QUESTION PERIOD — Industry
Canada Infrastructure Bank
June 13, 2024
Senator Gold, a new report from the Canadian Urban Institute estimates that the average cost of infrastructure needed to support housing likely exceeds $100,000 for each newly built home. These are the costs associated with public transit, roads, waterlines, schools, recreational facilities and more.
We need to build nearly 6 million homes from now until 2030 to meet current and growing demand, but much more is involved in building prosperous, family-oriented and affordable communities.
Considering all of the federal money being injected into housing, what role, if any, does the government play in helping to coordinate new housing projects and making sure housing‑enabling infrastructure is not overlooked and is adequately funded?
Thank you for your question and for giving me the opportunity to elaborate on why. As I have said on so many occasions, municipalities, among other players, are on the front lines when it comes to confronting some of the greatest challenges Canadians face today with regard to housing.
That is why the federal government is delivering the support that municipalities need, including $2.40 billion through the Canada Community-Building Fund for 2023-24 to help municipalities meet their infrastructure needs; a new $6-billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to accelerate the construction and upgrading of critical housing infrastructure, including $1 billion for municipalities to support urgent infrastructure to unlock housing; and Canada’s first-ever permanent public transit funding for cities starting in 2026-27.
The federal government will continue to work with mayors to build the communities that Canadians deserve.
The institute’s report was funded by the Canada Infrastructure Bank, or CIB, which could obviously play an important role in funding the various amenities needed.
As you know, the bank launched the Infrastructure for Housing Initiative in March 2024 to provide low-cost financing to enable municipalities and Indigenous communities to build housing‑enabling infrastructure.
How much money has been earmarked for this program? What are the eligibility criteria? Have any investments been made so far?
Broadly speaking, the eligibility criteria are that the project must require an investment of at least $50 million and create incremental revenues for the municipality, the borrower must be a Canadian municipality or municipally owned corporation, and, finally, the project must be new or involve significant necessary upgrades. While still a relatively new initiative, the CIB has already made significant investments, including $140 million in the City of Brandon and the Red‑Seine‑Rat Wastewater Cooperative located in southeastern Manitoba, which is expected to unlock development of up to 15,000 housing units in these growing communities.
