Pierre Poilievre says he would allow jets to fly in and out of Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport if elected

Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre says that if elected Prime Minister he would make changes to Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport to allow jets to fly in and out of the downtown core.

In a statement issued Thursday, Poilievre said his government would “remove gatekeepers and open the skies to competition” by approving a proposal to extend the runway at the waterfront airport by reopening the Tripartite Agreement with Ports Toronto and the city, ultimately allowing jets to operate at Billy Bishop.

“Travel at Pearson is a mess right now,” Poilievre said in a statement. “There could have been way more flights out of Billy Bishop airport in downtown Toronto, meaning more competition and more choice, but the dreadful gatekeepers wouldn’t let it happen. I will reverse (Justin) Trudeau’s decision to side with them and allow jets to fly in and out of Billy Bishop airport to give people back control of their lives”.

In 2015, the federal government led by Justin Trudeau nixed a proposal by Porter Airlines, which operates out of Billy Bishop, that would amend the 1983 Tripartite Agreement prohibiting runway expansions and jets unless all parties agree.

At the time, Porter wanted to expand the runway by about 200 metres so that jets could fly passengers to further destinations, including Vancouver, Los Angeles and the Caribbean.

The proposal was highly debated by city council, with a large group of residents—organizing under the name “NoJetsTO”—arguing that it would cause increased noise pollution and could have a negative environmental impact.

Poilievre argues that allowing jets at Billy Bishop would not only increase competition, but also shorten commute time, reduce gridlock, create 2,000 jobs and accumulate about $55 million in tax revenue.

“It’s a win, win, win, win, win. So of course, Trudeau sided with the gatekeepers who fought tooth and nail to stop it. Let’s expand Billy Bishop Airport and open competition in a country where the sky’s the limit,” he said.

Billy Bishop airport, which is located on the Toronto Island, currently offers flights to more than 20 cities in Canada and the United States. It transports about 2.8 million passengers per year and is operated by PortsToronto.

This is a developing news story. More to come.