Doug Ford asks Mark Carney to prioritize ‘nation-building’ Highway 401 tunnel [Video]

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is seeking Prime Minister Mark Carney’s support for his idea to build a tunnel under Highway 401.

Ford sent the prime minister a letter Monday setting out a series of Ontario priorities that he hopes Carney will address, including accessing critical minerals, building an electric-vehicle supply chain and enacting bail reforms.

At a meeting in March with the premiers, Carney asked them to identify “nation-building projects.” Ford’s letter sets out his list of areas he wants the federal government to prioritize “that would be transformational for Canada’s economy.”

Those include Ring of Fire critical mineral deposits in northern Ontario, both large-scale nuclear energy generation and small modular reactors, GO passenger train service and a new James Bay deep-sea port.

But the “nation-building” project drawing the most attention is a driver and transit tunnel expressway under Highway 401.

“(It would) significantly ease congestion on the busiest highway …