Ford tells Toronto there is no New Deal 2.0 as the old deal's money runs out

By The Canadian Chronicle · Wednesday, October 28, 2026

News · The Canadian Chronicle

Published Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · Last updated Friday, November 6, 2026 · 3 min read

Mayor Olivia Chow won a second term on Monday with 54 per cent of the vote. Her next negotiation is already priced: the 2023 Ontario–Toronto New Deal that put $1.2 billion of provincial operating money into City Hall is expiring, and the city's own budget documents put the transit pressure alone at about $379 million in 2027 if no successor deal is in place.

The 2023 deal, in numbers

The 2023 deal, announced November 27 of that year, was the foundation of Chow's first term: $1.2 billion in operating funding over three years and $7.6 billion in capital relief, the upload of the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway to the province, $300 million for transit operations and safety, $758 million for new Line 2 subway trains contingent on federal matching money, and $600 million over three years for homelessness. The Globe and Mail reports that, having fended off Brad Bradford, Chow is now turning to a new Ontario deal — the second one of her mayoralty.

The clock in the city's own paperwork

The clock is in the city's own paperwork. The New Deal's operating support runs to March 31, 2027, and City of Toronto budget documents state plainly that a long-range solution is required: if the agreement expires with nothing in its place, the TTC faces an incremental pressure of roughly $379 million in 2027, with a further $145 million in 2028. The highway half of the old deal is already settled — Ontario takes ownership of the Gardiner and the DVP in the fall of 2027, both remain toll-free, and the province is paying Toronto $353 million to operate and maintain them until the transfer. Premier Doug Ford, for his part, described his working relationship with Chow as "phenomenal" in September.

The Record: the pledges on file

The Record: Chow campaigned on keeping property taxes at or around the rate of inflation and on capping TTC fares — both already sit on The Record, and the tax pledge faces its first test in the 2027 budget she is now preparing. Whatever Queen's Park is asked for this time, the Chronicle's position is simple: the ask gets priced in public, line by line, before any deal is signed — and every dated promise attached to it goes on the record to be checked.

The answer from Queen's Park

Update, Friday, November 6: Premier Doug Ford has ruled out a second funding agreement. "There's no 2.0," Ford said this week, as the province faces what he called really tough times.

The 2023 deal uploaded the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway to the province in exchange for billions in relief for Toronto. Large portions of that relief expire at the end of this year, and Toronto is preparing a winter budget carrying a $1-billion shortfall.

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said a new deal is not planned, and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack said he was unaware of specific negotiations. Ford signalled some money could still be unlocked for public safety. Mayor Olivia Chow's office said she looks forward to meeting the premier on shared priorities including housing, transit and public safety.

The province projects a deficit of nearly $17 billion. Toronto's ask now has its answer; the city's winter budget is where the gap lands next.