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Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says the city has reached \u201cthe next big milestone\u201d in getting Metrolinx to take over Ottawa\u2019s LRT, though it doesn\u2019t come with any timeline for when that will actually happen.<\/p>\n
He signed an agreement with Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria on Tuesday and called it a \u201cgiant step forward\u201d in a deal that he said could one day save the city $85 million per year.<\/p>\n
The agreement reaffirms what Premier Doug Ford already committed to<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n Sutcliffe said it lays out \u201cthe governance of the process\u201d and a \u201cframework\u201d for the due diligence the province has to do before its agency Metrolinx actually takes control of the O-Train, including its troubled, seven-year-old Line 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing\u2019s done until it\u2019s done,\u201d Sutcliffe said at a news conference after the signing. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have a commitment like this, you go through the work \u2026 I think you\u2019ve seen over and over again the premier has reiterated his commitment to get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the two sides will now have to do \u201cthe hard work to bring it across the finish line.\u201d He called the process long and complicated and said the city\u2019s multibillion dollar, long-term contract with Rideau Transit Maintenance is \u201cpart of the complexity.\u201d<\/p>\n Ford committed to upload the LRT to Metrolinx, which currently runs transit systems in the Toronto and Hamilton areas, during the last provincial election campaign. He said it would free up significant funds for the city.<\/p>\n Sutcliffe noted that OC Transpo is running a budget deficit \u2014 last year it reached $52 million<\/a> \u2014 and said the savings from the upload could be reinvested in the transit system to help close the gap.<\/p>\n The mayor said his agreement with Sarkaria also lays out the final steps for a provincial upload of Highway 174 connecting central and east Ottawa, a promise that was part of the \u201cnew deal\u201d<\/a> he and Ford signed in the spring of 2024.<\/p>\n That upload has also been going through due diligence, but Sutcliffe said it is more advanced. Even so, he did not give a timeline on that file either.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we’re a lot closer to the finish line with the 174 than we are with LRT,\u201d Sutcliffe said.<\/p>\n The agreement specifically commits the two sides to “[complete] the due diligence to support the Ottawa Road 174 three-stage phased ownership and a structured and thorough evaluation of the [LRT] with a view to long-term provincial stewardship leading to a provincial upload.”<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776831524_576_default.jpg\")
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe at a news conference announcing the agreement on Tuesday. (Francis Ferland\/CBC)<\/p>\n