Toronto could soon see a new fleet of streetcars zipping through city streets.
The city is looking to buy 204 streetcars from the Bombardier plant to replace its aging public transit vehicles.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller are expected to announce their plans Friday afternon at a Bombardier plant in Thunder Bay.
The $1.2-billion contract is expected to create about 20,000 jobs in Ontario.
Toronto has applied for federal funding help bring the streetcars to the city but it is unclear if Ottawa will be providing any assistance.
Last week, Federal Transport Minister John Baird was overheard telling his aides that Toronto's application for federal infrastructure funds was the only one out of 2,700 applicants that didn't meet the eligibility criteria. Baird complained that Toronto's request for money to buy new streetcars would not create enough jobs in the the city.
Miller told reporters Torontonians need an efficient transit system to get to work and that new streetcars are an integral part of the city's plan to expand their transit network.
"Building public transit transforms the city," Miller told reporters on June 9. "It builds thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs. People need jobs."
