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VUONG: Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport needs help to reach full potential

Premier Doug Ford's plans for Toronto waterfront would help unlock that potential

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Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a significant asset that has been long prevented from reaching its full potential because of a small but vocal minority. The result has been lost opportunity not only for Torontonians, but the Greater Toronto Area.

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Contrary to what some activists would have you believe, public opinion has consistently supported the island airport. Poll after poll found the vast majority of Torontonians in favour of keeping it with the strongest support coming my former riding of Spadina—Fort York, which is home to the airport.

VUONG: Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport needs help to reach full potential Back to video

I saw that support first-hand while serving as the area’s member of Parliament. More than 3,000 jobs are directly tied to YTZ and most of those workers live nearby. Like most people, they prefer not to spend hours commuting. For many families in the community, the airport provides stable, local employment.

The airport also provides Toronto with a significant competitive advantage. Few major cities have an airport minutes from their downtown core. By enabling quick and efficient access to the city’s Business District, Billy Bishop strengthens Toronto’s position as an economic and financial hub.

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Substantial impact to city’s economy

The economic impact is substantial. A 2024 study estimated the airport contributes $5.3 billion annually to GDP and generates roughly $215 million in annual tax revenue. Importantly, those benefits are achieved even with a constrained flight schedule. Despite claims from activists, the airport has repeatedly accommodated community concerns, including limiting flight slots below its full operational capacity.

During my time as an MP, I participated in extensive consultations with local residents and advocacy groups in good faith. But when an air quality study conducted by the University of Toronto came back, it invalidated one group’s hypothesis that blamed the airport. Instead, the study found that most of the air pollution came from the Gardiner Expressway — and thus was supportive of YTZ.

One might expect such results to prompt a constructive conversation about maximizing community benefits. Instead, this group moved to try to change the study parameters for a different result.

The same dynamic played out with noise concerns. In 2013, the possibility of introducing next-generation aircraft — often called “whisper jets” — was raised. These planes were proven to be empirically quieter than the turboprops already operating at Billy Bishop. If noise reduction had truly been the primary concern, the proposal should have been welcomed. It wasn’t.

Politics dominating debate around airport

It’s clear that for some activists the objective was not mitigation, but elimination. Yet the airport long predates most surrounding residential developments. Billy Bishop has been operating since 1940. The nearby Little Norway Park even commemorates the Royal Norwegian Air Force, which trained there during the Second World War. The idea that newcomers to the neighbourhood should be able to shut down an established piece of infrastructure is not only unjustifiable, it’s outrageous.

Over time, the debate around the airport has often become less about facts and more about politics. A small network of advocacy organizations has dominated the conversation, sometimes presenting itself as multiple independent voices while representing a relatively narrow group of individuals.

These groups frequently claim to speak for the broader community, yet polling tells a different story. A 2024 survey found more than three-quarters of Torontonians support the airport. Meanwhile, the prolonged political battle has limited the airport’s ability to contribute even more to the city’s growth.

That’s why many who care about jobs and economic opportunity welcome the provincial government’s willingness to step in. When a debate stalls for years without resolution, leadership sometimes requires decisive action.

Airport crucial to waterfront’s future

Looking ahead, the potential integration of the airport with new transit infrastructure could transform the waterfront. A future connection to the Ontario Line — its planned King–Bathurst Station would sit nearby — could create a seamless link between Billy Bishop, downtown and major attractions along the waterfront.

Such connectivity could also strengthen Toronto’s position as a destination for conferences and business travel. Business events already account for roughly 40% of tourism spending in Canada and contribute $27.4 billion annually to the national economy. Business travellers typically spend two to three times more than leisure visitors.

Toronto has always been a city with enormous potential. Too often, however, we allow a political stalemate to hold back projects that could help the city thrive.

Whatever one thinks of his approach, Premier Doug Ford is moving forward with a vision for the waterfront. As the former MP representing YTZ airport and the surrounding waterfront communities, I welcome efforts that aim to unlock the airport’s potential — for the benefit of local workers, our city and the broader GTA.

— Vuong is the former MP for Spadina—Fort York. The son of refugees, he continues his public service as a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and as a naval reserve officer.

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