Trudeau pledges billions in permanent funding for public transit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans today for the federal government to spend an additional $14.9billion over the next eight years on public transportation projects across the country.

The funding includes $5.9 billion in short-term funding that will be disbursed on a project-by-project basis, starting this year.

The rest is to gotoward the creation of a permanent transit fund of $3 billion per year starting in 2026. Money from thatfund will be earmarkedfollowingconsultations withprovinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous communities.

Trudeau said the permanent transit fund is meant toprovide stable funding somunicipalities can build and expand their public transit systems.He made the announcement virtually alongside the federal infrastructure and environment ministers, Canada Infrastructure Bank chair Tamara Vrooman and Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson.

"We need efficient and modern public transit systems that make our communities more connected," Trudeausaid ahead of a meeting with the mayors of Canada's largest cities.

"While these investments are good for the economy and crucial to our recovery from this global crisis, they're also helping us achieve our climate goals."

Trudeau is asked about supporting large transit projects when people are working from home

Trudeau is asked about supporting large transit projects when people are working from home

4 years ago

Duration 1:13

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 14.9 billion dollars for transit projects over the next eight years.

Trudeau said the funding could be used for everything fromsubway extensions andelectrifiedtransit fleets to walkways,cycling pathways and projects to improverural mobility.

The federal governmenthas invested over $13 billion in more than 1,300 public transit projects across Canada since 2015. Another $10 billion or so is set asidefor transit through the Investing in Canada Plan, the government's larger infrastructure strategy. But that funding isset to expire in fiscal year 2027-2028.

Wednesday's announcement means cities can expect a predictable amount of funding indefinitely.

Big city mayors, industry pleased

Iveson, who chairs the big city mayors' caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, said the announcement satisfies a key demand the country's mayors have been pushing for years.

"Permanent transit funding offers cities long-term predictability to finally be able to deliver transformational system expansion and drive durable economic growth across our country," said Iveson. "The recovery support here can be massive. It can be the centrepiece of the job-creating, emissions-reducing recovery that Canadians are looking for."

Toronto Mayor John Tory and Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart also praised the federal announcement.

"I am confident that Toronto will receive its fair share of funding from this initiative," Tory said in a statement. "Our share of this investment will mean transit expansion, transit vehicles and other system upgrades, jobs and a greener city."

Stewart said some of the funding will gothe city's Broadway subway project, which will extendan existing SkyTrainline to the University of British Columbia.

Public transportation ridership in urban areas has declined precipitously since many Canadian workers started working fromhome because of theCOVID-19 pandemic. The latest data from Statistics Canada for November 2020 show ridership down 64 per cent compared toNovember 2019.

Lower ridership has also led to major revenue decreases for many transit agencies, putting additional pressure onmunicipal and provincial budgets already beset by falling revenues and increased spending on pandemic-related priorities.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna's spokespersonChantalle Aubertin said that, unlike previous infrastructure commitments, the new money will not be divided up between provincesbut willinstead put into a pot that can be accessed whenever a project is ready.

"The [previous] allocations are by province, with some provinces hardly accessing any funding at all for public transit, while others with more ambition have met or exceeded their federal allocation," said Aubertin. "That's why we are investing $5.9 billion of new money over five years to accelerate job-creating projects across the country on a project-by-project basis."

Operating costs remain an issue

Marco D'Angelo, president of theCanadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), an industry association, said the permanent transit fund will helpexpandpublic transit systems and ease traffic congestion in cities.

"A permanent transit fund will solve many of the hurdles and delays that currently plague transit being built," said D'Angelo.

But CUTAsaid more operational funding is needed to keep transit systems operating during a time oflower ridership. The federal government has provided several billion dollars to municipalities since last summer for operational funding including for transit through the Safe Restart Agreement. That funding is set to expire in the coming months, the group warned.

NDP transport criticTaylor Bachrachsaid that, going forward, the federal government should play a bigger rolein helping transit agencies cover theiroperating costs to ensure their long-term sustainability.

Andrew Scheer, the Conservative Party's infrastructure critic, accused the Liberal government of being slow to share out infrastructure funds.

"For months, municipalities have raised concerns that slow approvals from the Trudeau Liberals are causing projects to be severely held back," Scheer said in a media statement."Justin Trudeau hopes you will be fooled by his promises for the future when he cannot get the job done today. Canadians deserve better."