Metro-Region Agreements

On this page

• A new approach to transit investments in Canada's Metro-Regions
• Process: from planning to project funding
• Who should apply
• Integrated Regional Plans
• Additional resources
• Contact us

A new approach to transit investments in Canada’s Metro-Regions

Many Canadians live, work, and play within metro-regions, traveling between downtown cores, urban neighbourhoods, and suburban communities every day. As a result, when cycling to work or catching a bus, people often cross municipal boundaries and use infrastructure designed and maintained by multiple government bodies. As metro-regions grow, so does the need for greater coordination among all orders of government to ensure that a regional lens is applied to help Canadians get around quickly, and to advance key priorities like sustainable transportation use, housing supply, climate resilience, and social equity.

The Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF) provides an opportunity to drive impacts by adopting a new and ambitious approach to transit funding: Metro-Region Agreements.

A Metro-Region Agreement (MRA) offers a new way for the Government of Canada, provinces, municipalities and other key partners, such as transit agencies and Indigenous communities to collaborate together. These agreements will encourage long-term integrated planning within large urban areas and will support a wide variety of projects, from transformational investments that build new subways and dedicated bus lines, to maintaining and sustaining the health of an existing transit system.

Metro Region Agreement signatories commit to work together to make informed, impact-focused investments underpinned by strategic planning that integrates housing, land use, and other related needs. With the benefit of a long-term view into the vision for a metro-region, the Government of Canada can offer predictable funding to its partners, while also rewarding and incentivizing measures that will advance the objectives of the Canada Public Transit Fund.

Process: from planning to project funding

Metro-Region Agreements offer predictable funding in regions with the highest demand for public transit and active transportation funding, and where travel patterns often cross municipal boundaries. This funding stream is designed to promote coordination among all levels of government, encourage evidence-based decision-making, and advance a shared understanding of investment priorities among signatories.

Receiving funding through the Metro-Region Agreement stream of the CPTF is an incremental process with the following steps:

1. Expression-of-Interest (EOI): Metro-regions complete an Expression-of-Interest through Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada's Funding Portal to signal interest and readiness to participate. Following a review of the EOI and confirmation that all eligibility criteria are met, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada will invite successful applicants to advance submission of an Integrated Regional Plan.
2. Integrated Regional Plan (IRP): Participating organizations submit an IRP that outlines how capital investments in transit over a ten-year horizon will achieve core objectives for the Canada Public Transit Fund.
3. Metro-Region Agreement: Following review and assessment of an Integrated Regional Plan, a Metro-Region Agreement would be developed as a long-term funding commitment.
4. Project Funding Applications: Metro-region signatories bring forward requests for project funding, which are reviewed and assessed by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada.
5. Contribution Agreements: Project-specific agreements would be developed with Recipients implementing the projects as per the terms of the Metro-Region Agreement.
6. Funding Transfers: After April 1, 2026 and based on terms specified in agreements.

Who should apply

The eligibility requirements for MRAs include:

• All participating organizations must be located within, be adjacent to, or be responsible for planning and infrastructure within a Census Metropolitan Area (or within a region spanning multiple Census Metropolitan Areas close to one another), as identified by Statistics Canada. 
• Participating organizations must include the respective provincial government(s) for the region.

Partner organizations seeking to enter into a Metro-Region Agreement would need to:

1. Demonstrate their ability to meet a specific set of minimum federal housing conditions that are based on best practices from the Housing Accelerator Fund; and
2. Prepare an Integrated Regional Plan that outlines how capital investments supported by policy actions will achieve core objectives for Canada Public Transit Fund. 

A key expectation is that the organizations developing an Integrated Regional Plan should include representation from provincial and local entities with responsibility for public transit, transportation infrastructure, housing, and land use planning, and collectively have the authority to oversee, implement and/or enforce the proposed investments, transportation policy initiatives, and housing and land-use policy initiatives identified in an Integrated Regional Plan. A metro-region must identify a “Lead Applicant” to serve as a primary point of contact for Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. Note that the lead applicant will not necessarily administer federal funding, as funds will flow through contributions agreements with implementing agencies.

Integrated Regional Plans

Integrated Regional Plans (IRPs) will provide a common foundation for planning and investment in complex urban areas, helping enhance intergovernmental collaboration and strengthening links between capital projects and shared goals. IRPs received from partner organizations will outline local priorities, with a focus on conveying the following three elements:

• ACTORS: Who is involved in coordinating, prioritizing, and advancing transit and housing related initiatives within the metro-region.
• ACTIONS: What actions are expected to advance over the medium-term horizon, including capital projects and supportive policies.
• IMPACTS: How the actions will advance core federal objectives and achieve key outcomes.

The expectations for Integrated Regional Plans are detailed in the Submission Guide.

Additional resources

• Integrated Regional Plan Submission Guide
• Frequently asked questions
• Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada Funding Portal

Contact us

For any inquiries you may have about Metro-Region Agreements or the application process, please contact mra-erm@infc.gc.ca.