Building a strong Canada starts with investing in the infrastructure that makes it possible to increase housing supply and empower communities. In Budget 2025, the Government of Canada announced the Build Communities Strong Fund, a key initiative to build the infrastructure that Canadians rely on every day.
This fund will speed up the construction of the hospitals, recreation centres, universities, and colleges that serve our communities; the bridges that move our goods; and, the water and transit systems that keep our towns and cities running.
Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, officially launched the Build Communities Strong Fund. This new fund will provide $51 billion over 10 years through three major streams to support a wide range of infrastructure projects that support economic prosperity, housing, sport, education, health, transit, and climate adaptation across the country.
The Build Communities Strong Fund will be a force multiplier in infrastructure - with funding that will be matched by nearly $17 billion from provinces, and additional billions leveraged through municipal and territorial partnerships as well as private capital. Combined with provincial matching, the projects through the fund will support an average of 42,000 jobs per year. The fund will also boost Canada's GDP by $95 billion over the next decade. That means approximately $12 billion in infrastructure investments every year for the next eight years - nearly double the previous eight years.
To mark the launch, the Government of Canada announced the first projects to be funded through the Direct Delivery stream of the Build Communities Strong Fund. Across the country, 13 projects are receiving funding through the Build Communities Strong Fund this week, totalling $300 million in federal funding and more to come in the weeks ahead. These projects will be vital for the communities they serve.
Today, the Honourable Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Member of Parliament for Halifax West, and Shannon Miedema, Member of Parliament for Halifax, announced an investment of $28 million in the Windsor Street Exchange Redevelopment Project that will increase capacity in the wastewater collection system, enabling growth.
Led by the Halifax Regional Municipality, Phase 2 of the broader Windsor Street Exchange Redevelopment Project includes Halifax Water work that will support the additional wastewater collection capacity that is needed to increase the number of housing units in the area. The project will replace a section of the existing combined sewer on Kempt Road, the scope of which includes all phases of work from predesign to design, tender, construction, and the replacement of existing sanitary and stormwater pipes with larger pipes.
When roads are congested, water systems are strained, and communities can't grow, productivity drops and costs rise. These investments will boost economic activity, create good-paying careers in the skilled trades, and give businesses and investors the confidence to build. The right infrastructure is essential to unlocking more housing, supporting affordability, and building strong communities. The Build Communities Strong Fund is a cornerstone of the Government of Canada's plan to build the infrastructure needed to build Canada strong - today and for generations to come.
