B.C. first to land transit project cash as Justin Trudeau unveils funding deal

Cassidy Olivier | Vancouver Sun

Metro Vancouver — After years locked in a funding stalemate, Metro Vancouver mayors have finally secured the deal they needed to push ahead with the first phase of a multi-billion dollar transportation plan.

The deal, unveiled Thursday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, will see a total of $740 million put towards capital funding projects, including SkyTrain rail cars, a new Seabus and station upgrades.

In addition, an estimated $157 million will be used to begin the planning and design for Surrey’s light rapid transit project and Vancouver’s Broadway subway expansion.

In signing the deal, Metro Vancouver became the first jurisdiction in Canada to secure funding from the federal government’s Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, which was a major plank of the federal Liberal Party’s campaign.

In total, the Feds are committing $370 million to phase one of Metro Vancouver’s 10-year plan, with the province and Translink contributing $246 million and $125 million, respectively.

Translink’s share of the capital funding is to come from the sale of surplus properties, reporters were told Thursday.

Clark said the new funding will help fight climate change in the region.

The announcement came a day after a Senate committee warned that none of the $6.8 billion in infrastructure money promised to cities and provinces for transit, green and social infrastructure had flowed because of a lack of funding agreements.

Robertson said Ottawa’s investment “makes sense when we contribute about half of our tax dollars to the federal government.”

“Of course, we’re proud to be the first region in Canada to land that investment from the federal and provincial combination,” he said, adding a number of projects have been identified for the first two to three years of a 10-year plan.

He said the Broadway subway line in Vancouver and a rapid transit project in Surrey are expected to break ground within 18 months.

Metro Vancouver has a long wish list of transit projects, but residents voted down a proposed sales tax last year to pay for a 10-year, $7.5 billion transit plan for the region.

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