$1.6B is the cost to build City Centre LRT loop in Mississauga: Premier Ford

A long-promised light-rail transit loop expected to serve tens of thousands of people in Mississauga’s downtown core as part of the larger Hazel McCallion Line will cost around $1.6 billion, says Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Speaking at a breakfast meeting hosted by the Mississauga Board of Trade last Wednesday at the Mississauga Convention Centre, Ford verbally committed — again — to making the “downtown loop” a reality.

The premier told the gathering of local business leaders, with Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish and other city officials also in attendance, planning is “underway to extend the LRT with a downtown loop.”

He noted that extending the $4.6-billion Hazel McCallion Line from Hurontario Street into the busy and fast-growing downtown core will cost another $1.6 billion — the construction tab to be picked up by the provincial government.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, speaking at a Mississauga Board of Trade breakfast meeting last week, said the “downtown loop” in Mississauga will cost $1.6 billion. (Photo: From Mississauga Board of Trade video)

Parrish and other City of Mississauga officials have heard the province — including Ford — talk about the loop again being part of the massive transit project over the past two years, but no firm commitment or detailed plans were part of such talk.

Until last Wednesday, the mayor said.

“It’s been in ‘promises we’ll get to soon’,” Parrish wrote in response to someone who’d commented on her social media post this past Friday marking the premier’s visit to Mississauga. “But this (past) Wednesday was a formal announcement.”

In the post itself, the mayor now described the LRT loop as “a sure thing” that will eventually give thousands of City Centre residents “access to affordable, convenient transit.”

Mississauga officials have long believed the loop to be an essential part of the Hurontario Street LRT route — several years ago dubbed the Hazel McCallion Line in honour of the city’s iconic former mayor.

Three weeks ago, city officials said they were no longer satisfied with only a verbal commitment to the City Centre LRT loop and they vowed to push the province to take action.

Premier Ford’s visit to Mississauga Board of Trade was exciting! He announced the Downtown LRT Loop! Finally a sure thing! It has been talked about but never officially costed nor a sure thing. Thousands of City Centre residents will have access to affordable, convenient transit. pic.twitter.com/PPH3s3AAJw

— Mayor Carolyn Parrish (@carolynhparrish) February 6, 2026

They called on the provincial government to provide “a clear implementation plan” for the “crucial” loop that’s to be completed in the city’s downtown core, where the population is expected to double to 100,000 by 2050.

The provincial government promised in January 2024 it was reinstating the downtown loop as part of the $4.6-billion Hazel McCallion Line LRT project — the largest transit undertaking in Mississauga’s history — after having dropped it from plans in a cost-cutting move in 2019.

However, no further details, plans or a firm commitment since then had come from government officials or Metrolinx, the provincial agency overseeing the major transit initiative.

Again, until last Wednesday at MBOT’s breakfast session with the premier.

The loop, or downtown extension, will run off of Hurontario Street near Square One Shopping Centre and circle around the high-rise condos and office buildings, and other businesses in the City Centre, when completed.

The downtown core is bordered by Rathburn Road to the north, Burnhamthorpe Road West to the south, Confederation Parkway to the west and Hurontario Street to the east.

“Crucial” component of the Hazel McCallion Line

The loop is a “crucial” component, city officials note, of what will be a 22-kilometre Mississauga-to-Brampton LRT route on Hurontario Street that’s currently without a specific completion date.

In a draft of their 2026 request for provincial funding presented to general committee several weeks ago, senior city staff said that with Mississauga’s downtown population forecast to double to almost 100,000 by 2050, in an area with more than 100 residential and office towers, “the downtown extension is a critical piece of infrastructure that will support economic development and housing densification.”

(Source: Metrolinx)

Continuing, the city said as construction on the Hazel McCallion Line moves forward, “we’re waiting for Metrolinx to provide an implementation plan for the downtown extension. We’re asking for the province to work with Metrolinx to establish a clear implementation plan and timeline for this crucial project to be completed.”

The City Centre needs the loop, mayor says

Parrish, speaking in early 2025, noted the importance of the downtown loop to the city, specifically the downtown core.

She said when you look at the City Centre area around Square One — all the high-rise condos, office buildings, restaurants, other businesses — “you realize how big that is and how many people are living in there. And if you can’t have your transit go around there, there’s really almost no point to it.

“That is the area you’ve got to really pick people up (on transit) and get them out of cars; especially now that we’re building (in the area) with zero mandatory parking, it’s important.”

When the Hurontario Street LRT line is completed, more than 20 passenger stops will serve riders along the route, which will run from Port Credit GO station all the way north to downtown Brampton.

Initially, the Hazel McCallion Line was to open to riders in fall 2024. However, ongoing delays have pushed the timeline back significantly and Metrolinx hasn’t provided a revised completion date.

Not long ago a believer the much-delayed LRT route might open the doors to riders by 2026, Parrish recently amended her estimate.

“I don’t expect to see anybody on (the Hazel McCallion Line) before 2029,” Parrish told INsauga.com during an interview late in 2025.

If she’s right, that would put the massive transit project, the largest in Mississauga’s history, roughly four to five years behind schedule.