October 8th 2015

Trudeau pledges SmartTrack and GO train funds

Mayor John Tory welcomed the announcement of $2.6 billion for his SmartTrack plan.

October 1st 2015

MONTREAL — Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau promised new money for two big transit projects Thursday in Montreal and touted his plan to run deficits and spend on infrastructure ahead of Friday's leaders debate in Quebec. Trudeau promised in August to spend $5.8 billion on transit over four years

His promise Thursday was to help fund a rapid transit system to the area, as well as a light-rail project on the Champlain Bridge, which connects Montreal to the suburban South Shore. A Liberal government would spend $20 billion on transit infrastructure alone over 10 years across the country, he said.

September 10th 2015

VANCOUVER — Liberal leader Justin Trudeau on Thursday became the first of the major party leaders to pledge to invest billions of dollars in transportation improvements.

Using a private rooftop garden at Vancouver City Hall's engineering services as a backdrop for his announcement, Trudeau said his party would quadruple the Conservatives' infrastructure investment program and put nearly $20 billion in "new dollars" into transit infrastructure over the next decade.

Liberal Policy Resolution #1

1. Priority Resolution: National Transportation Strategy

WHEREAS traffic delays in Canada result in a loss of over $5 billion per year;

WHEREAS municipalities, provinces and territories do not have sufficient funds to build modern transit systems while continuing to provide other essential services;

WHEREAS many cities and towns across Canada, large and small, are facing funding shortfalls to fund their major public transit projects.  Some examples include $6.2 billion for Toronto’s downtown relief line, $1 billion for York Region transit, $200 million per year for ten years in Calgary, $515 million for Edmonton’s southeast LRT and Montreal’s $3.1 billion extension to the West Island;

WHEREAS VIA rail funding has been declining and is currently at the discretion of cabinet, thus being neither predictable nor subject to public scrutiny or input;

WHEREAS Canada is the only G7 country without a national transit strategy;

WHEREAS the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has called on the national government to implement a national transportation strategy;

BE IT RESOLVED that the Liberal Party of Canada consult with provinces, territories and municipalities and propose an integrated, intermodal national transportation strategy, that serves large and small communities, within two years of taking office;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a Liberal Government develop a predictable and reliable transportation funding commitment for at least 10 years, with the allocation of funds to be determined by the population and predicted growth of the population.