City explores legal options over Billy Bishop lands

Toronto councillors are getting legal advice on how to defend the city’s ownership stake in the lands under Billy Bishop Airport as Ontario moves to take control. (toronto.ca) The report before council says the City Solicitor was asked after the March 25 and 26, 2026 council meeting to outline options to protect Toronto’s interests, including property ownership, at Billy Bishop and other waterfront lands. The item is on the agenda for the April 22, 23 and 24 council meeting, with the detailed advice kept confidential under solicitor-client privilege. (toronto.ca) Ontario set up the fight on March 23, when Premier Doug Ford’s government said it would introduce legislation to replace Toronto in the airport’s governing agreement and take ownership of the city-owned airport lands in exchange for what it called fair compensation. The province said the move is meant to support a long-term expansion of Billy Bishop Airport. (ontario.ca) Billy Bishop sits on land split among three owners, which is why the dispute is about both property and governance. The City of Toronto says it owns about 20 per cent of the airport lands, while PortsToronto owns about 78 per cent and Transport Canada about 2 per cent. (toronto.ca) The airport is governed by a tripartite agreement signed in 1983 by the city, the Toronto Port Authority and the federal government. Toronto council approved an amendment in October 2024 to allow runway end safety area work, but the province now wants Toronto’s seat in that agreement. (toronto.ca) (ontario.ca) Ontario argues the airport is underused and says expansion would reduce pressure on Toronto Pearson, add routes and support jobs. The province says Billy Bishop handles about two million passengers a year and connects Toronto with more than 20 cities in Canada and the United States. (ontario.ca) (billybishopairport.com) Mayor Olivia Chow and allied councillors have taken the opposite line, saying Toronto should not be cut out of major waterfront decisions and opposing any unilateral expropriation of city land. Council’s March motion directed the solicitor to prepare for that possibility. (toronto.ca) (nationalobserver.com) PortsToronto, which operates the airport, has backed the province’s expansion push. CBC reported in March that the airport authority said it “fully supports” modernization plans that could eventually allow larger jets, though changes to the airport’s governing framework would come first. (cbc.ca) Legal experts told CBC the province likely has the power to expropriate the city’s stake, but the process could still take months and trigger court fights over timing and compensation. That is the opening Toronto council is now examining behind closed doors. (cbc.ca) For now, the public record is thin by design: council’s visible recommendation is only to keep the legal advice confidential. The next clear sign of Toronto’s strategy will come if council authorizes a court challenge, negotiations, or both. (toronto.ca)