Backgrounder: Launch of the Build Communities Strong Fund
Backgrounder
The Build Communities Strong Fund (BCSF) will deliver $51 billion over 10 years, starting in 2026-27, and $3 billion per year ongoing. The BCSF will invest in infrastructure priorities that strengthen housing, sport, education, health, transit, and climate adaptation.
The full list of BCSF’s first tranche of projects are as follows:
- Cornwall, Prince Edward Island: Launching Phase 1 of the Cornwall Road Extension of Water and Wastewater project, extending water and wastewater mains to support growing residential and commercial development.
- Bridgewater, Nova Scotia: Upgrading sewer lines to improve wastewater service and unlock future residential housing construction in the community.
- Halifax, Nova Scotia: Extending water and wastewater infrastructure on Windsor Street to support residential growth.
- Iqaluit, Nunavut: Enhancing trucked and utilidor infrastructure to support the development of 2,000 to 2,500 new housing units by 2031, addressing the city's housing shortage and accommodating population growth.
- Quispamsis, New Brunswick: Expanding the Hampton Road water distribution system to enable the development of up to 1,055 housing units by extending the watermain network by 1.5 kilometres.
- Hay River, Northwest Territories: Building a new water treatment facility to replace the aging system currently serving the town of Hay River and its surrounding communities, including the Hamlet of Enterprise, K’atl’odeeche First Nation, and Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation.
- Laval, Québec: Redesigning Labelle, d’Orly, and St-Hubert streets, and developing Labelle East Street in preparation for the redevelopment of the Cartier sector.
- Brampton, Ontario: Funding towards the Embleton Community Centre, a state-of-the-art, multi-use facility. The centre will become southwest Brampton’s hub for recreation programs and lessons, with an 8-lane competitive lap pool, a gymnasium, a fitness centre, and outdoor, seasonal recreational amenities.
- Headingley, Manitoba: Building a water reservoir and pumping station in the municipality of Headingley, adding 3,600 cubic metres of water storage and 65 litres per second of pumping capacity, while supporting the development of 1,771 additional housing units.
- Regina, Saskatchewan: Upgrading the South Trunk sewer to address existing capacity limitations, reduce the risk of basement flooding and untreated discharges into Wascana Creek, and support future growth in the city’s southeast and southwest areas.
- St. Albert, Alberta: Expanding wastewater, stormwater, and water systems in northeast St. Albert.
- Vancouver, British Columbia: Investing in the new Marpole Community Centre, a fully electric, zero‑carbon, and highly energy‑efficient facility that will include childcare, after‑school care, a gym, a sensory room, and multipurpose spaces.
- Whitehorse, Yukon: Constructing the Whistle Bend Active Transportation Corridor, connecting Whistle Bend to downtown Whitehorse to improve active transportation infrastructure in the community.
Driving results through three funding streams
The BCSF has been designed to provide flexibility, speed, and impact.
It includes three funding streams to support public infrastructure projects and priorities across the country:
- The Provincial and Territorial stream will provide $17.2 billion to support housing, post-secondary education, and health care infrastructure projects.
- From this stream, $5 billion over three years will be dedicated to health infrastructure projects to improve hospitals, urgent care centres, and palliative care, mental health, and long-term care facilities.
- The Direct Delivery stream will provide $6 billion to support regionally significant projects, such as building retrofits, climate adaptation, and community infrastructure. Eligible project proponents can find more information on how to send their initial expression of interest for shovel-ready projects on the Build Communities Strong Fund webpage.
- The Community stream will provide $27.8 billion to support local infrastructure priorities across 19 project categories, including local roads, bridges, public transit, water systems, and community centres.
Boosting Canada’s economy
Infrastructure investments will generate economic and social benefits by leveraging domestic resources, strengthening supply chains, and protecting Canadian workers and industries. The BCSF will integrate the Buy Canadian Policy to ensure more public dollars go into the Canadian economy by prioritizing Canadian materials, content, and suppliers.
The Provincial and Territorial and Direct Delivery streams will encourage the use of unionized labour and Community Employment Benefits agreements to help support workers, create jobs, and build a more resilient economy.
Increasing housing supply and improving affordability
Canada continues to advance efforts to expand housing availability and affordability. The Provincial and Territorial stream will require provinces and territories to commit to reducing development charges, where they pose a barrier to housing construction, and not levy other taxes that may hinder housing supply. By helping lower upfront costs, the federal government is helping get more shovels into the ground and accelerate construction to build more homes.
This work will also help the federal agency Build Canada Homes achieve its goals by accelerating the right housing-related infrastructure needed to support housing growth.
Making investments go further
To build strong, Canada’s economic strategy is making sure that public investments get maximum results. The Provincial and Territorial stream will require provinces to cost-match federal contributions for all projects to ensure funding for as many projects as possible. To reduce pressure on government budgets, the Direct Delivery stream will ask regionally significant projects to consider private sector investment, including through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.