Toronto, Ontario - 18 June 2015
Canadians’ quality of life and ability to compete on the global stage depend on the performance and quality of our public infrastructure. Through Economic Action Plan 2015, our Government continues to make unprecedented long-term investments to ensure that Canadians continue to benefit from world-class infrastructure across the country.
In Canada’s largest cities, major public transit improvements are needed to reduce urban congestion and the cost of gridlock for Canadian commuters and businesses.
To help address these challenges, on June 18, 2015, Prime Minister Harper announced further details regarding the new Public Transit Fund (PTF), the Government’s largest dedicated, permanent infrastructure program announced in Economic Action Plan 2015.
The new PTF will provide significant permanent support for large-scale public transit projects that will address congestion and reduce travel time, and provide broader economic and social benefits to Canada’s largest cities. It will also free up funds under the New Building Canada Plan and the P3 Canada Fund that might have been used up by large-scale transit projects. This will ensure that more funding under the Plan is available for infrastructure projects in municipalities across Canada, including smaller-scale transit projects in smaller communities.
The Government will provide $750 million over two years, starting in 2017–2018, and $1 billion per year ongoing thereafter in support of public transit projects that can improve the mobility of goods and people and provide broad economic and social benefits to Canadian cities.
In order to be eligible for support under the PTF, projects must have a minimum of $1 billion in total estimated eligible costs. Federal contributions under the fund will be up to one-third of the total eligible costs and will lever the expertise, ingenuity, and financing of the private sector and alternative funding mechanisms.
The PTF will support the construction and rehabilitation of large public transit projects. The Prime Minister also announced that funds will be made available within the PTF for Toronto’s SmartTrack regional express rail surface line. As currently proposed, the line will provide relief for the overcrowded Yonge-University-Spadina Subway Line and connect Toronto to major employment centres in Mississauga and Markham. The Government will contribute up to one-third of the costs for the SmartTrack public transit system proposal, approximately $2.6 billion, once a formal application has been received and approved. Decisions on support for a given project, including a determination of project eligibility under the fund, will be contingent on the assessment of an application and detailed project business case. Details on the program terms and conditions will be available by fall 2015.
Federal support will be allocated based on merit, to projects that: significantly reduce urban congestion and travel time; lever significant private sector involvement and expertise and provide value for money for taxpayers’ dollars; and support innovative approaches to project funding, financing, payments structures and delivery models.
The Prime Minister also announced that the level of support provided under the $2.5 billion P3 Canada Fund currently administered by PPP Canada will increase from 25 to 33.3 per cent of eligible project costs on a go forward basis.
With the PTF, the Government of Canada has committed over $80 billion in funding to support federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal infrastructure projects across the country over the 10-year period of the New Building Canada Plan. This represents the largest and longest infrastructure federal commitment to public infrastructure in Canadian history; an investment plan that is generating jobs, opportunities, economic growth and prosperity.
Since 2006, the Government has provided support for a number of major public transit projects across Canada. These include:
- $697 million for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension project in Toronto, Ontario. This project is extending the current Spadina line by 8.6 kilometres into the city of Vaughan, providing residents with rapid, reliable connections to GO Train services and six new subway stations, including one at York University in North York.
- $265 million for the construction of a new light rail rapid transit system between the Ontario cities of Waterloo and Kitchener as well as a rapid bus transit from Kitchener to Cambridge. The project will provide a frequent, reliable, convenient and environmentally-friendly way for local residents to travel around the Region of Waterloo, and support local economic development and job creation.
- $600 million for the construction of the Confederation Line in Ottawa, Ontario, a 12.5-kilometre electric light rail system that will cross the city. The line is currently under construction, and will help improve comfort and reliability of the city’s transit system, help reduce traffic congestion, and reduce travel times and pollution once fully operational in 2018.
- $416.7 million for the construction of the Evergreen Line in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. The new line, which is currently under construction, will be linked directly to the existing Millennium Line, with connections to other transit lines and regional bus networks. The project will generate jobs, connect communities and provide more transportation options for families.
- $400 million for the construction of the Edmonton Valley Line (Stage 1) Southeast Light Rail Transit in Edmonton, Alberta. Once built, the line will integrate directly into existing light rail transit and other transportation networks, and will help make the city a more mobile, efficient and attractive place to live, learn and work.
