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5. Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund
6. Housing-Infrastructure Links (Housing Conditionality)
7. Quebec Bridge Restoration

Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund

Issue / question

How is the Government of Canada helping to build the core infrastructure needed to help communities grow?

Suggested response

• The Government of Canada is making historic investments to help ensure that all Canadians have a safe and affordable place to call home. Building on those investments, Budget 2024 proposes $6 billion in new federal funding to help build the infrastructure that enables communities to grow and flourish.
• The new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund will accelerate construction and upgrades of key infrastructure – including drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste – needed to support housing growth.
• At the same time, the government will leverage this fund to seek commitments from provinces and territories on key actions that will promote housing growth, densification and affordability.

Background

• Growing communities need quality infrastructure to build more homes, faster. To support this growth, investments are needed in water and solid waste infrastructure to remove barriers to housing and provide critical services for Canadians, amongst other environmental and climate benefits.
• Budget 2024 proposes to provide $6 billion over 10 years, starting in 2024-25, to create the new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF) to accelerate the construction and upgrading of critical water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste infrastructure that will directly enable new housing supply and help improve densification. The Fund comprises:
  • $1 billion available directly to municipalities to support urgent infrastructure needs that will directly enable housing supply.
• $5 billion for agreements with Provinces and Territories (PTs) to support long-term priorities. PTs can only access this funding if they commit to key actions that increase housing supply:
• Legalize more housing options by adopting zoning that allows four units as-of-right and allow more “missing middle” homes, including duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and other multi-unit apartments.
• Implement a three-year freeze on increasing development charges from April 2, 2024, levels for municipalities with a population greater than 300,000.
• Adopt forthcoming changes to the National Building Code to support more accessible, affordable, and climate-friendly housing options.
• Provide pre-approval for construction of designs included in the Government of Canada’s upcoming Housing Design Catalogue.
• Implement measures from the Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights and the Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights.
• To ensure this funding reaches communities of all sizes and needs, provinces must dedicate at least 20% of their agreement-based funding for northern, rural and Indigenous communities
• Provinces will have until January 1, 2025, to secure an agreement while territories will have until April 1, 2025, to do so. If a PT does not secure an agreement by their respective deadline, their funding allocation will be transferred to the municipal stream. The federal government will work with territorial governments to ensure the actions in their agreements are suitable to their distinct needs.
• Through this Fund, Infrastructure Canada (INFC) will continue to be a reliable partner for water and solid waste infrastructure projects. For example, through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, INFC has provided $1.1 billion for drinking water projects, $1.6 billion for wastewater projects, and $114.5 million for solid waste management projects.

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Housing-Infrastructure Links (Housing Conditionality)

Issue / question

How will the Government create links between housing and infrastructure?

Suggested response

• The Government of Canada is committed to building more complete, inclusive, and sustainable communities. This means building more housing near reliable transit lines that connect workers to jobs and community spaces.
• In 2023, we launched the now $4.4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund to remove local barriers to building more homes and allow communities to upgrade the infrastructure necessary to build denser neighbourhoods.
• To date, the federal government has signed 179 Housing Accelerator Fund agreements which will fast-track an estimated total of over 750,000 housing units across the country over the next decade.
• Going forward, we will work with all orders of government, leveraging infrastructure programming such as the Canada Public Transit Fund, Canada Community-Building Fund, and the recently announced Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, to ensure that these infrastructure investments enable growth of the right kind of housing that is affordable and meets the needs of our growing communities, while being in proximity to infrastructure assets and transit.

Background

• Since Budget 2022, Infrastructure Canada has been working toward the Government’s commitment to leverage infrastructure funding to advance housing outcomes that increase housing supply and improve affordability across the country.  The Government of Canada, working with its provincial, territorial, and municipal partners, has identified various opportunities to implement this approach to help future infrastructure programs become housing multipliers.
• In March 2023, the Government launched the now $4.4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). This initiative will help cities, towns, and Indigenous governments unlock new housing supply by removing systemic barriers and speeding up development and approvals, including by fixing out-of-date permitting systems, reforming zoning to build more density, or incentivizing development in proximity to public transit.
• In February 2021, the Prime Minister announced Canada’s first permanent public transit funding envelope of $3 billion annually, beginning in 2026-27, which can help tackle housing affordability challenges by incentivizing more housing supply near transit and enabling more people to choose transit over cars.
• Going forward, federal infrastructure programs, including the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF), the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF), and the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF), will link housing and infrastructure by requiring recipients commit to actions that increase housing supply and affordability in their jurisdictions. Communities over 30,0000 will be required to complete Housing Needs Assessments (HNAs) to ensure the right kind of supply is built for those who need it most and to maximize the ability of federal investments to drive outcomes across the entire housing continuum in an evidence-based manner.
• Budget 2024 included requirements for municipalities to receive CPTF funding: eliminating minimum parking requirements; allowing high density housing within 800m of a high frequency transit line; and the HNA requirement. These will be supplemented by regional housing narratives embedded in Integrated Regional Plans that will inform the housing targets negotiated as part of CPTF funding.
• Announced in Budget 2024, the $6 billion CHIF, starting in 2024-25 over 10 years, will accelerate the construction and upgrade of water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste infrastructure that will directly enable new housing and densification. Provinces and territories can access $5 billion to support long-term priorities if they commit to actions that increase housing supply: require municipalities to adopt four units as-of-right and allow more missing middle homes; implement a three-year freeze on development charges for cities over 300,000; adopt forthcoming changes to the National Building Code to support more accessible, affordable, and climate-friendly housing; require as-of-right construction for the Housing Design Catalogue; and implement measures from the forthcoming Home Buyers’ and Renters’ Bills of Rights.

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Quebec Bridge Restoration

Issue / question

Update on the Quebec Bridge restoration

Suggested response

• On May 15, 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, announced an agreement with the Canadian National Railway (CN) to repatriate this essential and historic infrastructure to the federal government and support its long-term viability.
• This important step will position the federal government to restore and maintain the structure of the Québec Bridge to ensure it can continue to benefit our economy and all users and residents of Greater Québec – preserving the bridge’s historical, cultural, and economic value for future generations.
• The Government of Canada will invest approximately $40 million per year for the next 25 years through its rehabilitation program. These investments will help extend the bridge’s useful life for decades to come, notably by increasing the frequency at which parts are replaced and painted.

Background

• Built in 1917, the Quebec Bridge is a strategic and historical asset that connects the City of Québec and Lévis. This infrastructure enables the movement of people and goods between the shores of the Saint Lawrence River (33,000 cars, 10 VIA Rail passenger trains and three freight trains every day).
• Since the property of the Bridge was transferred from Canada to the Canadian National Railway (CN) in 1995, the appearance of the bridge has deteriorated, and the federal government has faced local pressure to take on its rehabilitation. Canada has publicly confirmed its intention to complete the negotiations to repatriate and rehabilitate the bridge.
• In 2019, Canada appointed Mr. Yvon Charest as special negotiator. In 2020, he submitted his Recommendation and Cost Estimates Report that presented various options for the rehabilitation of the Bridge. In 2021, Mr. Charest was mandated to reach agreements and to secure financial contributions from both the CN and Quebec.
• On May 15, 2024, the federal government announced the conclusion of a retrocession agreement with CN to transfer ownership of the Quebec Bridge back to the Government of Canada. As part of this agreement:
  • CN agrees to pay the Government of Canada user fees for the life of the bridge, subject to certain essential conditions, and to retain ownership of and responsibility for the rail deck on the bridge and all costs associated; and
  • the Government of Canada also undertakes to take over and respect the current terms and conditions of the agreement between CN and the Government of Quebec regarding the use, management, and maintenance of the road deck of the Quebec Bridge by the Government of Quebec.
• Over the next few months, the Government of Canada will be moving swiftly ahead with its due diligence process, which includes surveying work to finalize the transfer.
• The Government of Canada will then implement a rehabilitation program balanced between maintaining the long-term viability of this strategic corridor, improving the visual appearance of a heritage infrastructure and sound management of public funds.
• The rehabilitation program will include steel repair and replacement work, and a painting program to protect bridge elements that are more prone to active corrosion or are difficult to replace, and to improve the overall visual appearance of the bridge. The Government of Canada's initial plan will be phased over a 25-year period.

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