{"id":828148,"date":"2026-07-27T00:13:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T00:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/828148\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T00:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T00:13:16","slug":"billy-bishop-jet-opponents-turn-planned-protest-into-celebration-after-ottawa-rejects-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/828148\/","title":{"rendered":"Billy Bishop jet opponents turn planned protest into celebration after Ottawa rejects expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Norm Di Pasquale is the Program Manager of No Jets T.O. and helped organize the harbourfront rally on Sunday.Nic Hotchkiss\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

What was meant to be a protest against expanding Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport instead became a celebration on Sunday, after the federal government announced on Friday that it rejected Ontario\u2019s proposal to allow jets at the downtown waterfront airport.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of people gathered at Harbour Square Park on Toronto\u2019s waterfront carrying the blue \u201cNo Jets T.O.\u201d signs that had dotted front lawns across Toronto for months. Instead of chanting against the proposal, attendees cheered, hugged neighbours and celebrated what they called a hard-fought victory after months of campaigning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was going to be a rally, and instead it\u2019s a celebration,\u201d said NDP MPP Chris Glover, who represents the waterfront riding of Spadina\u2013Fort York.<\/p>\n

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, a long-time opponent of introducing jets at Billy Bishop, joined residents and organizers at the event, calling the federal government\u2019s decision a victory for Toronto communities.<\/p>\n

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Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow joined the celebration rally at Harbour Square Park.Nic Hotchkiss\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

The celebration came two days after Transport Minister Steve MacKinnon said Ottawa would not proceed at this stage with Ontario Premier Doug Ford\u2019s proposal to expand the airport to accommodate jets. The decision followed a federal public consultation that drew roughly 87,000 responses, the vast majority from Toronto residents opposed to the expansion, a senior government source told The Globe and Mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe survey was a temperature check from the federal government, and the temperature is obviously very radioactive on this issue,\u201d said Norm Di Pasquale, program manager for the advocacy group NoJetsTO.<\/p>\n

Opponents argued the proposal would increase aircraft noise, threaten waterfront public spaces, harm the environment and undermine plans to build housing along Toronto\u2019s waterfront.<\/p>\n

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Protesters get creative with their signs for the harbourfront rally.Nic Hotchkiss\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Ginny Thomson, 75, a member of the advocacy group Seniors for Climate Action Now, said many of the organization\u2019s roughly 800 members across Canada live near Billy Bishop Airport and are concerned about the health impacts of increased air traffic.<\/p>\n

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Torontonians hold signs protesting the provincial government’s proposed expansion to Billy Bishop Airport.Nic Hotchkiss\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were ecstatic, but we\u2019re also staying vigilant,\u201d Ms. Thomson said of MacKinnon\u2019s Friday decision. \u201cWe really needed a victory, and I think it showed people that if they organize, mobilize and keep at it, we can win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Federal government declines to allow jets at Billy Bishop airport \u2018at this stage\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Still, the issue may not be settled. The Globe reported Saturday that Ontario believes Ottawa\u2019s use of the phrase \u201cat this stage\u201d leaves open the possibility of revisiting jet expansion in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday\u2019s announcement from the federal government on Billy Bishop Airport is disappointing,\u201d Giles Gherson, president and chief executive of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, said in a statement, warning the decision would hinder the airport\u2019s ability to modernize and serve the needs of a growing region.<\/p>\n

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Griffin Sokal and Jeremy von Hollen celebrated with other rally attendees waving their home-made sign.Nic Hotchkiss\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Jeremy von Hollen, 40, has lived on Toronto\u2019s waterfront for more than a decade, and felt compelled to attend Sunday\u2019s event even after learning the proposal had been rejected. \u201cWe\u2019re up on the waterfront, and we love it very much. And after the destruction of Ontario Place<\/a>, now is a chance to actually do something. So that\u2019s why we\u2019re here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Karishma Porwal, 28, who has used her Instagram platform of more than 134,000 followers to encourage people to oppose the proposal, said she was surprised by the turnout.<\/p>\n

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Karishma Porwal is the communications manager at Environmental Defence.Nic Hotchkiss\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that people may not come out because we already have the win. But there\u2019s so many people out here,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to celebrate that our voice does actually matter.\u201d <\/p>\n

She said Sunday\u2019s gathering also served as a reminder to governments that public opposition to a larger airport remains strong. \u201cWe\u2019re here, and the next time you try this, we\u2019re going to show up again and again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kayakers attached signs to their watercraft as they paddled around the harbourfront.Nic Hotchkiss\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

The proposal to bring jets to Billy Bishop Airport had become a priority for Mr. Ford\u2019s government, which passed legislation allowing the province to assume Toronto\u2019s role in the tripartite agreement governing the airport, which also includes the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority, a federal agency.<\/p>\n

Last year, Toronto approved an extension of the airport\u2019s runway to adhere with Transport Canada safety rules. <\/p>\n

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The No Jets T.O. rally ended on the waterfront at HTO Park on Sunday.Nic Hotchkiss\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Mr. MacKinnon said Friday that Ottawa\u2019s focus remains solely on those safety upgrades. He also said any plans for the airport would need to reflect concerns raised during the consultation, including noise, environmental impacts, housing and quality of life.<\/p>\n

Organizers said Sunday\u2019s celebration was also a reminder that their fight may not be over. If the Ontario government attempts to revive the proposal, \u201cthey\u2019re going to pay a huge political price,\u201d Mr. Glover said. \u201cToday we celebrate, but we\u2019re not letting our foot off the gas on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Norm Di Pasquale is the Program Manager of No Jets T.O. and helped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,20739,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-828148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-ottawa","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}