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Canada’s Federal Infrastructure Minister addresses letter of concern from provincial leaders

WHISTLER, Ont. – Canada’s Infrastructure Minister, Dominic Leblanc, met with his provincial and territorial counterparts in British Columbia last Wed., June 21, to discuss the future of Canada’s infrastructure spending.

These conversations followed a letter by Canada’s premiers addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling for more information regarding the replacement of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, whose $33 billion were fully allocated as of March 2023.

The letter outlined concerns regarding unprecedented cost pressures on existing projects and the absence of any information on the Program in this year’s federal budget.

Needs outlined by the letter include a call for flexibility and predictability in future infrastructure programs through a “base plus per capita basis” that scales spending based on provincial population, in addition to addressing the challenges unique to infrastructure in each jurisdiction, such as infrastructure gaps in Arctic and northern regions.

Despite these concerns, Leblanc said that the conversations with provincial leaders were a “very positive step in making sure that those programs are the right ones for the whole country,” and that Ottawa is “happy to work with provinces and territories as best as we can” to manage the increasing costs of existing projects.

Leblanc expects these funding details to be released for this fall, and in the meantime highlighted the high volume of infrastructure projects across the country that continue to move forward.

“It’s not as if we’re stalled or out of gas or not doing our work,” he said. “We’re very much working together. But we’re conscious that municipalities, provinces and territories and community groups want to know the long-term sequencing.