Ottawa gets $180M in federal transit money

Ottawa is on track to get $180 million in transit infrastructure funding from the federal government from 2026 to 2036.

The money would pay for upgrading, replacing, modernizing and maintaining public transit and its infrastructure, according to a news release issued Monday. The funds are tied to achieving greater housing density near transit stations.

Liberal MPs from across Ottawa attended the announcement at Corso Italia station on the north-south Trillium rail line, which opened to the public this month. 

"What you are seeing today frankly is quite historic," said Jenna Sudds, MP for Kanata–Carleton and minister of families, children and social development. "This is long-term, predictable funding for the City of Ottawa, for transit, that enables them to think big, to think for the future."

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has been mounting a public campaign for federal and provincial funding since August, when he blamed both governments for shortchanging Ottawa.

He said remote work for federal employees has gutted ridership at OC Transpo, leaving the system with an ongoing shortfall in the order of $140 million per year. Sutcliffe has argued that the federal government should provide operating funding to help make up the loss.

But the money announced on Monday, which comes from a $500-million envelope through the Canada Public Transit Fund, is intended for capital spending, not operating.

'Cash is cash'

Even so, Sutcliffe said the new funding would help close OC Transpo's financial gap.

"It doesn't matter whether it's applied explicitly to operating funds or it's applied in a way that covers expenses that we have that we had budgeted for," he said. "We'll be able to move money around in our budget in order to close that gap."

Sutcliffe said it gives him confidence that the city will be able to continue to invest in OC Transpo without having to make difficult decisions.

"That budget gap was made up of a number of different elements including operating funds, capital funds, other projects that we're embarking on," he added. "So when we receive funds like this from the federal government, frankly, cash is cash."

The city is required to submit a plan for spending the money before the funding agreement can be finalized, according to the federal government.

Sudds repeated that the federal government has not historically provided operating funding for transit, calling that the responsibility of the provincial government.

Sutcliffe said the premier and provincial finance minister assured him that they'll be in if the federal government is in, so he's feeling positive about money from Queen's Park.

More announcements coming

Sudds and Sutcliffe also announced a new working group to collaborate and tackle challenges facing Ottawa, including revitalizing the downtown. 

"There's certainly more things that we're working on and more that we'll be delivering," said Sudds.

She signalled that an investment in housing worth about $39 million is coming on Tuesday, though it's unclear how much of that sum represents new money. 

Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower, chair of Ottawa's transit commission, agreed with Sutcliffe that the transit infrastructure funding will help close the transit shortfall.

He explained that the funding could be used for capital needs like fleet renewal, new Para Transpo vehicles or new bus shelters, freeing up city money for other purposes.

"If we have federal funding that we can put toward that, well maybe that money can be repurposed into another part of the budget, so it becomes an accounting exercise," he said.