Canada and B.C. sign historic $5B local infrastructure agreement

Key Takeaways:

• Canada and British Columbia have signed a 10-year infrastructure partnership delivering over $5 billion in federal funding across the province.
• A cost-matched $3.2 billion housing fund will expand municipal water and road grids for communities that slash multi-unit development fees by up to 50%.
• The agreement includes $2.5 billion for regional public transit assets, $1.2 billion to modernize hospital networks over three years, and an immediate plan to convert 2,200 vacant condos into affordable units.

The Whole Story:

Prime Minister Mark Carney and British Columbia Premier David Eby unveiled a massive 10-year infrastructure agreement today, guaranteeing more than $5 billion in federal funding to modernize, connect, and expand communities across the province. Managed primarily through Ottawa’s newly established $51 billion Build Communities Strong Fund (BCSF) and the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF), the comprehensive bilateral partnership aims to aggressively scale up housing supply, upgrade regional healthcare networks, and expand public transit access.

A core pillar of the transaction is a cost-matched housing initiative that will see the federal and provincial governments each contribute $1.6 billion, creating a unified $3.2 billion fund over the next decade. This capital will be deployed to expand housing-enabling utility infrastructure, such as municipal water systems, wastewater treatment facilities, and local access roads. To secure priority access to these funds, participating municipalities must slash local development charges for multi-unit housing projects by up to 50% in designated growth zones, a mechanism projected to reduce upfront building costs by up to $40,000 per residential unit.

To supplement these long-term infrastructure plays, the federal government has introduced fast-track legislation to deliver an immediate, one-time cash transfer of $284 million directly to British Columbia to dismantle municipal construction barriers. In tandem, the leaders launched the Canada-British Columbia Partnership on Condo Conversion. This joint venture between Build Canada Homes and BC Housing will employ specialized financing structures to rapidly acquire and convert more than 2,200 vacant, privately owned condominium units into permanently affordable housing inventory.

The agreement also addresses immediate constraints within the provincial transit and healthcare networks:

• Public Transit Integration: Under the CPTF, Ottawa will inject $2.5 billion over 10 years to expand high-traffic transit pathways, explicitly anchoring ongoing major builds like the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension. This funding comes in addition to a previously finalized $852 million stabilization package for TransLink and BC Transit.
• Healthcare Infrastructure Modernization: The bilateral deal funnels $1.2 billion in cost-matched funding ($600 million each from federal and provincial coffers) over the next three years to build out hospitals, expand emergency departments, and establish regional urgent care facilities.
• Targeted Regional Upgrades: Coastal communities will receive up to $50 million over five years for localized infrastructure, with priority given to project bids out of Terrace and Prince Rupert. Additionally, the remote community of Tumbler Ridge secured a dedicated $200 million cost-matched envelope ($100 million each) to immediately demolish its aging secondary school and construct a brand-new facility alongside an overhauled local health clinic.

“Canadians gave our government a clear mandate to build a stronger country—one where people are empowered with more opportunities, lower costs, safer communities, and homes you can afford,” said Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Premier David Eby echoed the importance of the coordinated rollout, noting that the multi-billion-dollar framework builds directly upon British Columbia’s independent provincial housing actions to ensure that rapid population growth is matched by robust public utility expansions, reliable emergency medical access, and stable construction careers.