TransLink set to receive $825M from federal gov’t funding over five years

The federal government announced Wednesday that the Lower Mainland’s transit provider is set to receive more than $825 million in funding over the next five years.

In a joint statement between Sean Fraser, federal minister of housing, infrastructure and communities; Anne Kang, B.C.’s minister of municipal affairs; and Trish Mandewo, the president of the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), the government shared it will be investing $1.6 billion into local B.C. communities over the next five years.

Of the $1.6 billion, the government said TransLink will receive a total of $825.3 million, with local governments and projects set to receive the remainder.

“Together we have finalized a new Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) agreement that will continue to provide predictable, long-term, and stable funding to local governments across British Columbia. The renewal of this agreement means that the critical infrastructure that supports housing will continue to be built, maintained, and expanded,” the joint statement said.

“Upgrading municipal infrastructure that people rely on is an important part of addressing the housing crisis. Community growth needs affordable homes as well as infrastructure, such as public transit, recreation centres, and modern water and wastewater systems,” it continued.

The funding comes after the TransLink Mayors’ Council sounded the alarm repeatedly over the last year, with claims of underfunding and under-resourcing as the region sees massive population growth.

The council chair, Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, shared in February that he was disappointed to see a lack of new transit projects outlined for Metro Vancouver in B.C.’s 2024 budget. West said at that time that if TransLink didn’t get more funding soon, it would have to look at service cuts starting in 2026.

In April, the B.C. government announced it would be investing $300 million into the transit service for more buses and SeaBus services.

The feds explained Wednesday that the funding will be distributed in three streams, including the Strategic Priorities Fund, the Metro Vancouver Regional Fund, and the Community Works Fund.

“We are taking a collaborative approach to building more inclusive and connected communities by creating the public infrastructure that British Columbians need,” the statement said.

TransLink says federal funding announcement already promised, service still on ‘fiscal cliff’

In a statement to CityNews, TransLink says the money does not help solve its “funding gap” and was already forecast under a different name.

“The CCBF agreement, formerly known as the federal Gas Tax Fund, expired in March 2024, and this is a renewal of that agreement,” said Tina Lovgreen, TransLink’s senior manager of media relations.

TransLink says while this capital funding is important to help with things like replacing buses, it’s still projecting a shortage of over $600 million in operating funding annually starting at the end of 2025.

In May, TransLink said its projects were in jeopardy due to a “fiscal cliff,” adding that it must secure a new funding model to resolve a coming financial crisis in 2025.

“TransLink continues to work with senior government partners to secure a new funding model that meets the growing needs of this region,” said Lovgreen on Wednesday.

West says he’s still disappointed.

He tells CityNews the council has been meeting with the feds to work out a new funding model, but those talks haven’t resulted in anything new.

“It’s not new money, and it’s money that has been in place, actually, through a program that existed for 20 years. So since 2004, TransLink has been receiving this money on an annual basis. So it’s not new and doesn’t take us anywhere where we need to be to meet the needs of this region,” said West.

“I think it’s incredibly irresponsible for the federal government to make those decisions and then just walk away from the consequences of their decisions.”

He added that if TransLink doesn’t receive the additional funding it needs, British Columbians may see a service reduction “on the magnitude of 60 per cent.”

West says the Mayors’ Council has plans for projects that could help meet the needs of the region, but the funds aren’t in place.

“It really is time to move past the talking and get to actually having some action and getting these projects delivered. But that’s not going to happen if the other levels of government don’t step up.”

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