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OTTAWA \u2014 The federal government will address infrastructure gaps across Canada with billions of dollars in funding over the coming decade, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday at a news conference in Brampton, Ont.<\/p>\n
Carney used the event to break down how his government plans to dole out $51 billion in the Liberals\u2019 Build Communities Strong Fund. The new pot of money was first announced in the 2025 budget, which became law last month.<\/p>\n
Ottawa plans to nearly double the rate of infrastructure investment in Canada over the next eight years compared with the previous eight years, Carney said.<\/p>\n
He teased that future announcements are coming on initiatives for skills training and apprenticeships, and urged youth to consider a career to support the infrastructure agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next 25, 30 years is going to be a great time to be in the trades, to be an electrician, to be pipe fitter, to be welder, to a plumber, a carpenter and beyond, because we are literally going to build this country,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n
The Build Communities Strong Fund includes $27.8 billion over the next 10 years for infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water and sewer systems and $6 billion for other major local projects like building retrofits and community centres.<\/p>\n
Carney\u2019s first announcement under this local stream was $64 million for a new recreation centre and park in Brampton. The federal government announced $300 million in funding for 13 total projects later in the day, more than a third of which will go toward water and wastewater systems underpinning new housing developments in Iqaluit.<\/p>\n
The federal government launched a web page Tuesday allowing municipalities and other organizations to apply for new project funding under this stream.<\/p>\n
The remaining $17.2 billion in the fund is to be matched by provinces and territories and used to reduce the cost of building new infrastructure and housing. That includes $5 billion over three years to build out health-care facilities such as new emergency departments.<\/p>\n
The federal government announced last week that Ontario will use $4.4 billion of its allotment to waive sales taxes on eligible new homes for the next year.<\/p>\n
With $6 billion set aside for the province, Ontario will receive the biggest share from the provincial and territorial stream. Quebec will receive $3.6 billion, British Columbia will get $2.2 billion and Alberta will receive $1.9 billion, with hundreds of millions of dollars set aside for the remaining provinces and territories.<\/p>\n
Provinces and territories are required to allocate 20 per cent of their funding to rural, Northern and Indigenous communities. Ten per cent of funding through the $6-billion \u201cdirect delivery\u201d stream must go to Indigenous-led projects.<\/p>\n
British Columbia MP Dan Albas, the Conservative shadow minister for transport, criticized the infrastructure fund rollout as \u201canother reannouncement\u201d in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cConservatives want our infrastructure, homes and health to grow and improve, but the Carney Liberals need to get out of the way and scrap their anti-development laws and unaffordable taxes,\u201d Albas said.<\/p>\n
\u00a92026 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n