Ford government directed staff to ‘brainstorm’ how to subsidize truck tolls on Hwy. 407

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office directed civil servants to look into the viability of subsidizing the tolls of trucks on Highway 407, Global News can reveal, devoting government resources to researching a signature policy pitched by the opposition.

Internal emails and documents obtained using freedom of information laws show civil servants were told to “brainstorm and explore” policies to reduce congestion on Highway 401, including “diverting commercial truck traffic” to the 407.

Highway 401 is among the most congested arterial routes in North America, while the privately operated and tolled Highway 407 — which was sold on a 99-year lease at the turn of the century — generally flows fast.

The idea of moving trucks from the 401 to 407 was first raised by the Ontario NDP in 2022 as an alternative to the Progressive Conservative plan of building Highway 413.

It has since been suggested instead of a tunnel under Highway 401.

Over the past year, since announcing his tunnel plan, Ford has flirted with buying back Highway 407 or negotiating with its owners. He has never revealed whether any meaningful conversations have taken place.

A spokesperson for the company which operates Highway 407 told Global News the idea had been discussed.

“Trucks have come up in discussions — they are an important component of our customer base and account for millions of trips taken on Highway 407 ETR every year,” they said in a statement.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said it was “good to know the government listened” to the party’s proposal.

While Ford has regularly talked about his interest in Highway 407 to help alleviate congestion in and around Toronto, it has always been in the abstract.

The new documents obtained by Global News suggest that internally, the idea was actually a priority policy.

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“The Premier’s Office (PO) has asked MTO to brainstorm and explore different policy options for reducing traffic congestion on Highway 401 by diverting commercial truck traffic from Highway 401 to Highway 407 ETR,” a summer 2024 briefing reads.

It adds: “The PO is particularly interested in policy options that improve 407 ETR affordability for commercial trucks.”

The documents confirm civil servants devoted time and resources to studying the idea, but they do not reveal what they found or what they told the government.

One of the documents released via the freedom of information request is titled “Brainstorming Policy Options for Diverting Commercial Truck Traffic from Highway 401 to Highway 407 ETR.” The 12-page briefing is almost entirely blacked out.

A separate document describes it as a policy “gap” that Ontario trucks “do not receive any subsidies for Highway 407 tolls.” It suggests Ontario could “provide subsidies to truckers to divert traffic from other highways, thus easing traffic congestion.”

Stiles urged the government to make its Highway 407 studies public. She said they would show the move could improve congestion at a fraction of the cost of building a Highway 401 tunnel.

“I would love to hear what they’ve learned so far,” she said. “We’ve done some of our own research on this, and it’s pretty clear that this would be a much more feasible project.”

The idea Ford’s office told civil servants to study was first pitched by the NDP.

During the 2022 election, when the Progressive Conservatives made building Highway 413 a central pledge to alleviate congestion, the NDP pointed to the near-empty 407.

Despite not winning that election, the opposition party has repeated the pledge several times, including again during the 2025 election and through opposition motions.

“You could land an airplane on it — I mean, literally, an airplane landed on it right in the middle of the day with no problem,” Stiles said during a debate at Queen’s Park last year.

“The highway is underused because the tolls are too high.”

The Ford government has voted down attempts by the NDP to move that plan forward, while — at times — sounding receptive.

After announcing his Highway 401 tunnel plan, Ford said he had thought about trying to buy the 407 back into public ownership.

Then, his government suggested discussions of some kind were taking place.

“We have been in conversation with the 407 and will continue to work with our partners as we find new ways to keep our roads and economy moving,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation said last November.

A couple of months later, Ford himself appeared to contradict that when he said it was “time to sit down” with executives at Highway 407 ETR — which operates the toll road — for discussions.

Where the plan stands now is unclear.

The spokesperson for the company which runs the 407 said conversations often take place with the government.

“As part of our regular course of engagement with the Government of Ontario, we continue to explore opportunities to alleviate congestion across the region,” they said in a statement.

“407 ETR’s approach to easing congestion in the GTA strives to increase traffic during the days of week, times of day and sections of the Highway where we have room to accommodate more vehicles. Our goal is to attract additional traffic without disrupting the world-class driving experience that our customers rely on.”

Neither the company nor the government would confirm to Global News if concrete discussions on toll removal or subsidies had taken place.

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