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PortsToronto
The Toronto Port Authority (TPA), doing business as PortsToronto (PT), is a port authority that is responsible for the management of the Port of Toronto, including the International Marine Passenger Terminal, and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. It was established under the Canada Marine Act as a government business enterprise that is self-funded, with directors appointed by three levels of government – the Government of Canada (through the Minister of Transport), the Government of Ontario and the City of Toronto. The TPA rebranded itself as PortsToronto in 2015.
The organization is the successor to the Toronto Harbour Commission (THC) that had managed Toronto Harbour since 1911, paid for through government transfers, harbour and airport fees. As part of a Canada-wide plan of the Government of Canada to turn government commissions into self-sufficient agencies, the TPA was set up in 1999 to take over the port and airport functions of the THC. This was done against the wishes of the City of Toronto, which had been transferring THC harbour lands to city agencies for redevelopment. The city had planned to take over the harbour administration as a direct city function.
The new mission, to be self-sufficient, led the TPA to pursue opportunities to increase its revenues, including expansion of the island airport and the building of a cruise ship terminal. The TPA built a working relationship with startup airline Porter Airlines and, despite the 2003 cancellation of a permanent bridge to the airport, has been successful in increasing air traffic at the airport to the point where it turned a profit in 2008. It has since built a pedestrian tunnel to the airport.
The TPA's efforts to expand the airport in partnership with Porter has placed it in opposition to various communities in Toronto and Toronto City Council, which in 2003 cancelled a TPA-planned bridge to the airport. Additionally, the TPA has been involved in several disputes, including a land dispute, harbour fees and property taxes with the city, and lawsuits over the operation of the airport with Air Canada. In 2013, Porter proposed an expansion of the airport to support the introduction of jet airplanes to the airport. Toronto City Council refused to endorse the proposal and sent it to the TPA for study. The jet proposal was cancelled in December 2015 after the newly elected Liberal federal government announced it would not renegotiate the operating agreement of the airport to allow jets.
PortsToronto operates the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Billy Bishop Toronto City Water Aerodrome, Port of Toronto, the International Marine Passenger Terminal and the Outer Harbour Marina. PT also provides regulatory controls and public works for marine and air navigation in the port and harbour of Toronto. PT grants operator's permits to recreational boaters in the harbour of Toronto, oversees land development, engages in trade development for its terminals, and appoints the Harbour Master. PT has a staff of 110 full-time employees and approximately 25 seasonal and part-time workers. As of December 2008, the organization had CA$46 million in capital assets.
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, or Toronto Island Airport, is located at the western end of Toronto Islands. Operation of the airport is governed by a 1983 tripartite agreement between the Toronto Harbour Commission, the Government of Canada and the City of Toronto. The majority of the airport land (78%) is owned by PortsToronto with two small sections owned by the Government of Canada and a small section owned by the city. The small portion of city-owned land is leased to PortsToronto for a nominal amount until 2033 under the 1983 agreement. Access to the airport is by ferry services operated by PortsToronto and a pedestrian tunnel.
Built in 1939 on land dredged from the harbour, it has two runways which can accommodate the smaller planes of regional scheduled airlines and general aviation aircraft. The 1983 agreement prohibits jet airplanes except in emergencies. In 2007, the number of landings and take-offs at the airport was 90,199. Because of its location near downtown and its tall buildings, industrial smokestacks and a wind turbine, air traffic into and out of the airport is controlled with approaches and departures routed over the lake. A seaplane base is located just east of the main apron. The airport is also used for medical flights.
The airport has been the site of operations of several regional airlines since the 1980s. The first airline was City Express, until 1990. This was followed by Air Ontario and Air Canada Jazz. Since 2006, Porter Airlines has operated out of the airport. The airline currently flies to more than 20 regional destinations including Ottawa, Montreal and Newark, Chicago, Boston, Halifax and Quebec City. The airport handled 2.8 million passengers in 2018.
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PortsToronto
The Toronto Port Authority (TPA), doing business as PortsToronto (PT), is a port authority that is responsible for the management of the Port of Toronto, including the International Marine Passenger Terminal, and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. It was established under the Canada Marine Act as a government business enterprise that is self-funded, with directors appointed by three levels of government – the Government of Canada (through the Minister of Transport), the Government of Ontario and the City of Toronto. The TPA rebranded itself as PortsToronto in 2015.
The organization is the successor to the Toronto Harbour Commission (THC) that had managed Toronto Harbour since 1911, paid for through government transfers, harbour and airport fees. As part of a Canada-wide plan of the Government of Canada to turn government commissions into self-sufficient agencies, the TPA was set up in 1999 to take over the port and airport functions of the THC. This was done against the wishes of the City of Toronto, which had been transferring THC harbour lands to city agencies for redevelopment. The city had planned to take over the harbour administration as a direct city function.
The new mission, to be self-sufficient, led the TPA to pursue opportunities to increase its revenues, including expansion of the island airport and the building of a cruise ship terminal. The TPA built a working relationship with startup airline Porter Airlines and, despite the 2003 cancellation of a permanent bridge to the airport, has been successful in increasing air traffic at the airport to the point where it turned a profit in 2008. It has since built a pedestrian tunnel to the airport.
The TPA's efforts to expand the airport in partnership with Porter has placed it in opposition to various communities in Toronto and Toronto City Council, which in 2003 cancelled a TPA-planned bridge to the airport. Additionally, the TPA has been involved in several disputes, including a land dispute, harbour fees and property taxes with the city, and lawsuits over the operation of the airport with Air Canada. In 2013, Porter proposed an expansion of the airport to support the introduction of jet airplanes to the airport. Toronto City Council refused to endorse the proposal and sent it to the TPA for study. The jet proposal was cancelled in December 2015 after the newly elected Liberal federal government announced it would not renegotiate the operating agreement of the airport to allow jets.
PortsToronto operates the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Billy Bishop Toronto City Water Aerodrome, Port of Toronto, the International Marine Passenger Terminal and the Outer Harbour Marina. PT also provides regulatory controls and public works for marine and air navigation in the port and harbour of Toronto. PT grants operator's permits to recreational boaters in the harbour of Toronto, oversees land development, engages in trade development for its terminals, and appoints the Harbour Master. PT has a staff of 110 full-time employees and approximately 25 seasonal and part-time workers. As of December 2008, the organization had CA$46 million in capital assets.
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, or Toronto Island Airport, is located at the western end of Toronto Islands. Operation of the airport is governed by a 1983 tripartite agreement between the Toronto Harbour Commission, the Government of Canada and the City of Toronto. The majority of the airport land (78%) is owned by PortsToronto with two small sections owned by the Government of Canada and a small section owned by the city. The small portion of city-owned land is leased to PortsToronto for a nominal amount until 2033 under the 1983 agreement. Access to the airport is by ferry services operated by PortsToronto and a pedestrian tunnel.
Built in 1939 on land dredged from the harbour, it has two runways which can accommodate the smaller planes of regional scheduled airlines and general aviation aircraft. The 1983 agreement prohibits jet airplanes except in emergencies. In 2007, the number of landings and take-offs at the airport was 90,199. Because of its location near downtown and its tall buildings, industrial smokestacks and a wind turbine, air traffic into and out of the airport is controlled with approaches and departures routed over the lake. A seaplane base is located just east of the main apron. The airport is also used for medical flights.
The airport has been the site of operations of several regional airlines since the 1980s. The first airline was City Express, until 1990. This was followed by Air Ontario and Air Canada Jazz. Since 2006, Porter Airlines has operated out of the airport. The airline currently flies to more than 20 regional destinations including Ottawa, Montreal and Newark, Chicago, Boston, Halifax and Quebec City. The airport handled 2.8 million passengers in 2018.