The federal government announced the launch of the Canada Public Transit Fund, a new $30 billion investment to expand public transit and make it more accessible across the country. This is the largest public transit investment in Canadian history.
This permanent ongoing program will invest an average of $3 billion per year to help cities and communities deliver better public transit systems for Canadians.
“We’re making the largest public transit investment in Canadian history. Our government’s new Canada Public Transit Fund will invest $30 billion in community infrastructure to expand, improve, and modernize public transit – giving Canadians affordable options to get around, and making sure housing development is linked to that funding. Let’s make public transit better, faster, and easier to use,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Funding will be delivered across three streams:
Metro-Region Agreements will provide extensive funding to support partnerships between provinces and large urban areas with the largest public transit systems, to build the public transit networks Canadians are counting on. This could include regions such as the Greater Toronto Area and other metropolitan areas like Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Montréal, and Halifax, among others. Funding amounts will be based on merit, with the highest amounts of funding going to the most ambitious partnerships, including those that can best demonstrate how investments in transit will help build more homes.
Baseline Funding will deliver predictable funding to communities across the country with existing transit systems, based on their population and ridership. This will help communities of all sizes upgrade, replace, or modernize their transit infrastructure, including system expansion, lifecycle extension, performance upgrades, and investments in the state of good repair of their fleets.
Targeted Funding will be available to support key priorities like active transportation, rural and remote transit, transit investments in Indigenous communities, and the electrification of public transit and school transportation. This funding will be delivered on a project-by-project basis through periodic calls for applications, so the federal government can respond to the evolving transit needs of communities in the future.
“Public transit is an invaluable tool in making people’s lives more affordable, tackling climate change, and better connecting communities. We are excited and proud to launch the Canada Public Transit Fund today, and with it, to bring a new approach to transit funding in this country. This fund not only gives us an innovative way of working with partners on transit and active transportation projects, but will also go a long way in our work to help build more homes,” said Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities.
Funding will begin to flow in 2026, but the government is opening the intakes for Metro-Region Agreements and Baseline Funding today, so that we can provide transit agencies and municipalities with the funding certainty they need to advance projects now.
The Canada Public Transit Fund will also complement our work to build more homes faster. Through programs like the Housing Accelerator Fund, we’re giving cities and towns more money to build more homes – but with a condition: if municipalities want federal funding, they have to change their zoning by-laws to build more housing near transit.
As outlined in Budget 2024, the government will also be applying the rule to public transit funding as well. To access long-term, predictable funding through this program, municipalities will need to take actions that directly unlock housing supply. This includes measures to:
- Eliminate all mandatory minimum parking requirements within 800 metres of a high-frequency transit line.
- Allow high-density housing within 800 metres of a high-frequency transit line.
- Allow high-density housing within 800 metres of post-secondary institutions.
- Complete a housing needs assessment for all communities with a population greater than 30,000.
“Investing in public transit is essential to ensuring Canada’s economy reaches its full potential. Better transit makes it quicker and more affordable for Canadians to get to where they need to go, all while reducing emissions. Our new $30 billion Canada Public Transit Fund is a generational investment to build better communities and public transit across the country,” said Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
The Canada Public Transit Fund will provide:
- an expected average of $2 billion per year, or $20 billion over 10 years, for Metro-Region Agreements.
- an expected average of $500 million per year, or $5 billion over 10 years, in Baseline Funding.
- an expected average of $500 million per year, or $5 billion over 10 years, in Targeted Funding.
Featured image: (Government of Canada)
