Ottawa commits $663M in capital funding to cash-strapped TransLink
Funding will allow TransLink to improve existing transit infrastructure, CEO says
The federal government has committed more than $663 million in capital funding for public transit in Metro Vancouver.
Jonathan Wilkinson, the federal minister of natural resources and member of Parliament for North Vancouver, made the announcement from his riding on Monday.
"Reliable public transit infrastructure reduces traffic congestion and air pollution, supports the increase in housing supply, and improves affordability," he said about the funding, which comes from the $3 billion Canada Public Transit Fund and is available beginning in 2026 over 10 years.
Announced in 2024, the fund, which the federal government says is the largest in Canadian history, is meant to support public transportation in communities of all sizes.
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said the money would be used to upgrade current infrastructure for the transit provider, not to meet shortfalls with operations.
"We are ready to meet the demands of our growing region … and look forward to continuing work with the Government of Canada to advance much-needed transit expansion in Metro Vancouver," he said of the need to address an operating funding gap of approximately $600 million annually.
The commitment of federal funds for capital projects was expected by TransLink, which had applied to the fund and was expecting at least $500 million during its annual budget deliberations late last year.
The new financial plan and commitment of long-term funding from Ottawa comes after Quinn warned regional mayors last summer that the authority could have a serious financial gap by the end of 2025 due to the end of provincial relief funding tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quinn said the transit authority may have to cut 50 per cent of its services at the end of 2025 if additional stable funding was not secured.
TransLink's 2025 budget will spend $2.5 billion, an increase of 0.6 per cent over the 2024 budget. It aims to address overcrowding and increase access to under-served neighbourhoods, but will also pay for labour rate increases and replacing aging buses and trains.
The budget said 49 per cent of TransLink's bus fleet has less than three years of useful life remaining.
A group of regional mayors has been asking other levels of government to fully commit to funding public transportation and help establish what they call a sustainable funding model.
It wants $3.4 billion per year in funding from other levels of government for capital projects and to ramp up service for growing populations.
Brad West, mayor of Port Coquitlam and chair of the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation, welcomed the funding from the Canada Public Transit Fund, which he says will help TransLink achieve its Access for Everyone plan.
"This plan will ensure our transit system can keep up with record-setting population growth, support federal, provincial and local affordable housing targets and keep our economy moving," he said.
City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan said the funding would help with a new bus rapid transit (BRT) line connecting the North Shore to Burnaby's Metrotown, which has been talked about for around a decade.
Quinn said on Monday that TransLink was looking to bring bus rapid transit to the North Shore in the next five years, once funding was secured.
The B.C. NDP campaigned in October on bringing BRT to the North Shore under its mandate, if elected. CBC News has asked B.C.'s transportation ministry to comment on when that might happen.
Both West and Buchanan said missing from Monday's announcement was a federal commitment for a sub-agreement with metropolitan areas for additional funding that is needed by the end of March so the first phase of the Access for Everyone plan can begin.
Metro-Region Agreements (MRAs) under the fund offer a way for the federal government, provinces, municipalities and other key partners — such as transit agencies and Indigenous communities — to collaborate.
Quinn did not say how much funding TransLink was seeking under an MRA with the federal government, saying it was up to Ottawa.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
