Raise the Hammer

In both Ontario and Quebec cities, (I'm not sure about other provinces) transit systems receive provincial operating subsidies for their transit systems. Like all subsidies there are conditions applied to them. In Ontario each city has a transit service envelope or more simply, a legally defined area that each city's transit service operates in. If that city wants to run services outside that area for any reason, it can't apply those provincially supplied subsidies to the portion of the route operating outside of the transit envelope or area. The route must pay for its self completely through fares or only the local transit subsidies can be applied to it. Sometimes depending on the legislation attached to the specific transit agency and grant program, may even forbid local subsidies applied to routes operating outside of their transit agency.

Each different subsidy program is different and has different conditions applied to them, whether it is the provincial or federal gas taxes, basic operating grants or special one time grants. You have to look at the specifics of each grant program and there are many and you have to have good people who now how to stretch the most out of each transit system's routes. This is where good/clever route design can not only be a great passenger attractor but also a well financeable route to.

Yes @VivSaunders the H.S.R. may be possibly loosing out on money but, this is where it can get really complicated. Some municipalities have transit operating agreements with neighboring municipalities for certain routes which enter another municipality's transit operating area. This agreement may have specific conditions and requirements that each municipality is responsible for. Since each agreement is different conditions can vary wildly between even neighboring groups of municipalities. I don't know the conditions for the routes you are talking about and it may be difficult to get them but, I guarantee you they are there. Especially, if the routes have been doing this for decades or more. Some are simple agreements and some are very complicated. What's funny is that, some of these agreements have been going on for so long I bet you everyone involved with them, don't know all the details themselves.