212, the Bike Lane Ban, and support bike and bus lanes instead.
- Catch up to BC and Quebec’s lead on zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption with a Clean Car Standard, making EVs more available and affordable. Greater EV adoption must also be supported by abundant charging infrastructure, and targeted EV-buyer rebates.
- Require municipalities and school boards to shift to 100% zero-emission bus procurement by 2030 as part of a broader strategy to reduce emissions from Medium-Heavy Duty Vehicles (MHDVs).
Small actions can have a big impact on how the Province moves forward, from signing a letter to your MPP; to volunteering within your community; to voting in local, provincial, and federal elections. Together, we can demand that all political parties show Ontario voters a real plan to tackle climate change, including from its largest source: transportation.
Join the movement and make a plan to vote!
