“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 C$3 billion per year to help cities and communities deliver better public transit systems for Canadians,” said Trudeau, who was joined by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland and Mayor of Toronto Olivia Chow in making the announcement.
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. (An expected average of C$2 billion per year, or C$20 billion over 10 years.)
- 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. (An expected average of C$500 million per year, or C$5 billion over 10 years.)
- 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. (An expected average of C$500 million per year, or C$5 billion over 10 years.)
Funding will begin to flow in 2026, but Trudeau says the country is opening the intakes for Metro-Region Agreements and Baseline Funding today, so that it can provide transit agencies and municipalities with the funding certainty they need to advance projects now.
The Canada Public Transit Fund will also complement Canada’s work to build more homes faster. Through programs like the Housing Accelerator Fund, the country is 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, Canada is 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 meters of a high-frequency transit line.
- Allow high-density housing within 800 meters of a high-frequency transit line.
- Allow high-density housing within 800 meters of post-secondary institutions.
- Complete a housing needs assessment for all communities with a population greater than 30,000.
This, Trudeau says, will help more people live near transit, create good-paying jobs, grow Canada’s 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,” the prime minister added.
Since 2015, Canada has committed C$30 billion into thousands of public transit projects across the country—from new subway lines in the country’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.
“We’re making the largest public transit investment in Canadian history. Our government’s new Canada Public Transit Fund will invest C$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 Trudeau.
