Alberta Municipalities say the recent infrastructure funding announcement has been their number one priority, but there is still work to do.
On Wednesday, July 29, Prime minister Mark Carney, and Premier Danielle Smith announced a new partnership, for the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund. Officials say the agreement will allow municipalities across the province to access more than $510 million in federal funding over eight years.
Alberta Municipalities President, Dylan Bressey says this topic has been one of the group’s top priorities.
“This has been our number one priority at both the federal and provincial level because it is what we constantly hear from our members.”
“We’re grateful to see all orders of Government coming together to figure out how to get the infrastructure our communities need.”
The provincial government will be contributing a minimum of one-third of eligible project costs led by municipal governments, unlocking up to $428 million of provincial funding for qualifying projects.
Alberta Municipalities says that while the funding is helpful, these financial supports will still fall short, as Alberta’s communities continue to face a desperate need to get shovels in the ground before new homes can be built.
“It’s great to see this money committed, but there is still a lot of details to be worked out, including how does it get applied for, what are the reporting requirements, how do we make sure it is going to the communities that need it most, and how do we make sure that all types of communities are benefiting from it.”
“As Alberta grows, and as local communities support both residents and businesses, they need waste water infrastructure in particular to flush the toilets in new houses and get trucks towards new industrial properties.”
Alberta Municipalities say that they still need to understand the specifics of how funds will flow, what conditions are attached to the funding, how projects will be prioritised, and the exact timelines for funding proposals. They add that they will be taking time to connect with the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta to better understand how they came to this agreement and ascertain whether this announcement means net new provincial funding or not.
