These are Canada's 40 most expensive infrastructure projects

Artistic renderings of the Site C hydroelectric dam (BC Hydro) | Ontario Line subway station (Metrolinx)

What are the most expensive infrastructure projects currently in progress in Canada?

At a cost of $16 billion due to major budget overruns, the Site C hydroelectric dam in northeastern British Columbia is currently the country’s most expensive infrastructure project. Construction first began in 2015, reservoir filling is scheduled to begin later in 2024, and power generation is expected to begin by late 2025.

This is followed by the $15.7 billion cost for the GO Train commuter rail expansion’s corridor works, not including the project’s separate early works at a cost of $10.5 billion and the Union Station upgrades through the CIBC Square project at $2 billion.

Two separate nuclear power plant refurbishment projects in Ontario rank third and fourth, with costs of $13 billion and $12.8 billion, respectively.

The fifth-most expensive project is Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which is significantly over its budget, now at $12.6 billion, and delayed, with completion and opening possible by late 2024.

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This compilation and ranking of the country’s 100 most expensive infrastructure projects as of 2024 is by ReNew Canada. It is based on projects with their confirmed project cost, and in a state of active procurement (bidding process for a major contractor), assessment, design, and/or construction. Moreover, these projects must also have funding support for inclusion in the ranking.

site c dam bc hydro construction progress july 2023

July 2023 construction progress on the Site C dam. (BC Hydro)

Eglinton Crosstown LRT subway station under construction. (Jack Landau/blogTO)

The top 100 projects have a combined project budget value of $293 billion. More than a quarter of these projects are public transit, one-fifth are other transportation such as bridges and highways, nearly a third are building developments such as hospitals, and 15 projects are wastewater plants or communications related.

Within the upper tier of the top 40 most expensive projects, 22 are located in Ontario, 10 projects are located in British Columbia, five projects are in Quebec, and two projects are in Alberta.

Ontario projects dominate seven of the top 10 list, including the $10.9 billion Ontario Line, which began construction last year towards a 2031 opening.

Montreal’s REM rail rapid transit network is the country’s ninth most expensive project, carrying a cost of $8 billion. The first phase opened last fall, and it is expected to reach full completion by 2027.

The eighth-most expensive project is Metro Vancouver Regional District’s $9.9 billion Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant near Vancouver International Airport.

rem montreal opening weekend july 2023 rm transit

Montreal’s REM phase 1 opening. (Reece Martin)

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of the new Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and area ecological improvements. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)

Artistic rendering of the new eight-lane immersed tunnel replacement for the George Massey Tunnel. (Government of BC)

Some of BC’s other most expensive projects include the $4.15 billion George Massey Tunnel replacement and Highway 99 corridor upgrade (No. 19), $4 billion SkyTrain Expo Line Surrey-Langley extension (No. 20), $3 billion Roberts Bank Terminal 2 super port in Delta (No. 28), $2.9 billion new Cloverdale Hospital and BC Cancer Centre in Surrey (No. 29), and the $2.8 billion SkyTrain Millennium Line Broadway extension in Vancouver, which will reach completion in 2026.

Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Port of Vancouver

Artistic rendering of Roberts Bank Terminal 2 in Delta. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

Artistic rendering of the new Cloverdale hospital at 5500 180 Street, Surrey. (Government of BC)

Artistic rendering of a station on the Green Line LRT. (City of Calgary)

Within Alberta, the most notable projects are both rail rapid transit — the $4.9 billion Calgary Green Line LRT (No. 16) and the $2.6 billion Edmonton Valley Line West LRT (No. 32).

The 40 most expensive infrastructure projects in Canada

Site C Hydroelectric Dam, BC: $16 billion
GO Train Expansion — On-Corridor Works, Ontario: $15.7 billion
Bruce Power Nuclear Plant refurbishment, Ontario: $13 billion
Darlington Nuclear Plant refurbishment, Ontario: $12.8 billion
Toronto Eglinton Crosstown LRT, Ontario: $12.6 billion
Toronto Ontario Line rail rapid transit, Ontario: $10.9 billion
GO Train Expansion — Early Works, Ontario: $10.5 billion
Richmond/Vancouver Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, BC: $9.9 billion
Montreal REM rail rapid transit, Quebec: $8 billion
Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) vehicles program, Ontario: $7.2 billion
Montreal Metro Blue Line East subway extension, Quebec: $6.4 billion
Gordie Howe International Bridge, Ontario: $6.4 billion
Mississauga-Brampton Hazel McCallion (Hurontario) LRT, Ontario: $5.6 billion
Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Scarborough subway extension, Ontario: $5.5 billion
Parliament Hill’s Centre Block rehabilitation, Ontario: $5 billion
Calgary Green Line LRT, Alberta: $4.9 billion
Toronto Eglinton Crosstown LRT West extension, Ontario: $4.7 billion
Ottawa LRT — Stage 2, Ontario: $4.7 billion
George Massey Tunnel replacement and Highway 99 corridor improvement project, BC: $4.15 billion
SkyTrain Expo Line Surrey-Langley extension, BC: $4 billion
Accelerated High-Speed Internet Program, Ontario: $3.9 billion
South Niagara Hospital, Ontario: $3.6 billion
Montreal Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel, Quebec: $3.5 billion
Toronto Finch West LRT, Ontario: $3.4 billion
Hamilton LRT, Ontario: $3.4 billion
Toronto Don River and Central Waterfront & Connected Projects, Ontario: $3 billion
Ottawa Energy Services Acquisition Program’s Energy Service Modernization, Ontario: $3 billion
Vancouver Fraser Port Authority new Roberts Bank Terminal 2 super port, BC: $3 billion
Surrey Cloverdale Hospital and BC Cancer Centre, BC: $2.9 billion
SkyTrain Millennium Line Vancouver Broadway subway extension, BC: $2.8 billion
Ottawa Hospital new campus, Ontario: $2.8 billion
Edmonton Valley Line West LRT, Alberta: $2.6 billion
Projet Hôpital Vaudreuil-Soulanges (new hospital), Quebec: $2.6 billion
Toronto New Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario: $2.4 billion
Burnaby Hospital redevelopment, BC: $2.4 billion
Winnipeg North End Treatment Plant upgrade, Manitoba: $2.3 billion
Vancouver New St. Paul’s Hospital, BC: $2.3 billion
Vancouver Northwest Langley Wastewater Treatment Plant, BC: $2.3 billion
Montreal Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge reconstruction, Quebec: $2.3 billion
Toronto Gardiner Expressway rehabilitation plan, Ontario: $2.2 billion

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