WHEREAS, Canada is experiencing record population growth, having welcomed 1.25 million new Canadians last year alone; and
WHEREAS, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) indicates we need to build 3.5 million additional homes by 2030, and expand the municipal infrastructure to accommodate this growth; and
WHEREAS, Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has estimated that the required municipal infrastructure cost averages in the range of $107,000 per unit and Statistics Canada estimates the cost to upgrade existing municipal infrastructure in the $170 billion range; and
WHEREAS, Non-residential construction inflation has risen by 29% since 2020 and municipalities face soaring infrastructure costs without corresponding revenue growth and, unlike federal/provincial revenue, municipal tax revenue has not kept pace in recent years with inflation, economic growth or population growth; and
WHEREAS, Municipalities face federal funding gap as the 10-year Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program has come to an end, the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) is being renegotiated and the Permanent Public Transit Fund is set to start in 2026; and
WHEREAS, The CCBF, formerly known as the federal Gas Tax Fund, provides over $2.4 billion annual capital funding to municipalities through a predictable allocation mechanism, and municipalities of all sizes use the CCBF to deliver results for Canadians by building/renewing critical core infrastructure, including water infrastructure, local roads, public transit and cultural and recreational facilities; now therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the City of Courtenay write to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser advocating that the federal government:
- work with agreement signatories and municipalities to maintain the CCBF as a source of direct, predictable, long-term funding for local infrastructure priorities;
- commit to the next generation of infrastructure programs, including a new program for water and wastewater infrastructure and an increase to the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund; and
- convene provinces, territories and municipalities to negotiate a “Municipal Growth Framework” to modernize the way municipalities are funded to facilitate Canada’s long-term growth.