Canada’s NDP Opposes Federal Plan to Allow Private Investment in Major Airports

Canada’s federal NDP is opposing the federal government’s plan to allow private investment in the country’s airports.

NDP Leader Avi Lewis has described the Carney government’s proposal as privatization, arguing that calling it anything else is misleading to the public.

Speaking outside the House of Commons alongside party members and labour union leaders, Lewis warned that handing over the operations of Canada’s four largest airports in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver to private investors could lead to higher passenger fees.

Lewis said the plan amounts to privatization because public assets would effectively be placed in the hands of private investors for several decades.

Meanwhile, NDP transport critic Heather McPherson said the federal government is already collecting about $525 million annually from these airports. She argued that the revenue could instead be used to support regional airports without privatizing the major facilities.