TransLink to get cut of $1.6 billion in federal infrastructure funding

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TransLink is set to get a cut of $1.6 billion in federal funding over the next five years.

The funding was announced this week, after three levels of government said they’d finalized a deal that would see the money go to B.C. communities to build and maintain “critical infrastructure.”

Under the new Canada Community-Building Fund deal, local governments in B.C. will receive $300 million in federal infrastructure funding in 2024-2025.

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A statement announcing the deal says more than $825 million, representing about half of the five-year total, will go to TransLink to improve Metro Vancouver’s transportation network.

The injection of cash comes just one week after TransLink released a report on how it plans to squeeze $90 million a year out of its budget to address funding shortfalls.

In the report, TransLink said it was anticipating an annual funding gap of more than $600 million beginning in 2026 after provincial pandemic relief funding ends.

The $90 million would come from measures such as corporate cost reductions and reduced staffing but avoids any cuts to transit services for customers.

“The urgency of solving this crisis cannot be understated as we will be forced to look at service reductions at the end of 2025, should a solution not be found for our broken funding model,” said TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn last week.

Quinn said the transit authority also hoped to achieve $5 million in fare revenue by targeting fare evasion. The authority will also look into debt management and reduce information technology and hardware expenses.

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The funding gap is a result of decline in revenue from fuel taxes and fare increases that have fallen behind inflation.

However, the federal cash still doesn’t go far enough to address the funding gap, according to TransLink spokesperson Tina Lovgreen.

In an email, Lovgreen said the announcement Wednesday is a renewal of a previous funding agreement, and provides approximately $165 million of capital funds each year, which is separate from operating funds.

The federal funding had been factored into the report released last week.

“While this capital funding is important, it does not help solve our funding gap, which is a shortage of operating funding. TransLink is projecting a funding gap of over $600 million of operating funding annually starting at the end of 2025,” she said.

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

The federal funding deal was jointly announced by federal Infrastructure Minister Sean Fraser, B.C. Municipal Affairs Minister Anne Kang and Trish Mandewo, president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

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The Canada Community-Building Fund delivers money from the federal government to the provinces and territories, which then distribute the funds to communities.

The statement says upgrading municipal infrastructure — such as public transit, recreation centres and water and waste systems — is an important part of addressing the housing crisis.

It says projects previously supported by the fund include upgrades to highways and local roads, flood mitigation and organic waste transfer facilities.

With files from Canadian Press and Tiffany Crawford

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