ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, TRANSLINK MAYORS’ COUNCIL OF METRO VANCOUVER, CITY OF TORONTO, CITY OF OTTAWA, CITY OF EDMONTON, CITY OF CALGARY, CITY OF BRAMPTON, SOCIÉTÉ DE TRANSPORT DE MONTRÉAL.
Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – Today, mayors and transit board chairs representing urban regions across Canada met in Ottawa alongside transit and community advocates to call on the federal government to work with local and provincial governments to address the funding crisis facing the country’s largest transit agencies, and develop a new, sustainable funding model for public transportation. Their call for a new deal for public transit was supported by a wide array of stakeholders including transit industry representatives, environmental NGO’s, public transit rider groups, and unions.
Following a meeting of mayors and board chairs from six transit agencies and more than 15 transit and community groups from across Canada during the Transit for Tomorrow Summit, participants agreed to jointly call on the federal government to play a leadership role in advancing a New Transit Funding Model, which calls for a new approach that quickly expands the revenues available to meet both capital and operating needs, and ns with governments’ shared objectives on affordability, housing, climate action, economic growth and accessibility.
Mayors, Chairs, and community advocates are calling on the federal government to:
- Accelerate the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF) program as the first step towards a sustainable and predictable stream of funding for public transit systems.
- Commit to convening a forum with municipal and provincial counterparts to develop a new model for funding public transit that grows with the economy, population and ridership, and is sustainable, predictable and sufficient to address both capital and operating needs.
- Support long-term transportation planning that aligns with and delivers on the economic, social and environmental objectives of all orders of government by enshrining the Canada Public Transit Fund in legislation, similar to the Canadian Community Building Fund, to ensure its long-term predictability.
The declaration states, in part: “Transit is the most powerful method of tackling traffic congestion. It is the lifeblood of economic growth in our biggest cities. It is a solution to the rising cost of living. It helps us reduce carbon emissions. But public transit systems across the country are in a financial crisis. If this historic challenge isn’t overcome, we risk a future that is costlier, more polluting, and where gridlock holds people and businesses back from their full potential.”
Municipal and transit agency representatives who signed the Joint Declaration include representatives from Toronto, Metro Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Brampton. Stakeholders who have signed the declaration include Environmental Defence Canada, Équiterre, the David Suzuki Foundation, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Canada, TTCRiders, Movement (Metro Vancouver Transit Riders), Climate Action Network Canada, Trajectoire Québec, Alliance TRANSIT and Vivre en Ville.
Brad West, Mayor of Port Coquitlam, BC, and Chair of the TransLink Mayors’ Council in Metro Vancouver, said:
“The old ways of funding transit through fuel levies and property taxes – and even the federal government’s new transit fund – are not designed to support the needs of our rapidly growing urban centres; not today and certainly not into the future. The bottom line is that we need all levels of government at the table, working on a new deal for transit.”
Olivia Chow, Mayor of the City of Toronto, said:
“Canada’s cities all share in the challenges of reducing GHG emissions, improving access to affordable housing and growing our local economies, and we simply cannot meet these goals without well-functioning public transit systems. I welcome the call for greater collaboration across all orders of government as we build public transit for the future.”
Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton, said:
“The crisis facing public transit looks slightly different in each city, but they are all struggling with the same fundamental issue: expanding transit systems quickly enough to meet rapidly growing demands from the public. Now is the time to develop a new model for funding transit that will help keep our cities affordable and livable.”
Amarjeet Sohi, Mayor of Edmonton, said:
“Cities across Canada understand that a strong transit system transforms communities and enables residents to get wherever they need to go, whether it’s work, school, service facilities, or local businesses. Investments in public transit support growth, maintain affordability, and help us meet our climate targets. Now is the time for all levels of government to come together and ensure our transit systems have sustainable, predictable and reliable long-term funding.”
Nate Wallace, Program Manager, Clean Transportation, Environmental Defence Canada, said:
“This is the first time that mayors and transit board chairs from across Canada are meeting to develop a strategy in response to this crisis, and we have brought together advocates, stakeholders and public policy makers from across the country to begin working on solutions. Today’s Summit and our Joint Declaration are a critical step toward achieving a new deal for transit that recognizes the pivotal role transit plays in climate action.”
Éric Alan Caldwell, Chairman of the Board of the Société de transport de Montréal, said:
“One of the biggest challenges facing the largest transit companies is asset maintenance. In Montreal, we recently saw how inadequate asset maintenance funding is jeopardizing services to the public when structural issues led to the emergency closing of a station. Predictable and sufficient asset maintenance funding is essential to guarantee safe, reliable and quality service. This is why it’s essential to act before the new permanent Canada Public Transit Fund, as early as 2025.”
About the “Transit for Tomorrow” Summit
Hosted by the TransLink Mayors’ Council and Environmental Defence, the Transit for Tomorrow Summit on October 28, 2024, is bringing all levels of government together to fix the broken funding model for public transit. The Summit is a chance for public transit advocates to convene, communicate the urgency of action to policymakers, and highlight the crucial role of public transit in creating equitable cities and meeting Canada’s climate objectives.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Participating Mayors and transit officials:
Anna Lilly, anna@earnscliffe.ca
Manan Kohli, manan@earnscliffe.ca
Karishma Porwal, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
French Language Media Inquiries:
medias@stm.info, STM
Samuel Pagé-Plouffe, Alliance TRANSIT, samuel.page-plouffe@
