Infrastructure Canada Departmental Plan 2023-24
Plans at a glance

Every day, Canadians navigate a complex and challenging economic landscape. Together, we are taking decisive and measured strides towards economic growth and a healthier, more resilient future. Infrastructure Canada (INFC) will continue working with all orders of government, Indigenous communities and other partners to enable investments in public transit, social, and green core public infrastructure. As in previous years, our goal is to achieve meaningful results to boost the economy and create jobs, strive towards a cleaner and healthier environment, and support more inclusive, accessible and sustainable communities that meet the diverse needs of all Canadians and improve quality of life. We will do this with transparency, while promoting accountability and providing information to Canadians on our efforts. Our focus includes:

Provide targeted investments in resilient infrastructure (including natural infrastructure), green and inclusive community buildings, community assets and water and wastewater to strengthen local economies and protect our communities and environment in order to enhance the quality of life of Canadians and drive towards a net-zero carbon, climate resilient future. 

This year, ensuring Canadians have resilient, climate-smart, accessible and inclusive public infrastructure is a growing priority for the Department. INFC will work to raise the quality of life across the nation through investments in key programs such as the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF), the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) Program, and the Natural Infrastructure Fund (NIF).

Through the DMAF, INFC will continue to provide a total of $3.86 billion in targeted investments over 12 years, ending in 2032-33, to support the development of infrastructure projects designed to mitigate current and future climate-related risks and disasters triggered by natural hazards, such as floods, wildland fires, droughts, erosion and permafrost.

As part of the over $33 billion Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), the Green Infrastructure Stream includes investments to support disaster mitigation projects, including projects supporting structural and natural capacity to adapt to climate change impacts, natural disasters, and extreme weather events. In addition, the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure stream also provides support for climate change related disaster mitigation and adaptation infrastructure. The GICB program will continue to allocate up to $1.5 billion in federal funding over five years as announced in Budget 2021, to support retrofits, repairs or upgrades of existing and construction of new community buildings that serve equity-deserving and high-needs communities across Canada. The Department will work with municipal and regional governments, public sector bodies, not-for-profit organizations, provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous organizations and entities to support eligible and approved projects. The program also contributes to Canada’s climate objectives, supports economic growth and job creation, and builds more inclusive and resilient communities where Canadians have opportunities to thrive.

Through targeted investments of $200 million over 4 years, the NIF directly supports the development of resilient infrastructure, including natural and hybrid infrastructure, and is intended to protect the natural environment, support healthy and resilient communities and contribute to economic growth and jobs. Through investments in the upgrade of natural assets, the NIF increases climate resilience across the country, by supporting the structural integrity of infrastructure and the long-term protection of vital community functions.

The Department will also continue to provide over $2.4 billion per year in funding through the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) to provinces and territories, who in turn flow the funds to their municipalities. Communities have the opportunity to make strategic investments across 19 different project categories, which include investments in water and wastewater, solid waste infrastructure, disaster mitigation and community energy systems. As this is the last year of the current agreements, we will work with signatories on renewal of this program with improvements to program transparency and to tie access to this funding to actions by signatories on access to housing in their jurisdictions.

To help communities better prepare and withstand the impacts of climate events, as part of the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS), the Government of Canada Adaptation Action Plan (AAP) is providing additional support through the DMAF program, totalling a steady contribution of up to $489.1 million over 10 years. Alongside this investment, the Department will advance several initiatives including open-access climate toolkits, resilience requirements for funding programs, and guidance, standards, and codes for climate resilient and low-carbon infrastructure, using the same channels.

Designed with the objective to be an evergreen source for consolidated and authoritative climate-smart tools and resources, the Open-Access Climate Toolkits will help infrastructure owners and investors develop projects that ensure Canada is on the path to a net-zero emission and resilient future. This initiative will pull together the best available data, standards and guidelines, case studies, and deliver place-specific and asset-specific guidance to reduce climate-related risks for infrastructure. Direct support to users will also be provided through a Help Desk and a pool of qualified experts to support communities across the country in applying the tools to implement adaptation and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures.

As the Canadian environment changes, our climate resilience requirements will also be developed and applied to new infrastructure funding programs, ensuring that what we build today can withstand future climate change challenges. These requirements will include resilience assessments, climate-informed design data and standards, hazard-specific criteria, and natural infrastructure solutions. In the upcoming year, INFC will work to expand codes, standards, and guidance for climate resilient and low-carbon infrastructure. This will build on previous ground breaking work that has delivered 34 new/updated standards, 22 new guidance documents, three updated codes, and world-leading, future-looking climate design data for over 660 locations across Canada.

Continue significant investments in public transit, including funding for zero-emission buses and active transportation and the development and implementation of permanent public transit funding, to ensure sustainable mobility, create jobs and establish more prosperous and accessible communities.

Through the Permanent Public Transit Program (PPTP), the Department will continue to move forward on the Government’s historic investments in transit to ensure sustainable mobility, create jobs, and establish more prosperous and accessible communities. INFC will do so by accelerating future major transit projects and support the expansion of large urban transit systems.

Funding will continue to be made available under three direct-application funds of the PPTP over a five-year period. The first, the Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF), worth $2.75 billion, will support the deployment of zero-emission school and transit buses across Canada. Second, the Active Transportation Fund (ATF) will disburse $400 million towards supporting the planning and implementation of new and expanded networks of pathways, bike lanes, trails and pedestrian bridges. Finally, the Rural Transit Solutions Fund (RTSF) will provide $250 million to support the development of locally driven transit solutions.

INFC will work with provinces, territories, municipalities, local governments, Indigenous communities, transit agencies, policy experts and other stakeholders on the design of future permanent public transit programming.

As part of the over $33 billion Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), the Public Transit Stream will deliver on investments to support projects which invest in the construction, expansion, and improvement of public transit infrastructure. These projects improve the capacity of public transit infrastructure, the quality or safety of existing or future transit systems, and access to public transit systems. In addition, as part of the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure stream, Infrastructure Canada will provide funding for projects that improve capacity and quality of pathways and active transportation infrastructure.

Align federal infrastructure and housing investments to increase housing supply overall, and support access to housing that is affordable and strategically oriented near transit, employment, services and amenities to meet the diverse needs of all Canadians.

To create more housing supply and increase affordability, INFC will continue to work closely with its partners and stakeholders across the country to inform the development of a comprehensive framework to leverage future public infrastructure investments.

Programs such as the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) and Permanent Public Transit Program (PPTP) contribute to building complete, sustainable and inclusive communities, strategically located near transit.  The CCBF provides municipalities with predictable, long-term funding that enables the construction and rehabilitation of core public infrastructure. Provinces and territories can access this source of funding to support municipalities in aligning their housing and transit priorities. Since 2014, funding in public transit has been the top category of CCBF investment in all census metropolitan areas (CMAs). As well, Canadian municipalities can benefit from stable, predictable funding to build and improve public transit infrastructure that supports productivity, economic growth and accessibility through key transit investments from the PPTP.

Infrastructure Canada, in its portfolio role supporting the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, will establish and maintain strong collaborations and align policies with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), as well as other federal housing stakeholders, in order to help effectively deliver federal housing programs. Going forward the department will also work to strengthen the linkage between infrastructure investments and housing, including through the CCBF, by tying access to funding to actions by provinces, territories and municipalities to increase housing supply where it makes sense to do so.

Support communities and organizations to prevent and reduce homelessness, including chronic, Indigenous, and Veteran homelessness.

As promised to Canadians in our 2021 Mandate Letter, the Department will continue to support communities and partners in their efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness across Canada.

In fiscal year 2023-24, Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy will continue to provide crucial funding to urban, Indigenous, rural and remote communities throughout the country. The Department will continue to allocate additional funding for Reaching Home as per Budget 2022 in recognition of the unique pressures currently facing communities, the homelessness-serving sector, and will enable organizations to deliver vital services to individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Given the over-representation of Indigenous peoples among those experiencing homelessness, Reaching Home will continue to fund and support organizations to address Indigenous homelessness, including through the delivery of Indigenous-specific homelessness programming. Infrastructure Canada will work with Indigenous partners to identify and advance priorities that meet the unique needs of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people.

Complementary to Reaching Home, Budgets 2021 and 2022 allocated funding over five years to create the new Veteran Homelessness Program. With support from Veterans Affairs Canada, INFC will launch the Program in 2023-24, to provide rent supplements and wrap-around supports intended to prevent and reduce Veteran homelessness.

Budget 2022 allocated funding to conduct research about further measures that could contribute to eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada. Action Research on Chronic Homelessness (ARCH) projects will be conducted in eight communities across Canada, intended to inform the development of a broader strategy to eliminate chronic homelessness nation-wide. The research will help identify and document persistent barriers in preventing and reducing chronic homelessness experienced by communities, as well as test potential approaches to addressing persistent barriers.

Proactively engage with and provide support to all orders of government, as well as Indigenous organizations and communities to inform policy and program development in support of complete communities that are modern, green, inclusive, innovative, resilient, and transit-oriented.

The Department will continue to engage provinces, territories, and municipalities to build back better through multilateral tables to ensure that all orders of government can discuss priorities and concerns, and support the successful delivery of stable, flexible, and secure long-term infrastructure funding.

The Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) provides provinces, territories, and municipalities with predictable, long-term funding that enables the construction and rehabilitation of core public infrastructure. In 2023-24, the Department will have the opportunity to engage with signatories to strengthen the administration of its programs and implement the Budget 2022 commitment to ensure that new infrastructure investments increase the housing supply and are aligned with transit, community assets, and environmental priorities.

Through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program, INFC works with municipal, regional, provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous organizations and entities to support and fund eligible and approved projects. This program invests in projects that help community buildings become more energy efficient and cost effective.

Through investments in greening infrastructure, we are ensuring that Canada is investing in efficient and sustainable growth fuelled by clean technologies. The GICB program also contributes to Canada’s goals of both reducing emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net-zero carbon by 2050. Additionally, the program implements a distinct Indigenous engagement strategy to support INFC ’s commitment to allocate at least 10% of the program funding envelope for Indigenous recipients.

The Natural Infrastructure Fund (NIF) supports diverse entities and organizations to build resilient and healthy communities through the implementation and installation of natural and hybrid infrastructure. The program also supports local actions to address climate change risks while simultaneously reducing the driver of climate change through mitigating carbon emissions, protecting and preserving biodiversity and wildlife, and improving the environment.

The Government of Canada knows that communities are on the front lines of climate change. Infrastructure Canada will work closely with all orders of government, Indigenous organizations, and communities to make it easier for partners to incorporate resilience into planning, operation, and maintenance. New supports and services will be developed through Open-Access Climate Toolkits to provide communities with the tools and expertise to plan for and reduce climate-related infrastructure risks, and build for a resilient future.

As well, in support of the design of permanent public transit funding, the Department will continue to work with its partners to support the development of a framework for transit investments that aim to develop and build transit and housing-oriented communities that are climate-smart, innovative, accessible, and inclusive.

INFC will continue to work with all orders of government, as well as Indigenous organizations and communities to ensure the effective implementation of all our programs. Engagement with these groups ensures that place-based realities and priorities inform departmental policy and program development in support of complete communities.

Advance work on a National Infrastructure Assessment to identify Canada’s infrastructure needs and priorities, linking public investments with policy outcomes, and planning for a future that is green, inclusive and prosperous.

The Department continues to promote innovation in infrastructure through research, experimentation, and technological adoption ensuring integration between economic, social, and natural infrastructure. Building on significant public input received in 2021, Infrastructure Canada will advance work on the National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA) that will provide an evidence-based picture of Canada’s long-term infrastructure needs and priorities to help guide future investment decisions that will support Canada's economic, environmental, and social objectives. The NIA will build on government investments to date in infrastructure-related data, and will help provide decision-makers with valuable information to highlight where infrastructure investments will have the greatest impact to promote vibrant communities across Canada.

Support the long-term construction and operations of major bridge projects to promote economic growth and the efficient flow of people and goods while facilitating effective governance, collaboration and stewardship of our portfolio organizations.

The Government of Canada continues to fund the construction and long-term operations of major federal bridges and projects to promote economic growth, provide value for money for Canadians, and foster safety, sustainable development, and urban integration. Investments include the Gordie Howe International Bridge (GHIB) project, the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge Corridor project, infrastructure in the Montreal region managed by Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated, and the Quebec Bridge.

INFC continues to provide oversight and support to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority – a Crown corporation established to deliver the GHIB project through a public-private partnership (P3) – as it advances with construction and prepares for the transition to operations. In 2023-24, it is expected that the Canadian and United States bridge towers will be completed and the main span will begin to branch out over the Detroit River.

The Department is also leading the delivery of the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge Corridor project through a P3. While the Corridor has been operational since 2019, in 2023-24 Infrastructure Canada will continue working with its partners, including private partners like CDPQ Infra, to resolve outstanding issues and support operation of the Réseau express métropolitain light transit system across the bridge.

In addition, in 2023-24, the Department will support Transport Canada in the delivery of High Frequency Rail between Quebec City and Toronto through an innovative collaboration between the Government of Canada and world-class private sector companies.

Finally, in alignment with the Government’s commitment, the Department will continue to support the Minister of Transport to complete negotiations to repatriate and rehabilitate the Quebec Bridge.

Promote the consideration of alternative finance and delivery models and tools early and upstream in planning phases of projects to optimize the use of public funds, catalyze private investments, including by supporting the Canada Infrastructure Bank in delivering on its mandate.

INFC will continue to serve as a policy centre of expertise for the Government of Canada in alternative financing of infrastructure projects. Alternative methods of financing public infrastructure are vital to addressing Canada’s current and emerging infrastructure needs, as well as supporting its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, the Department brings together key public and private sector stakeholders to promote alternative finance models and optimize public funding, including working with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to support the delivery of alternative finance in practice. As part of this work, the Department will complete the first legislative review of the Canada Infrastructure Bank Act.

The Department will continue to build capacity and knowledge of the strategies and needs of private and institutional investors, to support policy analysis and advice to encourage investments in public infrastructure and leverage private capital, risk transfer, and innovation. In addition, INFC will continue to build a deeper understanding of the needs of provinces and municipalities to better leverage alternative financing models to deliver more infrastructure for Canadians.

For more information on Infrastructure Canada’s plans, see the “Core responsibilities: planned results and resources” section of this plan.