We’ve Built Big Before—Fast. Why Not Now?
From Expo 67 to Eglinton: What Happened to Canada’s Big Builds?
By Leni Spooner | Between the Lines – Quiet Buildup Series
In 1964, the federal government handed a chunk of reclaimed island to a small team in Montreal with a daunting mission: build a world-class international expo in less than three years.
The result? Expo 67 opened on time, under budget, and welcomed over 55 million visitors—nearly triple Canada’s entire population at the time.
It wasn’t just a fair. It was a flex. A masterclass in national coordination, ambition, and the power of a fixed deadline.
What’s often forgotten is that Montreal wasn’t just building Expo. It was also building a subway system. Construction on the Montreal Metro began in May 1962, and by October 1966, just over four years later, the first two lines were operational. A third line—built specifically to serve the Expo site—opened on the same day as the fair, in April 1967.
Let that sink in: a brand-new transit system and an international expo, planned, built, and opened in the same window it’s taken us to patch potholes on Eglinton Avenue.
Fast-forward to Vancouver, 2010
When Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics, the city didn’t just hang new banners. It delivered the Canada Line rapid transit system, major upgrades to the Sea-to-Sky Highway, and a brand new Olympic Village—all in about four years.
How?
Coordination
Urgency
And yes—a looming international deadline.
When the world is watching, somehow the asphalt gets poured faster.
These weren’t boutique builds. The Canada Line alone now carries over 150,000 riders a day—and it opened on budget, ahead of schedule.
And yet...
Now… look around
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT—a 19-km light rail line under Toronto—was announced in 2007, with construction starting in 2011.
Fourteen years later? Still not running.
Canada’s so-called high-speed rail corridor—linking Toronto, Ottawa, and Quebec City—has been talked about since the 1990s, formally studied in the early 2000s, and as of today, still doesn’t exist.
Best guess? Another 15 to 20 years before anyone can board.
So what changed?
It’s not our engineers.
It’s not the workers.
It’s not that concrete sets slower than it did in 1967.
What’s changed is everything else:
Governance is fragmented: Federal, provincial, and municipal governments pull in different directions, with different budgets, timelines, and priorities. No one’s fully in charge.
Approval processes are endless: Environmental reviews, procurement red tape, consultation layers—some of it essential (especially Indigenous consultation and environmental safeguards), but too often bogged down in performative delay.
Timelines are vague: No hard deadlines? No urgency.
Fear rules the day: Fear of budget overruns, media flak, and political blowback. So we delay. We re-consult. We "pause for review."
📨 If this post is hitting a nerve, please forward it or share it. The more people start asking better questions, the more pressure there is to get real answers.
We haven’t lost the capacity. We’ve lost the will.
When Canada has a clear, immovable deadline, and the public supports the mission, we deliver.
Expo proved it. Montreal’s Metro proved it. Vancouver proved it.
But when the mission is vague and the timelines optional, delay becomes the design.
Projects stretch into decades. Money is spent without results. And public trust erodes.
It’s time to remember what’s possible.
Rebuilding infrastructure. Expanding transit. Preparing for climate shifts. Delivering digital access.
These aren’t just “policy files.” They’re nation-building projects.
And the truth is?
We know how to do this.
We’ve done it before.
We just need to want it badly enough, plan it boldly enough, and lead it clearly enough to do it again.
So here’s what I’m suggesting:
Let’s make it clear—across this country—that we expect our political leaders to cooperate across aisles, and work together on long-term solutions.
Let’s tell every elected representative, at every level of government, that we are done with finger-pointing and performative outrage.
It’s time to get things done.
🧭 Ask yourself:
What nation-building, common-good project would you get behind?
What’s discouraging you from speaking up?
I’m not saying you need to organize a march (although hey, sometimes that’s needed).
I’m saying: what’s stopping you from writing one letter—to your MP, your MPP, your MLA, your city council—calling for action on something you care about?
Big builds start with small steps.
So let’s take one. Together.
💚 If this post moved you, please tap the green heart, leave a comment, or share it with someone who still believes Canada can build again.