The province used to contribute 50 per cent of the TTC’s operating budget. This was called the “Davis formula” after former Ontario PC premier Bill Davis, who was in office from 1971 to 1985.
That was ended in 1998 by another PC premier, Mike Harris.
Since then, TTC operations have been funded much more through fares from riders rather than by the province.
A new funding tool was set up in 2004 called the gasoline tax (or “gas tax”). The newly elected Ontario Liberals set it up as a way to collect money drivers pay for gas and transfer it to public transit.
The formula the Liberals aimed for was that transit would be 70 per cent funded from rider fares and 30 per cent from the gas tax, which is managed by the province.
And here is where Doug Ford and his government come into the picture.
The governing Liberals pledged to double funding going to the TTC from the gas tax starting in 2018. Premier Ford made the same promise while campaigning for election.
But when Ford won, he went back on his promise.
Toronto mayor John Tory said at the time that he was “extremely disappointed” in the decision.
The TTC has been getting far less money every year than was expected.
It adds up to $1.1 billion over the 10 years from 2018 to 2028.
And the TTC would be getting even more funding if we went back to the old Davis formula.
This article appeared in the 2025 Feb issue.