441-01436 (Transportation)

Canada’s public transit systems provide essential service to millions of people, generate billions of dollars in economic benefits, and help Canada meet its climate targets given that the transportation sector accounts for approximately 25 percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2015, the Government of Canada has made the most significant public transit investments in Canada’s history, delivering federal investments of more than ten times of what was provided in the decade prior.

Investments in public transit and active transportation are critical to build a prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable Canada, helping to improve quality of life by enabling people to get around more easily and to tackle traffic congestion, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. They are also closely connected to housing affordability, providing opportunities to build more housing supply by allowing communities to build more densely.

To help ensure major transit projects are built sooner, the Government of Canada accelerated the delivery of funding provided through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, partnering with provinces to deliver important transit and active transportation infrastructure that meets the needs of our communities today and into the future.

Building on the success of dedicated transit funding through the Investing in Canada Plan, in 2021, the Government introduced the Zero Emission Transit Fund, the Active Transportation Fund, and the Rural Transit Solutions Fund. These dedicated transit programs, which will deliver funding until 2025-2026, aim to accelerate the shift towards clean, sustainable transportation modes across the country and facilitated federal funding for key public transit projects.

In 2026-27, the Government of Canada will launch permanent transit funding providing an average of $3 billion per year. This ongoing funding will deliver stability required for long-term planning and collaboration across orders of government while allowing flexibility to address regional needs and considerations. Permanent federal funding for public transit and active transportation presents an opportunity to work with provinces, territories, municipalities, transit agencies, Indigenous peoples and other partners to align investment priorities and address shared objectives, including driving economic, environmental and social outcomes, and improving housing supply and affordability in communities of all sizes across Canada.

Reporting to the public will provide a clear picture of the impact of these investments and support accountability. The Government of Canada concluded engagement on the federal vision for permanent public transit funding in October 2022. A PDF version of the Engagement Paper: Permanent Public Transit Funding in Canada is currently available online  and a summary report of what we heard during the engagement will be published online in Spring/Summer2023.