Torontonians’ hopes of improved transit and reduced gridlock jumped significantly with the election of a Liberal majority government, transit and urban issues advocates say.

The chief executive of CivicAction, Sevaun Palvetzian, said her group expects Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne to retable a budget that includes $15 billion in Toronto region transit improvements.

“We are thrilled that transit and transportation is a priority. Now let’s make sure it happens moving forward,” said Palvetzian. “In a survey, 87 per cent of people want a leader who makes regional transportation a priority, and I think that’s what we saw last night (Thursday) with the result.”

Some transit advocates feared a Progressive Conservative government would replace light-rail lines in the Metrolinx Big Move plan with pricey subways that aren’t always the best solution.

“A majority government means we can finally get some new transit built and we can make some long-term plans,” said Cherise Burda of the Pembina Institute, a sustainability think-tank.

The Liberal minority government was clear that its top priority was a plan to electrify the entire GO rail line for all-day, two-way service as frequent as every 15 minutes.

Supporters of centre-right Toronto mayoral hopeful John Tory were quick to note Friday that the Liberal plan fits precisely with Tory’s “SmartTrack” transit platform. But that doesn’t give him an edge over Olivia Chow or other mayoral contenders, Burda said.

“I think it’s good for anybody who comes in there who can work with them (the Liberals) to reconcile their priorities. I don’t think it precludes either one of their transit agendas.”

At Friday’s city council meeting, Liberal-leaning councillors were high-fiving one another.

But longtime NDP supporter Councillor Janet Davis saw the Liberal victory on a progressive platform as a sign that Toronto voters who elected cost-cutting Mayor Rob Ford now back a “union-friendly, city-friendly agenda.”

In fact, Wynne’s election bolsters Chow’s mayoral candidacy, she said.

“What the people of Toronto said is a woman premier is something they’re quite happy to have,” said the Ward 31 councillor. “We will, I hope, elect a visible-minority woman mayor in the city of Toronto.”

Denzil Minnan-Wong, a council conservative and Tory ally, cautioned against seeing Wynne’s Toronto success as a tilt to the left or to Chow.

“I wouldn’t read the provincial election to say that people are not in favour of low taxes and efficient government,” he said. “In many ways . . . I think the vote in Toronto is a reflection of people voting for the lesser of two evils.”

The Liberal hold on Queen’s Park puts Toronto a step closer to changing the way it elects its mayor and council, predicted Dave Meslin, a proponent of the ranked ballot voting system.

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He expects the province to revive legislation letting municipalities adopt the system where voters rank choices in order of preference, ensuring that winners get at least 50-per-cent approval. Under the current system, a split vote means a candidate can win with significantly less.

“We’re hoping this will be one of the first actions brought forward by the new government,” Meslin said, adding that Toronto council would consult the public and eventually vote before making any changes.

Thursday’s election also creates a council vacancy in Ward 5 Etobicoke-Lakeshore because Peter Milczyn was elected to represent the area provincially.

With a civic election Oct. 27, council voted Friday to appoint a replacement for Milczyn — as well as for Adam Vaughan, who is running in a federal byelection in Trinity-Spadina — at the July council meeting.