Thank you especially to @NoJetsTO, @NormsWorld, @ChrisGlover, @JessicaBellTO, and @MaritStiles for your incredible advocacy and tireless efforts. Thank you to every single person to mailed a letter to their MP, came to a protest, donated to the campaign, or put a 'No Jets TO' sign on their lawn.
I was a very, very tiny voice in this victory but in March I was so incensed by Ontario Premier @FordNation's tyrannical plans to squash our waterfront that I spent a week researching the issue and writing a letter to Prime Minister @MarkJCarney.
Neither outlet responded so published it on my blog (1), Twitter (2) and Instagram (3).
The letter was read and shared over 700,000 times and commenters on Instagram encouraged me to post it as a petition at http://change.org/billybishop where it then received 5,724 signatures. (4) I printed out the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the signatories and presented it over email to MP Danielle Martin (@docdanielle) to take to the Prime Minister.
Our voices were heard. Last night on July 24, 2026—in a classic Friday night at 8:15pm Twitter press release (5) —the federal government via Minister of Transport @stevenmackinnon announced it is overruling the provincial government and saying no to their proposed expansion of the Billy Bishop airport.
The statement is a mealy-mouthed 327 words, does not actually include the word "no", and even spells the word Canada wrong ("Canda") in the second paragraph. (6)
However, importantly, it does include the phrases "we received over 87,000 responses" , "our focus lies exclusively with improved safety", and "we will not pursue any plans that infringe upon treasured public spaces."
Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria (@PrabSarkaria) issued a statement 65 minutes after the federal government's announcement saying "We look forward to continuing to work to expand Billy Bishop airport." (7)
Premier Ford (@fordnation) has yet to issue a statement. (8)
Thank you.
Thank you to every single person who shared, liked, or retweeted the original letter, who posted it on their IG story, who told a friend, who donated to @NoJetsTO or http://Change.org, or who even, honestly, just carried inside them a feeling that this was not right ... and that it mattered.
Because it did.
When we work together we achieve great things. When we work together we build the city, the province, and the country that we want to live in.
