Gas Tax Fund: Results for Canadians
Permanent, flexible funding for municipalities

Building Infrastructure in Manitoba

The Gas Tax Fund (GTF) is the largest component of the Building Canada plan – the Government of Canada’s $33-billion long-term infrastructure initiative.

The GTF targets exclusively municipal infrastructure to improve water and air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The GTF combines stable, long-term funding with local decision making to enable Canadian municipalities to revitalize and develop their core public infrastructure. Budget 2008 made the GTF a permanent federal program at $2 billion a year starting in 2014.

Since its launch, the GTF has delivered $1.1 billion to the provinces and territories resulting in more than 2,234 projects across the country with an estimated value of $3 billion. More than 85 percent of national GTF investments have focused on the renewal of existing infrastructure, with the three largest investment areas being water/wastewater, public transit, and local roads and bridges. Other eligible investment areas include solid waste management, community energy systems and capacity building.

Manitoba will receive $167.3 million in Gas Tax funding by 2010. By 2007, the province had received $40 million, with the majority of funds going toward wastewater projects, most notably in the City of Winnipeg where, like in many Canadian cities, ageing infrastructure does not meet current standards. Gas Tax funding is being used to separate sewer and storm water lines and undertake treatment upgrades.

A portion of the 2007-2010 allocation will be used to upgrade public transit in Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson and Flin Flon. In Winnipeg, this will include articulated hybrid buses with more seats to reduce the number of buses serving a route and therefore the number of emission-producing bus engines on that route. In Morris, Gas Tax funding will provide for a para-transit vehicle for the community.