As election fever rises in Canada, the GR Staff took a closer look at the three leading parties' election program, and in more specifically how they address transportation issues. In a summary of party platforms, it oculd be said that affordability is a big issue for undecided voters — especially in Metro Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area, but all major Canadian cities are fast becoming part of this group where, significantly high housing costs and transit go hand in hand. The voters represented in this group are often younger, live outside of the city (because they can’t afford to own downtown) and spend hours in transit every day on buses and trains that aren’t always running smoothly. Pre-election ads often preview what’s to come in the campaign itself. The Liberals opened their campaign ads with a shot of someone sitting in traffic and leader Mr. Trudeau on a city bus. The Conservatives’ ad featured leader Mr. Scheer talking about lowering the cost of living for Canadians, including transit costs. The NDP’s Mr. Singh has been posting videos on Instagram of himself riding a bike to encourage people to drive less. His party is promising to offer federal support to cities interested in making their transit systems free to use. The transit issue allows parties to discuss two policy issues at the same time: job creation through infrastructure and fighting climate change. In essesnce, Electoral alliances and political gains,' are driving new transit, not smart decision making. Inadequate public transit has become as Canadian as hockey, and cities are struggling to find affordable solutions. Canada's transit woes have been exacerbated by the politicization of infrastructure projects and a pervasive car-centric mentality engrained in our institutions. Federal and provincial funding for new public transit projects has long been sporadic and without any clear direction, leaving municipalities to shoulder most of the burden. As well, much of the funding that has been made available supported infrastructure for drivers, a vestige of 20th century approaches to urban planning. However this mentality appears to be changing as beginning in 2017, $1B annually is earmarked in the federal budget for regional transit projects. The political reality is that like most infrastructure, constructing new public transit comes with a hefty price tag and the benefits can take years to materialize. Consequently, even the best projects can be a tough sell to the public. In light of renewed interest in climate change, the need to reduce city traffic may pave the way to some publice pressure on politicians to address the issue of public transport more urgently in the future. To date, the transit az an identified topic has not been a "hot" election issue, but with "affordability", "living standards" the ideas are already planted and encompass these concepts for urgent future political considerations.