The Federal government has launched the Canada Public Transit Fund, that will support public transit projects across Canada. Through this tool, the Government of Canada is committed to providing up to CAD 3 billion (USD 2.2 billion) annually on a permanent basis starting in 2026-2027 to respond to local public transit needs in communities across the country.
The new Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF) will transform the delivery of federal funding for transit by integrating long-term planning and enabling access to funding for multiple projects over several years. This approach provides stability and predictability of financial resources and better responds to the needs of communities of all sizes across Canada.
Sustained, integrated, and predictable federal investments in transit and land use planning also help create housing supply and improve affordability, ensuring that our investments provide maximum value to Canadians.
With the launch of the new CPTF, all orders of government, and transit authorities will work together to advance long-term plans and sign agreements. This approach will better respond to the needs of communities of all sizes across Canada by providing stable and predictable federal funding for projects and integrating into long-term planning to provide the best value for public dollars. Once these agreements are in place, the CPTF will start funding projects in April 2026.
The CPTF considers longer-term transit needs and leverages the strong collaboration between partners. With a combination of new and existing programmes, funds will be delivered through metro-region agreements, baseline funding, and targeted funding streams.
The metro-region agreements will be available for 10 years and would be a partnership of organizations within or adjacent to a census metropolitan area and supported by the province. This fund will offer significant and predictable funding in regions with the highest funding demand and most complex public transit networks. The funding will support projects from planning and feasibility studies to major works as well as capital expansion.
These areas would develop integrated regional plans, a key element to receiving long-term funding commitments. The local governments and transit agencies within or adjacent to these regions, in partnership with their Provincial government, will develop and share their plans, detailing capital transit planning over a ten-year horizon while also considering impacts on transit use, housing supply and affordability, as well as climate resilience and social equity.
A total of CAD 20 million (USD 14.6 million) in funding has been made available, for 2024-25 and 2025-26, to metro-regions for planning activities that will support the development of high-quality integrated regional plans.
The baseline funding will support up to 10 year-agreements delivered to communities of all sizes that have existing eligible public transit systems. This funding will provide stable, predictable support for transit-related funds for routine growth and rehabilitation, network expansion and extension of assets lifecycle, and/or transit performance upgrades
The targeted funding supports single project agreements and will support specific federal priorities through targeted funding intakes, including active transport, rural and remote transit, transit solutions in Indigenous communities, as well as electrifying public transit and school transport.
The new Canada Public Transit Fund aims to enhance capacity to meet demand for better transit services, especially in growing regions, to reduce car dependency by increasing the use of public transit and active transport, to contribute to climate change mitigation and increased resilience and to support economic growth and improving transportation options for equity-deserving groups.
Since 2015, the Government of Canada has invested over CAD 30 billion (USD 21.9 billion) in more than 2,000 projects across the country, supporting a variety of projects, from new metro lines in Canada’s biggest cities such as the Millenium Broadway Subway extension project in Vancouver, to transit lines in major cities such as the Finch West light rail line project in Toronto, and to new transit solutions in rural communities.
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