Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled the New Building Canada Plan, the largest long-term infrastructure plan in Canadian history.
In addition to providing stable funding for 10 years, the proposal’s key elements include dedicated funding for small communities, provincial-territorial allocations, project categories eligible for support, cost-sharing thresholds, and public-private partnership screening requirements.
Expected to launch this spring, it will support projects that focus on economic growth, job creation and productivity, such as:
- $32 billion to municipalities for projects such as roads, public transit and recreational facilities, and other community infrastructure.
- $14 billion to support projects of national, regional or local significance.
- $1.25 billion for public-private partnerships.
- $6 billion for existing infrastructure programs.
- $516 million to deliver new and existing infrastructure programs over the next 10 years, including audits and evaluations.
Increased trade, efficient movement of goods and people, stable long-term funding, thousands of new jobs and strong and prosperous communities will result from the New Building Canada Plan, according to the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP).
“The federal government has now laid out the policy framework for productive use of the $53 billion available for renewing Canada’s infrastructure over the next 10 years – the largest long-term infrastructure plan in Canadian history,” CCPPP said. “The Plan will be an important driver of national, regional and local projects across the country in a range of areas including transportation, public transit, drinking water, wastewater, connectivity and broadband and trade corridor-related infrastructure – bringing economic prosperity and a higher quality of life to Canadians everywhere.”
The Plan includes $1 billion in funding for communities with a population of 100,000 or less, where project planning and financing have historically been more difficult to achieve. Projects with total eligible costs of more than $100 million will be required to undergo a Public-Private Partnerships (P3) Screen, to be administered by PPP Canada. If the screen determines that a project could be successfully procured through a public-private partnership and would generate better value for money, access to the New Building Canada Fund will be conditional on the project being delivered as a P3.
“This is great news for all communities across Canada,” said Mark Romoff, president and CEO of CCPPP. “The inclusion of a binding P3 screen is testimony that Canada’s P3 model has achieved a high level of credibility, accountability and maturity. This will support the faster delivery of the high-quality infrastructure that Canada needs to achieve greater prosperity and global competitiveness.”