TORONTO – Ontario Premier Doug Ford is seeking Prime Minister Mark Carney’s support for his idea to build a tunnel under Highway 401.
Ford sent the prime minister a letter today setting out a series of Ontario priorities that he hopes Carney will address, including accessing critical minerals, building an electric-vehicle supply chain and enacting bail reforms.
Ford says in his letter that at a meeting in March with the premiers, Carney asked them to identify “nation-building projects.”
In today’s letter, the premier says he would like the federal government to prioritize the Ring of Fire, nuclear energy generation, GO passenger train service, a new James Bay deep-sea port and a driver and transit tunnel expressway under Highway 401.
Opposition critics have ridiculed the tunnel idea as being a “fantasy,” saying it would cost tens of billions of dollars and not truly address gridlock.
The Ford government is seeking proposals for a feasibility study for the tunnel, but the premier has pledged to get it built no matter what.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
