In an effort to create jobs and spur the economy forward in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government announced $10 billion in spending on infrastructure on October 1.

The money, which will be delivered through the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), will be delivered over three years and will target five priority areas:

• $2.5 billion for clean power to support renewable generation and storage and to transmit clean electricity between provinces, territories, and regions, including to northern and Indigenous communities,
• $2 billion to connect approximately 750,000 homes and small businesses to broadband in underserved communities,
• $2 billion to invest in large-scale building retrofits to increase energy efficiency and help make communities more sustainable,
• $1.5 billion for agriculture irrigation projects to help the agriculture sector enhance production, strengthen Canada's food security, and expand export opportunities, and
• $1.5 billion to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission buses and charging infrastructure so Canadians can have cleaner commutes.

"By investing in infrastructure, we are strengthening our communities and ensuring good jobs for today and in the future,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “We will continue to do what it takes to support Canadians through this crisis, safely get our economy back up and running, and get people back to work."

The CIB will also allocate $500 million for project development and early construction works to accelerate project delivery.

"Canada's infrastructure plan invests in thousands of projects, creates jobs across the country, and builds stronger communities,” said Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna. “The Canada Infrastructure Bank is critical to expanding Canada's ambition by bringing in the private sector to get more infrastructure built. The $10-billion Growth Plan will create 60,000 jobs, grow the economy and help build a low-carbon future."

The Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO), which only days prior released a paper that showed the long-run economic impacts of timely investments in infrastructure, was quick to welcome the federal government’s announcement.

A statement from the association said it was generally pleased with the announcement, but, “is calling for more focused investment on state-of-good repair projects which are required in almost every community across Canada.

“We welcome this Growth Plan as it is a necessary step to the economic recovery of Canada,” says RCCAO executive director Andy Manahan. “Building more resilient infrastructure and expanding broadband to underserved communities are worthwhile initiatives. We are hopeful that today’s announcement will be accompanied by other bold infrastructure investment measures.”

In its September 29 paper, RCCAO stressed the importance not only of large-enough investments in infrastructure, but also timely ones. Getting stimulus funding out into the industry as soon as possible means that work can begin before the snow starts to fly and many contractors all-but shut down their operations for the winter.

The association says it will wait for more announcements aimed specifically at infrastructure and to see a more detailed project list which is expected by the end of the year.

“It is also important that government supports strategic investment in state-of-good-repair projects to keep jobs and growth on track and our municipalities afloat,” says Manahan. “Maintaining infrastructure assets such as water and sewer systems and keeping transportation networks in a state of good-repair is a necessary stimulus measure because it provides immediate economic impact and tends to be more labour intensive.”

The federal government has committed $35 billion to support infrastructure projects across the country through the Canada Infrastructure Bank. That funding includes the $10-billion Growth Plan.