A Toronto non-profit has launched an email campaign against Stantec, the engineering firm hired to help remove bike lanes in Toronto, urging the company to “rip up” its contract with the province.
“Shame on you, Stantec,” reads an email template on the Cycle Toronto website. “Ripping out some of Toronto’s busiest bike lanes will put lives at risk.”
The cycling advocacy group is encouraging residents to send its email, or a version of it, to Stantec’s CEO, COO, two of their vice presidents, and Mayor Olivia Chow.
Ontario’s ministry of transportation confirmed to TorontoToday on Tuesday that Stantec Consulting Ltd. has been contracted to “undertake the design work” to remove portions of the Bloor Street West, Yonge Street and University Avenue bike lanes. Stantec is an international engineering consulting firm that was founded in Edmonton.
The removal of bike lanes in Toronto is projected to cost Ontario taxpayers nearly $50 million, according to a report from city of Toronto staff. Stantec has already worked on a number of key roadway and transit projects in the greater Toronto area. Currently, the company is working with the city on the Gardiner Expressway Rehabilitation Plan.
As of publication time, more than 1,800 emails — just 200 shy of their goal — have been sent through the Cycle Toronto website, calling on Stantec to cancel its bike lane removal contract with the province.
Over 1,200 of those emails were sent in just one night, Cycle Toronto executive director Michael Longfield told TorontoToday. The email campaign began Wednesday afternoon.
Cycle Toronto has yet to receive an official response from Stantec, Longfield said.
A spokesperson for the company told TorontoToday it is “deferring any comment on the project to [the Ontario ministry of transportation].”
While Longfield said he hopes the email campaign can successfully pressure Stantec to cancel its contract with the province, he also hopes that “Stantec, or any company, won't even get the chance to start removal.”
Cycle Toronto and two other plaintiffs launched a Charter challenge against Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, which directs Ontario transportation minister Prabmeet Sarkaria to remove portions of Toronto bike lanes.
The legal challenge alleges the bill violates residents’ rights to life, liberty and security of the person.
Justice Markus Koehnen asked the government to commit to not removing the bike lanes until Cycle Toronto had its day in court, but the province refused. Cycle Toronto is now seeking an injunction on March 11 to block any bike lane removals until the full case can be heard.
Longfield noted there has been fierce opposition to the bike lane removal plan from Toronto city council, some Toronto residents and transportation planning experts like the Ontario Traffic Council and Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
“It's hugely disrespectful to the people who live and work here,” Longfield said, slamming the province’s plan as “unprecedented jurisdictional overreach.”
Longfield said the province has not put forth convincing data to show removing bike lanes will reduce traffic in Toronto.
Allegations of corporate greenwashing
Some advocates are also drawing attention to Stantec’s alleged “greenwashing.”
Stantec calls itself “a global leader in sustainable engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting,” on its website.
Last week, the company was ranked as the eighth most sustainable corporation in the world by Corporate Knights. Stantec’s president and CEO Gord Johnston said the achievement highlighted “the depth to which sustainability is embedded in our culture and strategy.”
We’re honored to again rank first among our industry peers in the @corporateknight Global 100. #Sustainability is more than what we do—it’s who we are. Our robust #ESG strategy empowers our people to rise to the world’s greatest challenges. https://t.co/kZdgkIWJKq #ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/NHMQw5l6hO
— Stantec (@Stantec) January 22, 2025
But Stantec’s contract with the province tells a different story, according to Dave Shellnut, founder of The Biking Lawyer LLP and a Cycle Toronto board member.
“This is a company that sells themself as being green, but then will act contrary to it when money hits the table,” Shellnut said.
“Fighting congestion and climate change means that we've got to get people out of motor vehicles where possible … and people are not going to do that if it is unsafe for them to do so.”
Without bike lanes, Shellnut argued, residents will not feel empowered to transition to more green modes of transportation. Speaking personally, Shellnut said he would no longer feel comfortable letting his daughter bike to school if the Bloor Street West bike lane is removed.
Research indicates that bike lane infrastructure not only increases the number of cycling trips, but also walking trips and the use of public transit, which can help cities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Studies also show that bike infrastructure, particularly protected and separated bike lanes, make roads safer for cyclists and motorists alike.
Tim Gray, the executive director of Environmental Defence, told TorontoToday he believes the city of Toronto should ban Stantec from bidding on city contracts for the foreseeable future, given the city council’s opposition to Bill 212.
“The city really should be thinking about whether it wants to give contracts to a company that is going to tear out its critical infrastructure,” Gray said.
In November, Toronto city councillors voted to oppose Bill 212, arguing it “contradicts” the City of Toronto Act, which allows the city to determine what is in the public interest.
“No matter where you stand, whether you support bike lanes or you don’t support them, I think it is very important that this council and the people of Toronto have the respect they deserve,” Mayor Chow said at the time.
