The largest public transit investment in Canadian history

Public transit shortens commute times, grows our economy, and helps keep our air clean. For many Canadians – especially Millennials and Gen Z, who frequently use public transit – it’s an affordable option to get around. As we build more homes faster, public transit is also key to connecting communities and making life cost less. That’s why the federal government is investing in public transit infrastructure – with more jobs, lower emissions, and a fair chance for every generation to get ahead.

Since 2015, we have committed $30 billion into thousands of public transit projects across the country – from new subway lines in Canada’s biggest cities, like the Millennium Broadway Subway Extension project in Vancouver and the Finch West light rail line project in Toronto, to new transit serving rural and remote communities – and we know there is more to be done.

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the launch of the Canada Public Transit Fund, a new $30 billion investment over the first ten years to expand public transit and make it more accessible across the country. This is the largest public transit investment in Canadian history.

The Canada Public Transit Fund will transform the way we deliver transit funding to communities across the country. 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.

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.

Funding will begin to flow in 2026, but we are 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 promised in Budget 2024, we’re applying that 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.

This will help more people live near transit, create good-paying jobs, grow our economy, and make transit systems better for everyone.

By investing in public transit, we’re creating communities that are connected, affordable, and set up to succeed. This is part of our plan to deliver fairness for every generation. Alongside this, we’re cutting red tape, building more homes, modernizing infrastructure, and growing our economy. Our goal is clear – making sure our communities have the investments they need to succeed, now and for generations to come.

Quotes

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

Quick Facts

• For this announcement, Prime Minister Trudeau was joined by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, and the Mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow.
• 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.
• The design of the Canada Public Transit Fund was guided by key findings resulting from a national public engagement process launched in 2022.
• More information on the first call for applications under the Targeted Funding stream will be available soon.
• To access funding under the Metro-Region Agreements stream, local governments and transit agencies will have to work in partnership with their provincial government to develop and share Integrated Regional Plans. These plans should outline how long-term capital investments in transit and active transportation, complemented by supporting transportation, land use, and housing policy, will advance the core objectives of the Canada Public Transit Fund, including transit use, housing supply and affordability, climate resilience, and social equity.
  • A total of $20 million in funding has been made available, for 2024-25 and 2025-26, to metro regions for planning activities that will support the development of high-quality Integrated Regional Plans.
• The Canada Public Transit Fund is designed to meet the unique needs of communities of all sizes – from urban centres, to mid-sized communities, to rural, remote, Northern, and Indigenous communities. It will strengthen our collaboration with local governments and partners across the country to increase access to public transit, advance our work to fight climate change, and improve public transit for all Canadians, especially Indigenous Peoples.
• The Canada Public Transit Fund builds on the success of three existing transit funds: the Rural Transit Solutions Fund, the Zero Emission Transit Fund, and the Active Transportation Fund.
• Funding delivered through the Canada Public Transit Fund will help Canada meet its target of net zero by reducing emissions in the transportation sector, which currently accounts for approximately 22 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
• Since 2015, the federal government has committed over $30 billion in over 1,800 transit projects across Canada, providing Canadians with cleaner and more efficient commuting options. These investments are helping to build more than 350 kilometres of new public transit subway and light-rail lines, purchase over 3,360 zero-emission buses, and create almost 1,175 kilometres of active transportation trails, bike lanes, pedestrian lanes, and recreational paths.

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