The Ontario government has handed municipalities more than half a billion dollars to help offset losses incurred by local transit services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding, which is being delivered through Phase 4 of the federal-provincial Safe Restart Agreement (SRA), was announced by Premier Doug Ford and Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney on December 7.

“As we continue to build Ontario, our government is stepping up and investing historic amounts in municipalities, including public transit,” said Ford. “This additional funding will help deliver safe and reliable public transit for local communities both now and into the future.”

Municipalities will be able to use their funding allocations to cover revenue losses, operating expenses, and provincial transit priority projects, including fare and service integration and On-Demand transit.

More than 100 municipalities across the province have been allocated funding. At nearly $348 million, Toronto receives by far the largest share of the money. Ottawa follows distantly at just over $63 million. Mississauga ($18 million), Brampton (nearly $14 million) and York Region ($10 million) are the only other municipalities to receive at least $10 million.

"Toronto’s transit system is one of the busiest in North America—serving hundreds of thousands of Torontonians every day and half a billion people annually,” said Mayor John Tory. “We are thankful for this support from our partners in the provincial and federal governments through the Safe Restart Agreement. It will continue to help offset the impacts the pandemic had on ridership and ensure our transit system can support more customers as ridership increases."

Allocations include a base amount of $5,000 plus a remaining allocation amount based on impacts reported through the first three phases of SRA funding.

“Ontario has been a leader in supporting its municipal partners and we will continue to champion their needs along with transit users across the province,” said Mulroney. “This funding, on top of what has already been provided, will help ensure reliable transportation options are available for everyone, whether you’re going to work, school or the grocery store.”

The province, in partnership with the federal government, has made up to $4 billion in one-time emergency assistance available to Ontario municipalities through the SRA since 2020.