Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford launch separate plans for the same Scarborough transit project

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Councillor Brad Bradford have launched two different projects regarding a Scarborough transit line. 

Both officials have made separate announcements over plans regarding the Scarborough Eglinton East Light Rail Transit on Thursday. 

The proposed line, which is also known as Line 7, is planned to run 18.6 km between Kennedy Station to Malvern Town Centre via the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC), making 27 stops along the way. 

On Thursday afternoon, Bradford held a news conference at the UTSC campus, where he called out the mayor for missing a deadline set by city council to offer a report about the transit project, despite having announced funding for an LRT project in the Waterfront last month.  

The councillor then said he will be bringing a motion to city council to demand explanations on the missed deadline, and push for funding from the provincial and federal governments for the line. 

According to him, the city has completed an environmental assessment for the construction of the line, but the project is currently stuck at 10 per cent design. 

“That deadline passed. No report was offered. No explanation. Not even an acknowledgement from the mayor’s office, and certainly no accountability from the mayor either. One project downtown got a press conference with the prime minister, the other got a missed deadline, silence, and no explanation,” he told reporters. “People here in Scarborough are tired.”

Earlier on Thursday, Chow had also addressed the transit project in a separate motion, urging City Council to make Line 7, which she named Scarborough East Rapid Transit (SERT) line, a transit priority. 

According to the mayor, Toronto currently has $377.9 million set aside in reserve funding for the construction of the line. However, the mayor is pushing for the city to inform the federal and provincial governments about this priority in order to secure extra funding for the project. 

“Let’s land a deal for Scarborough. The City is spending millions designing the line right now, so we can hit the ground running and build it. I’m naming it Toronto’s top transit expansion priority. I’ll be working with my provincial and federal counterparts to land a deal to get it built,” she said in a statement shared on X. 

Chow’s recommendations as part of her motion include: 

• Making the SERT a priority; 
• Requesting MPs to write to the federal government asking for funding;
• Asking Ontario’s Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria and Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Gregor Robertson to explain their conditions for supporting the project; 
• Asking for an analysis of the economic impact of the line, including the creation of jobs;
• Creating a Scarborough Transit Working Group to advance transit projects in Scarborough, including the SERT, and secure funding from all levels of government;
• Establishing a SERT Community Advisory Board to push for funding;
• Allocating funding for the 2027 Budget to support the line’s construction;
• Changing the name of the project from Line 7 to SERT Line;
• Providing a report with recommendations for the advancement of the project. 

Scarborough needs better rapid transit. We need to build the Eglinton East LRT.

Last week we announced the Waterfront East LRT with our Federal and Provincial partners. We’re grateful for the partnership from the Prime Minister, Premier, Federal 416 Caucus and local MPPs. It’ll… pic.twitter.com/lgHX4dXivR

— Mayor Olivia Chow 🇨🇦 (@MayorOliviaChow) April 9, 2026

Both motions could be presented at the next City Council Executive Committee on Wednesday, April 15.