[4] In June 2012, the province of Ontario announced that construction of the Sheppard East LRT would not resume until 2017, nor finish until 2021.

[1] On April 27, 2015, Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca announced that construction of the Sheppard East LRT would not start until at least 2021.

According to the minister, the delay in starting the Sheppard East LRT was due to limits in the province's capacity to do infrastructure work on multiple projects at the same time.

The TTC investigated several options for the transfer at or near Don Mills Road with the existing Line 4 Sheppard subway.

The main obstacle is Highway 404, which the LRT may have to tunnel under, and the fact that the subway is located 18 metres (59 ft) below grade at this point.

The subway platform would be extended east, with LRT tracks built on either side, allowing for a level transfer.

In April 2011, Toronto mayor Rob Ford and the province of Ontario announced a transit plan that included the subway extensions and cancelled the Sheppard East LRT.

Despite the inclusion of the extensions, no public funding was allocated for construction and work on the LRT was to be abandoned at significant cost.

Lack of confidence in Mayor Ford's subway proposal eventually led council, under the guidance of TTC chair Karen Stintz, to appoint an expert panel to review the options for rapid transit on Sheppard East and to present a preferred alternative.

[21] On March 21, 2012, city council received the report, authored by Professor Eric Miller, which strongly recommended proceeding with the original LRT plan.

On March 22, after over a day and a half of debate, city council formally endorsed a return to the LRT plan for Sheppard east.

[22] In June 2012, the province of Ontario announced that construction of the Sheppard east LRT would not resume until 2017 or finish until 2021.

Sorenson, a University of Toronto Scarborough professor of Human Geography, had recently published a paper on this topic.

[25] According to the TTC, the six bus routes that serve Sheppard Ave between Don Mills and Morningside averaged 35,800 riders per weekday.