TransLink to see $663 million in new federal funding for upgrades | Daily Hive

TransLink to receive $663 million in new federal funding for capital projects

The 99 B-Line at the Broadway-City Hall Station bus stop. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

On Monday, the Government of Canada committed new federal funding to TransLink, specifically for capital investments to upgrade, repair, and improve the public transit system in Metro Vancouver.

The federal government’s new Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF) will provide TransLink with $663 million in initial funding.

However, it will be provided to the public transit authority in annual instalments of about $66.3 million over 10 years between 2026 and 2036.

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Not to be confused with operating expenses, the new federal funding will be dedicated to capital expenses such as new bus fleet orders and the construction of improved facilities and infrastructure.

This new $663 million federal funding infusion to TransLink is conditional on the public transit authority submitting a capital plan, and the subsequent signing of a funding agreement.

This allocation comes from the “Baseline Funding” stream of the CPTF, which provides predictable stable funding to public transit authorities based on the population in their service area and ridership.

“The funding, which will focus on expansions, improvements, and repair, is critical to the stability and future of public transit in the region, including along the North Shore,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, the MP for North Vancouver and the federal minister of energy and natural resources, in a statement.

Linda Buchanan, the mayor of the City of North Vancouver, added, “Looking ahead, the Canada Public Transit Fund will be instrumental in delivering the new Bus Rapid Transit line connecting the North Shore to Metrotown.”

To date, other major recipients of the Baseline Funding stream include the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), which was announced in November 2024 to receive nearly $1.2 billion, with the majority allocated for purchasing new subway cars. On Monday, the federal government also announced that OC Transpo in Ottawa will receive $180 million from the Baseline Funding stream.

TransLink stands to receive significantly more funding from the $30 billion CPTF over 10 years. Besides the Baseline Funding stream, the CPTF also has two other streams — the “Metro-Region Agreements” stream and the “Targeted Funding” stream. The Metro-Region Agreements stream accounts for two-thirds or $20 billion of the CPTF, while the Baseline Funding stream and Targeted Funding stream each account for $5 billion.

TransLink is in the process of putting together its Metro-Region Agreement ahead of the fast-approaching deadline.

The Metro-Region Agreements stream supports Canada’s largest public transit systems, such as Greater Toronto, Metro Vancouver, Greater Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Halifax. This funding stream is established as partnerships between the federal government and provinces and their large urban areas. It will be based on merit, with the highest amounts of funding going to the most ambitious partnerships, including plans that best demonstrate how investments in public transit will help catalyze more housing.

As part of the application process for the Metro-Region Agreements stream, public transit authorities and local and regional governments must create an “Integrated Regional Plan” for their metropolitan region to receive a share of the Metro-Region Agreements stream. This plan must detail capital public transit planning over 10 years and consider impacts on ridership, housing supply and affordability, climate change, and social equity.

TransLink’s forthcoming application for the Metro-Region Agreements stream of funding is expected to highlight key components of the public transit authority’s 10-year Access for Everyone plan of performing major expansion and improvements, including the region’s first three Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines.

“We look forward to confirmation that our application to the Metro Regional Agreement stream of the Canada Public Transit Fund will be approved in time to approve the first phase of the Access for Everyone plan this April,” said Brad West, the chair of TransLink’s Mayors’ Council and the mayor of Port Coquitlam.

As a condition for both the Metro-Region Agreements and Baseline Funding streams, the local and regional governments are required to eliminate all mandatory vehicle parking requirements for new buildings within an 800-metre radius of a high-frequency transit line, and allow high-density housing within an 800-metre radius of a high-frequency transit line and post-secondary institutions. Such requirements were already fulfilled in Metro Vancouver through the provincial government’s recently enacted Transit-Oriented Areas legislation of catalyzing transit-oriented development.

The third stream of Targeted Funding supports active transportation (walking and cycling infrastructure), rural and remote public transit, public transit investments in Indigenous communities, and the electrification of public transit and school buses.

The framework and requirements of the CPTF were first announced in July 2024, following years of advocacy by public transit authorities and municipal leaders nationwide, urging the federal government to establish a permanent transit fund.

Separately, TransLink will also receive $1.7 billion from the federal government’s Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) — previously known as the federal Gas Tax Fund — over 10 years through 2034. This funding will be allocated toward capital investments, which TransLink has historically used to purchase new buses.

Although TransLink is seeking major capital funding to push forward with its plans to expand and upgrade the system, it is also in need of significant new additional revenue to cover not only its forthcoming operating revenue shortfall to maintain status quo service levels but also the higher operating costs of the planned increased in service levels.

To date, neither the provincial nor federal governments have committed any new operating subsidies to TransLink, which, like many other Canadian public transit authorities, is feeling the financial strain. Both governments are also experiencing significant budgetary challenges of their own, especially with the forthcoming impacts of the United States tariffs on all Canadian goods.

TransLink is forecasting an operating revenue shortfall of $72 million for 2025, which is expected to increase significantly to as much as $600 million annually starting in 2026 based on maintaining status quo service levels. The public transit authority has warned that major service cuts to reduce operating costs could come as early as late 2025 or 2026 if additional revenue is not found to avoid hitting the fiscal cliff.

TransLink’s fiscal cliff is attributed to several factors, including rising operating and labour costs, inflation, the full depletion of the provincial government’s previous operating subsidies, and the accelerating decline in gas tax revenue due to the adoption of battery-electric vehicles. Additionally, although ridership has largely recovered to pre-pandemic levels, fare revenue remains lower because passengers are purchasing cheaper fare products — such as more single-trip tickets and fewer expensive monthly passes — reflecting their less frequent use of public transit.

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