Ford dismisses warning Hwy. 401 tunnel could result in potential ‘roadway collapse’
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is dismissing a study commissioned by his government, which warned tunnelling under Highway 401 came with “potential for roadway collapse,” suggesting the 2021 research is “old.”
Ford has publicly pushed to build a tunnelled expressway under Highway 401 to alleviate congestion since September 2024, but internal documents obtained by Global News show work on the idea began as early as 2019.
As part of the previous, still unreleased studies into the concept, a 2021 analysis found the idea could pose “risks to public safety” and came with “potential for roadway collapse.”
Ford, however, is pressing ahead with the plan. He has launched a new feasibility study, swearing the tunnel will get built and brushing off the warnings.
“That’s old,” he said of the third-party study, which wrapped up in 2021. “Let’s get some proper people in there to do a full-fledged study; it can be built. We know it can be built and we’ll get that done too.”
Asked what would make the new study different from the previous, third-party analysis, Ford said he would look at the whole route.
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“We’re going to do a proper study from end to end, we’re going to get the proper equipment, going down, find out, there’s a solution,” he said.
The 2021 study has not been made public and the government has offered no indication it plans to publish it.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner called on the premier to release the initial studies.
“Instead of wasting time and money on impractical and dangerous vanity projects, this government should take meaningful action to address gridlock in the GTA by building affordable transit and connected communities so that people don’t have to spend hours stuck in gridlock,” he said in a statement.
Experts broadly agree with the premier that building the tunnel is technically possible, but have questioned if it is worth the investment it would require.
Ford suggested on Wednesday he had already started designing what the project would look like, despite the new feasibility study he has commissioned being two years away from completion.
He said his plan is to have a 19.5-metre-wide, three-level tunnel, with one level going eastbound, one for westbound traffic and another for transit.
“We’re building that tunnel as sure as I’m talking to you, and we’re going to continue (to) reach out to experts around the world,” he said.
“If they can tunnel under the English Channel, if they can tunnel through mountains and every other place, we sure the heck can tunnel along the 401. We’ll do it safely, and we’ll do it properly.”
The premier said he had begun discussing the idea with tunnelling experts.
“I talked to some tunnelling folks,” he said, before describing his three-level concept. “So, that’s what we’re doing and people will be thankful years to come, decades to come.”
Later in the day, he said the tunnelling experts he was referring to were the people “who supply tunnelling, boring machines” in places like Scarborough.
“I just wanted to bounce it off them,” he said. “It can be done.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.
The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.
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About 200 jobs will be affected.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.
Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.
The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.
McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Toronto police say a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking two men with his car Wednesday evening.
Officers say they responded to reports of a collision in the area of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard in the city’s North York neighbourhood just before 10:30 p.m.
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Police say two men got into an argument, leading to one man getting into his car and hitting the other man with it.
They say the man then put his car into reverse, striking a second man.
A man in his 50s was transported to hospital with serious injuries and the second man, in his 20s, had minor injuries.
Police say the suspect from Markham, Ont., faces several other charges as well, including two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
A court document shows a Lindsay, Ont., man facing charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment was carrying a crossbow when he was confronted by a tenant.
The resident, Jeremy David McDonald, is also facing assault charges in the incident on Aug. 18 — a fact that has generated widespread interest in the case.
Police information filed in court alleges that Michael Kyle Breen damaged a window and screen at McDonald’s home and carried a crossbow.
The court document says the 41-year-old Breen is charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.
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Police have said that Breen, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing next week, was already wanted for unrelated offences.
McDonald, the 44-year-old resident, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after he allegedly “did endanger the life” of Breen.
Premier Doug Ford blasted the decision to charge the apartment resident, saying last week that it shows “something is broken.”
Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson wrote in a statement Wednesday that he recognizes the incident has generated significant public interest and “emotional” responses, but called some of the reaction “unjust and inaccurate.”
Robertson wrote that individuals have the right to defend themselves and their property, but the law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced.
“This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances,” he wrote.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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