In July 2016, a "Toronto Star" article reported that the Sheppard LRT had been deferred indefinitely. Funding for the line was withdrawn and reallocated to the Finch West LRT in 2017, with political interest shifting to possibly converting the Sheppard East project into a subway extension of Line 4 Sheppard. On April 10, 2019, Premier Doug Ford announced that the provincial government would extend Line 4 Sheppard to McCowan Road at some unspecified time in the future, thus replacing the proposed Sheppard East LRT.