Leading American bank would be a major beneficiary of Billy Bishop takeover

The Ford government’s plan to take over and expand Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport stands to benefit America’s largest bank.

The island airport’s terminal is owned by Nieuport Aviation, which is owned by a J.P. Morgan-controlled group of companies. J.P. Morgan is headquartered in the United States and has assets and operations amounting to $3.9 trillion globally, according to its website.

On Tuesday, Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner brought up the ownership of the terminal in the Legislative Assembly. "It just feels like the government is pushing hard to expand Billy Bishop Airport to bail out American bankers at the expense of what people love about Billy Bishop Airport, the Toronto waterfront and all the housing that can be built,” he said.

Records held by the Ontario Lobbying Registry show Nieuport Aviation actively lobbies the Ford government. One of its lobbyists is Mark Lawson, who works for a company called Anthem Advisory and is a former Progressive Conservative staff member who held numerous chief of staff positions, according to his LinkedIn account. He also worked as the vice president of communications and external relations for Therme Canada — the company behind the controversial spa at Ontario Place. Canada’s National Observer reached out to Anthem Advisory but did not immediately receive a response.

The company is also actively lobbying the federal government, which hasn't taken an official stance on the Ford government's plan. The Toronto Port Authority — an arm’s-length federal agency — presently operates the airport. The City of Toronto owns 20 per cent of the land, while the Toronto Port Authority and Transport Canada hold the remainder. One of the federal lobbyists is Erin Bonokoski, who works on behalf of Crestview Strategy Inc., and held numerous positions in the Harper-era Prime Minister's Office between 2010 and 2015.

In response to questions about its ownership, the company said the following: “To clarify, Nieuport Aviation is owned by institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Nieuport Aviation has been the passenger terminal partner at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport since 2015.”

The institutional investor that owns Nieuport Aviation is a group called the Infrastructure Investments Fund. It is registered in the Cayman Islands. A former J.P. Morgan banker, Hai-Gi Li, sits on the board of Nieuport Aviation. A 2023 document from J.P. Morgan also lists Nieuport Aviation under its portfolio/operating companies roster.

In an unrelated investigation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled that a J.P. Morgan subsidiary is an affiliate of the Infrastructure Investments Fund and the relationship “undermines any potential for independence between the two entities.” That ruling included labelling the airport as affiliated with J.P. Morgan, according to US nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen.

‘The rest of us are going to pay the price’

On April 23, the province introduced the Building Billy Bishop Airport Act, which would empower the province to take over the City of Toronto’s share in the governing agreement for the airport — along with the land currently owned by the city — “in exchange for fair compensation.” Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s justification for the plan is economically based: the province says the expansion would lead to the airport serving “millions more passengers each year” from the current two million; lead to an $8.5 billion annual GDP contribution for Canada (up from the current $900 million) and create over 20,000 construction jobs.

Part of Ford’s takeover plan also includes allowing jets at the airport — current operations only allow smaller planes, which has raised environmental, noise and climate concerns. The possibility of jets has also prompted worries about a proposed housing development that could interfere with jet flight paths.

Schreiner says the airport terminal’s ownership calls into question who stands to benefit from the economic growth.

“There are so many negative results of doing this. You sort of ask yourself, well, what are the positives? And all I could really find was that, you know, this company controlled by J.P. Morgan, is going to cash in and the rest of us are going to pay the price for it,” Schreiner said.

A 2019 press release states that institutional investors — which are organizations such as pension funds that invest money — advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management had taken full ownership of Nieuport Aviation. Previously, it was also co-owned by other groups of companies, which bought the passenger terminal of Billy Bishop from Porter Airlines in 2015.

Premier Ford’s office did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.