Ford believes Toronto island airport will ultimately expand despite federal roadblock

It is unclear if Ford is viewing those comments as an opening, but he made it clear Thursday that he is not abandoning his vision.

“As we move forward, I truly believe we’re going to convert that airport,” he said at an unrelated press conference in Guelph, Ont.

“Let the people decide. Let the market decide. If people don’t like it, they aren’t going to have planes there. But guess what? Every single person knows that airport will be a phenomenal success.” 

Ford said an expanded island airport would boost the economy and give passengers more convenient travel options and lower fees. He has asked for more polling to be conducted, he said.

Sources who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal discussions have previously said Ford and Carney had a handshake deal in which the province supported Carney’s high-speed rail plan in exchange for federal support for the airport expansion.

Carney has said he did not tell Ford he would greenlight the project.

When asked Thursday about the Alto high-speed rail project between Quebec City and Toronto being championed by Carney’s government, Ford was not definitive on whether he supports it.

“Let’s see how we move forward,” he said.

“I always believe in working with different levels of government, but I’ll tell you one thing, my eastern Ontario caucus and the people out in eastern Ontario, they’re losing their minds about Alto right now.”

Eleven members of Ford’s caucus from eastern Ontario issued a joint statement days after the federal government nixed the Billy Bishop expansion, questioning the viability of the Alto project and saying the federal government was ignoring local concerns.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2026.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Ford believes Toronto island airport will ultimately expand despite federal roadblock

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