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Ontario launches $30B infrastructure funding program

The Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure officially launched the first stream of province’s $30-billion Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program on March 12.

The first stream of the funding, the Rural and Northern stream, is open to cities and Indigenous communities with populations under 100,000. Those communities, about 500 of them, will have eight weeks beginning March 18 to nominate road and bridge projects.

“Our Government for the People is listening and has heard the infrastructure needs of our municipalities,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Infrastructure. “This first stream of funding is an invitation to all those communities to get started on the crucial process of project nomination.”

The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program is a $30 billion,10-year infrastructure program with cost-shared between federal, provincial and municipal governments. The Province of Ontario will be responsible for upwards of 33 per cent of the funding, or $10.2 billion spread across four streams:

1. Rural and Northern;
2. Public Transit;
3. Green; and
4. Community, Culture and Recreation.

“Our economy, communities, and families all depend on infrastructure. This program will bring major infrastructure investments that people rely on,” said McNaughton. “And when we invest in smart infrastructure, we create jobs and grow the economy, shaping the future for hard-working families in Ontario. Our province is open for business and open for jobs.”

The Grants Ontario website (click on Grant Opportunities) will be a “one-window” source for applicants, handling application intake, review, nomination, reporting and transfer payment management processes – all in one place.

“The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) welcomes this federal and provincial commitment to infrastructure funding across our province. Rural and northern communities depend on safe and reliable roads and bridges. They are essential to local quality of life and prosperity. Importantly, the ‘one-window’ approach that Ontario and the federal government have put in place will offer Ontario’s municipal governments an efficient means to access infrastructure funding,” said Jamie McGarvey, AMO president and Mayor of Parry Sound.