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

Building Infrastructure in New Brunswick

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.

New Brunswick will receive $116.1 million in Gas Tax funding by 2010. Up till 2007, the province had received $20.8 million, the majority of which is dedicated to water and wastewater projects in places like Chateau Heights, a small community just north of Fredericton that has no potable water. Like many other very small communities in New Brunswick, residents depend on weekly deliveries of water in a tank truck. New Brunswick is investing $42 million over five years to alleviate water supply issues in Chateau Heights and other unincorporated areas. Other communities to benefit include the extension of municipal services from Caraquet to help nearby residents who have been having a problem with salt water intrusion into their water supply, a study to find a solution to flooding and well water contamination in Pointe-du-Chêne and repairs to the water distribution system near Hanwell.

There will also be significant investments in local roads and bridges and community energy systems in New Brunswick.