Big Topics & Big Ideas
Randal O’Toole
Reinventing Transit for the 21st Century
Canada’s first subway line, which opened in Toronto in 1954, was 7.4 kilometers long and cost $6.8 million per kilometer—$76 million per kilometer in today’s money. That seems a bargain compared to a subway line Toronto is now constructing at a projected cost of well...
Building 21st Century Transit Systems For Canadian Cities
Policy Series 241
Revival of Rail Transit in Canada Questioned by Latest Policy Report
WINNIPEG, [March 12 2024] Canada's transit landscape is experiencing a profound transformation as eight major cities embark on the ambitious journey of developing rail transit systems. This marks a significant departure from the conventional wisdom of the 1950s when...
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There’s Nothing Fair About Canadian Health Care
For the past 14 years, Vancouver surgeon Dr. Brian Day has led the charge for health-care reform, pushing for the right of patients to pay for private care if their health and well-being are threatened as a result of waiting in a stagnant and overburdened public...
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
The path to net zero, based on the much disputed belief that carbon dioxide is a pollution, is more steep and impractical than most people realize. Replacing fossil fuels with clean electricity will require much more power generation and a greatly upgraded grid to...
Smart Growth and the Ideal City
Economist Randal O’Toole explores the parallels between the visions of East German central planners and modern urban planners.
Transit Disneyland in Winnipeg
Expensive forms of transit such as exclusive busways and rail lines have done little to generate new riders, while their high cost has often forced transit agencies to cut back bus services.
Randal O’Toole, Author of The Vanishing Automobile
If Winnipeg wants to spend a lot of money with very little in return, light rail transit is the answer.