Why Canada gets less for more when it comes to building transit

Canada pays a higher price to build light-rail transit compared to international counterparts, driven chiefly by the depth of underground tunnels, the grandiosity of the stations and labour costs. But several experts agree it has just as much to do with something else: politics.

"A Conservative government will support and prioritize Phase 3 of the LRT extension right here to Kanata and beyond," a smiling McAndrew said in a video posted to her Facebook page on Sept. 2, just as the campaign was heating up.

Not a day later, her Liberal opponent, Jenna Sudds, posted her own video to make the very same promise.

While some transit advocates would be overjoyed to see cross-party commitments to build new light-rail infrastructure, it was a disappointment to Toronto transit researcher Stephen Wickens who spent more than a year warning governments against those kind of campaign promises.

The reason is that Canada pays a higher price to build light-rail transit compared to our international counterparts, driven chiefly by the depth of underground tunnels, the grandiosity of the stations and labour costs.