2019-20 Departmental Results Report
Results at a glance and operating context

Priority 1: Implement Investing in Canada, a long-term infrastructure plan that will deliver significant new funding for provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous communities to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth

Four years into the 12-year Investing in Canada plan (the Plan), 34% of the Plan's $180 billion in funding has been committed to infrastructure projects across Canada; major bridge projects have crossed important milestones; solid foundations have been laid to understanding infrastructure in Canada; and plans have been set to continue growing and developing our workforce.

As the lead department responsible for the horizontal coordination of the $180-billion Plan, Infrastructure Canada worked closely with other federal delivery departments to guide implementation and reporting on over 85 programs that fall under it. Infrastructure Canada tracks progress through an online, interactive project map, an implementation progress and funding table and a searchable list of all approved projects funded under the Plan. By the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year, funding had been committed to more than 52,000 projects and over 38,000 of those were already underway.

As part of the Plan, the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) is providing over $33-billion in infrastructure funding to provinces and territories. In 2019-20, Infrastructure Canada approved more than $4.4 billion in funding for 633 new infrastructure projects, including investments in public transit, green, community, culture and recreation, as well as rural and northern community infrastructure.

Under the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF), a total of 39 projects representing a federal contribution of $926,130,857 were approved in 2019-20. Under the Smart Cities Challenge (SSC), the following four winners were announced in the first round of the program in 2019-20:

  • The Town of Bridgewater (Nova Scotia) was awarded the $5 million prize;
  • The City of Guelph and Wellington County (Ontario), and Nunavut Communities (Nunavut) each received a $10 million prize; and
  • The City of Montreal (Quebec) received the $50 million prize.

Infrastructure Canada also worked in partnership with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and its executive team to provide a wide range of support services, strategic advice and policy guidance related to Government of Canada policies and priorities:

  • Promoting innovative partnership models to attract  private and institutional investments;
  • Working collaboratively with the CIB and other government departments on potential projects and horizontal policy initiatives; and
  • Understanding the Government's duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples and how to ensure the duty is carried out appropriately.

Infrastructure Canada's work on these important commitments will remain a priority for the foreseeable future as we continue to support the CIB's role in delivering financing to attract private sector and institutional investment and to leverage the capital and expertise of the private sector.

Infrastructure Canada also continued to represent federal interests related to Waterfront Toronto, participating in quarterly meetings of the Inter-Governmental Steering Committee for the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Initiative (TWRI). The Department provided continuous guidance and feedback to the corporation on its activities and priorities, including with respect to the Port Lands Flood Protection and Enabling Infrastructure Project and the Quayside Project.

In 2019-20, Infrastructure Canada established a dedicated team to enhance the flow of funds from the Department, to its funding recipients. Actions are currently underway to address various matters in this regard across the organization and include:

  • Engaging with partners to provide timely and detailed information regarding forecasting and claims expectations;
  • Conducting focus group sessions and exercises on cash-flow forecasting;
  • Leveraging and optimizing information technology systems to increase efficiency in program delivery;
  • Establishing a federal-provincial-territorial (FTP) financial working group to support the initiative to improve the flow of funding; and
  • Aligning payments with on-the-ground activities by promoting a funding model under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) that allows for payments to be made on the basis of costs incurred.

Additionally, the Department undertook a pilot project with three provinces in 2019-20, to examine and evaluate the feasibility of making payments on fixed dates and based on cost-incurred forecasts. This resulted in the Department processing and paying-out approximately $11.5 million in claims. Overall, some $7.6 billion in federal payments were made for projects that were ongoing or completed in 2019-20.

Priority 2: Advance significant bridge projects

The Government of Canada is funding the construction and operation of two major bridges to support national economic growth and the efficient flow of people and goods. In 2019-20, Infrastructure Canada continued to work actively with stakeholders across all orders of government to achieve important milestones in relation to the advancement of significant bridge projects.

Samuel De Champlain Bridge Project

The Samuel De Champlain Bridge project progressed from the construction phase, to the operation, maintenance and rehabilitation (OMR) phase. The construction phase was deemed to be substantially completed as of October 31, 2019, with a full transition to OMR anticipated by the end of 2020, upon the completion of outstanding finishing works and the correction of certain deficiencies.

Gordie Howe International Bridge Project

Infrastructure Canada worked closely with the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA), central agencies, and project partners in 2019-20, to ensure that all enabling authorities and funding were in place as part of the transition from the procurement phase, to move on to the design-build phase of the Gordie Howe International Bridge (GHIB) project. This included completing all Governor-in-Council appointment processes for project governance and filling a vacancy on the WDBA, as well as implementing the project's governance committees.

In June 2019, WDBA, Bridging North America, the State of Michigan, and the Government of Canada unveiled a Community Benefits Plan for the GHIB project. The Community Benefits Plan provides a series of initiatives based on public input that create measurable and result-based opportunities for the host communities of the GHIB project. The Community Benefits Plan also has a workforce development component with employment, training, and educational opportunities, as well as a neighbourhood infrastructure component that will make aesthetic and functional improvements to local communities.

Champlain Bridge Deconstruction

Infrastructure Canada worked with the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated and Central Agencies in 2019-20 to ensure that all enabling authorities and funding were in place to enable the Crown Corporation to undertake its activities including the deconstruction of the original Champlain Bridge.

The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI) is responsible for the planning, tendering and management of the deconstruction of the original Champlain Bridge. Upon concluding a fair, open and transparent procurement process, JCCBI announced in March of 2020, that Nouvel Horizon St-Laurent G.P., which is comprised of Pomerleau and Delsan-A.I.M, is the selected bidder.

Priority 3: Strengthen capacity in data, research, and performance measurement to support evidence-based policy making/program design and to communicate results

As part of its efforts to strengthen capacity in data to support evidence-based policy-making and program design, Infrastructure Canada continued to work with partners and stakeholders over the course of 2019-20 to advance initiatives under this departmental priority.

In order to establish a baseline of data to further support evidence-based policy-making and program design and reporting, Infrastructure Canada continued its partnership with Statistics Canada on the enhancement and delivery of multiple data products in 2019-20. 

  • In redesigning the Canada's Core Public Infrastructure (CCPI) survey for the 2018 reference year, Infrastructure Canada undertook an extensive outreach process in 2019, and provided input received from provinces, territories and other stakeholders to Statistics Canada. Data from the program are to be released in the fall of 2020.
  • In order to meet Infrastructure Canada's data needs, Statistics Canada expanded the existing Capital and Repair Expenditures Survey (CAPEX) to include more detail on infrastructure investments by source of funds (level of government) and released these data in 2020.
  • Infrastructure Canada also continued to work with Statistics Canada to further develop the Infrastructure Economic Account (INFEA) which provides information on public and private infrastructure investment; stock; and economic contribution, available through data tables and an online interactive data tool. Data now cover the 2009 to 2019 reference periods.
  • Finally, a new project was launched with Statistics Canada's geomatics team to leverage administrative data to provide proximity to public transit measures for Canada, which also meet Canada's reporting requirements under the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. Data under this initiative were released in the spring of 2020.

As a result of Infrastructure Canada's partnerships with Statistics Canada, the body of evidence available to support departmental decision making grew in 2019-20, further strengthening the data analysis and performance measurement capabilities of the department and stakeholders.

Infrastructure Canada works collaboratively with the CIB and other relevant partners to support sound decision-making. The Department has implemented Deputy Minister Strategy Tables on trade, transportation and public transit, green infrastructure and broadband to share knowledge and data on public policy objectives and priority projects with the CIB.

Infrastructure Canada has undertaken a research strategy on a wide range of issues and engagement plans:

  • To date, the Department has produced 15 multidisciplinary reports. These reports are vital to better understanding a wide range of relevant issues including new and emerging investments and global trends, revenue generating models, transit oriented developments, alternative funding mechanisms for infrastructure projects and risk management;
  • This evidence-based data helps to provide up to date analytics and strategic guidance to inform internal decision-making and policy development, support provincial, territorial, municipal and indigenous communities as well as to support the CIB.

In addition, the Department has supported recipients in the substantial completion of three P3 Canada Fund projects. This included processing claims for four P3 Canada Fund projects, totalling $185,164,890 and maintaining regular contact with recipients as well as conducting ongoing due diligence reviews of project agreements, change order requests, annual progress reports and lessons learned.

Infrastructure Canada is providing funding through the Research and Knowledge Initiative (RKI) to the World Council on City Data (WCCD) for the Data for Canadian Cities Pilot Project (DCCPP) to create new municipal indicators developed through the program that will help cities self-assess and benchmark delivery of their city services and quality of life. It is aimed at generating knowledge, fostering innovative thinking to improve the infrastructure evidence base, and providing stakeholders with the capacity needed to generate and apply new and existing knowledge and make it readily available and widely disseminated to all infrastructure decision-makers.

Under the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, Infrastructure Canada is funding the National Research Council (NRC) to deliver a Climate-Resilient Buildings and Core Public Infrastructure (CRBCPI) Initiative over a 5 year period. The Initiative is developing decision support tools, including new guidelines, standards and updated codes for the design and rehabilitation of buildings and public infrastructure, to build for a changing climate. These knowledge products serve to integrate climate resilience across key infrastructure sectors as the basis for future infrastructure builds and rehabilitation work across Canada.

Infrastructure Canada has also joined a group of multiple federal departments, other levels of government, and external stakeholders that provide funding support into a large, multi-year research project led by the NRC that is aiming to develop better data and knowledge to enable more robust estimates of GHG emissions for building materials, as well as to promote the use of eco-friendly building materials.

Infrastructure Canada has also joined other federal departments in a partnership with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for a research project that will support innovation and economic growth in Canadian rural communities.

Furthermore, INFC co-sponsored the Council of Canadian Academies' report on Canada's Top Climate Change Risks, released publicly in July 2019, which recommended potential adaptation measures to mitigate the risks associated with physical infrastructure and identified potential infrastructure implications related to coastal and northern communities.

Infrastructure Canada is engaging on an ongoing basis with infrastructure and community thought-leaders, which provides the Department with various opportunities to strengthen internal knowledge through exchanges with subject-matter experts on several policy issues. For example, Infrastructure Canada brings in innovative speakers on a regular basis to speak and engage with officials on a variety of infrastructure topics, which generates internal discussions and supports new research and analysis.

Infrastructure Canada continued to share public information on ICIP, including information on the Rural and Northern Infrastructure stream. Internal work to improve data sets has allowed the Department to better identify investments in rural communities and across infrastructure programs, thereby helping to inform decision-making and communicate results to Canadians. In 2019-20, 556 infrastructure projects in rural communities were approved under ICIP.

For more information on Infrastructure Canada's plans, priorities and results achieved, see the "Results: what we achieved" section of this report.