BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES AND CREATING JOBS
Investing in infrastructure creates good, middle class jobs. It helps to keep our economy strong and growing, and from cities and towns to villages and outports, makes our communities good places to call home. We will continue to invest in our communities and deliver a better quality of life for people, no matter where they live.
A Commitment To Communities
We will make sure that provinces and territories spend the federal infrastructure money they receive on infrastructure, and on time.
In the last four years, we have made real progress when it comes to moving forward with the infrastructure communities across the country need – from community centres that bring people together to more efficient and reliable public transit in our biggest cities.
More than 48,000 projects have been approved under the Investing in Canada Plan, the vast majority of which are already underway, creating good, middle class jobs and making our communities better places to live. At the same time, some provinces are playing political games – delaying project approvals and putting good jobs and our quality of life at risk.
To make sure that the infrastructure that people and communities need is built, we will require that all provinces and territories identify and approve all of their long-term infrastructure priorities within the next two years. Funds that aren’t designated for specific projects by the end of 2021 will be reinvested directly in communities through a top-up of the federal Gas Tax Fund.
Nation-Building Infrastructure
We will establish a National Infrastructure Fund to support projects that benefit all Canadians.
From the Canadian Pacific Railway to the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Trans-Canada Highway, the big projects that helped to build our country have always needed the vision and leadership of government. While the need for significant national infrastructure continues, there exists no permanent mechanism through which the federal government can play a national coordinating role.
To fill this gap, we will move forward with creating a National Infrastructure Fund. The Fund will seek out and support major nation-building projects that will benefit people across various regions, connect our country, and help improve the quality of life and standard of living of Canadians in significant and long-lasting ways.
We will begin right away by supporting projects like the Newfoundland-Labrador fixed transportation link, which will give people living on the island of Newfoundland a permanent and secure way to travel to and from mainland Canada, while helping to make things like food and household goods more affordable. Further projects will be identified as the National Infrastructure Fund is established.
Support For Communities That Rely On Tourism
We will help people living in communities that rely on tourism get the infrastructure their communities need. Tourism in Canada is strong and growing.
Last year, Canadian communities of all sizes welcomed more than 21 million international visitors, supporting local economies and good, middle class jobs. At the same time, communities that see a big influx of visitors can sometimes find it hard to keep up with local needs – like adequate housing and community spaces.
To help these communities better serve their residents, we will build on the new Federal Tourism Growth Strategy and move forward with a Tourism Community Infrastructure Fund to invest $100 million in the local needs of communities that rely on tourism, over the next four years. These funds will be delivered and managed through regional economic development agencies.
Universal High-Speed Internet
We will ensure that every Canadian has access to high-speed internet by 2030.
For small businesses looking to reach customers around the world, seniors who want to stay in touch with family and friends, or students who want to move home for the summer but still need to be able to take online courses or apply for work, high-speed internet is a necessity, not a luxury.
To ensure that every person in Canada has access to reliable, high-speed internet – including the 1.5 million households that would otherwise be underserved – we will move forward with building a fully connected Canada, including our rural, remote and northern communities. Earlier this year, we set a national target to ensure that 95 per cent of Canadian homes and businesses will have highspeed internet by 2026, and 100 per cent by 2030, no matter where they are located in the country. This ambitious plan will help businesses grow, create new jobs, and connect more people to the resources, services and information they need to build a better future.
Public Transit
We will strengthen investments in public transit to shorten commute times, cut air pollution, and grow our economy.
In the last four years, we have made the largest investments in public transit in Canadian history, but traffic congestion continues to be a serious problem in our cities, making it hard for families to spend time together, and costing our economy about $15 billion a year in lost productivity.
To give cities the predictable transit funding they need to plan for the future, we will move forward with making the federal commitment to fund public transit permanent, and will make sure that it keeps up with the rising cost of construction over time. This will mean an additional $3 billion more per year in stable, predictable funding for our cities’ transit needs, on top of transfers through the federal Gas Tax Fund.
Canada’s Coastal Communities
We will continue to invest in our coastal communities.
The small craft harbours in Canada’s coastal towns and cities are an important source of jobs for about 45,000 people, supporting fishing, tourism, and recreation, and helping to build strong and resilient communities.
To build on our investments in renewing and repairing small craft harbours, and to ensure that Canada’s coastal communities are home to good middle class jobs for years to come, we will move forward with increasing investments in small craft harbours by $40 million per year. We will also work with communities to develop local economic development plans so that these harbours better service the needs of the fishing industry and local residents.