Municipalities say infrastructure, public transit are top priorities for federal government support

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By Robin MacLennan

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Improving infrastructure and public transit are top priorities for Canada’s municipalities as the federal government resumes sitting in Ottawa today.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has released its recommendations for the new government’s first 100 days.

“A minority parliament brings unique opportunities, and Canadians want to see their elected representatives working together to deliver concrete results,” said FCM President Bill Karsten.

“Working together to get things done is where local governments excel, and we’re eager to work with this government and this parliament to make people’s lives better.”

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FCM’s call-to-action, Building Better Lives Together, is a vision of cities and communities of all sizes, in every Canadian region. It urges the federal government to move quickly—in its first 100 days—to engage municipalities in 15 policy areas, including:

  • Strengthening local infrastructure, from roads and bridges to water systems and arenas, by ensuring federal investments reach municipalities as intended.
  • Modernizing public transit for faster commutes and lower emissions, by implementing election platform commitments to launch permanent, predictable federal transit funding.
  • Making housing more affordable by acting on the National Housing Strategy to support lower-income Canadians, while strengthening leadership on the wider housing crisis.
  • Supporting local climate action—both to protect our communities from extreme weather, and to unlock municipalities’ tremendous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Championing rural communities by urgently tackling the rural Internet access gap, while continuing to build a rural lens into the heart of federal policies and investments.

“Today, we’re offering a way to bring Canadians together—by joining forces to boost their quality of life, in very concrete ways, in every region of this country,” said Karsten. “If you want to build better lives, you need to engage the governments closest to Canadians.”

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) represents about 2,000 local governments at the national level.

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