Phase 2 of the Government of Canada’s Investing in Canada Plan includes several funding components:
- Public Transit Infrastructure
- Green Infrastructure
- Social Infrastructure
- Trade and Transportation Infrastructure
- Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure
To facilitate the distribution of funding across the country, the Government of Canada has entered negotiations with all provinces and territories to ensure that eligibility criteria meets local needs. On July 6, 2017, federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi sent a letter to Alberta Minister of Infrastructure Brian Mason outlining the details of phase 2 funding components and the process for negotiating a bilateral agreement. The letter can be viewed by clicking here.
Rural and Northern Communities
Included in the letter are some details on the structure of the Rural and Northern Communities component. The total Canada-wide allocation for the Rural and Northern Communities component is $2 billion. That amount is distributed to each province and territory using a base-modifier formula. Each province receives a base amount of $75 million, while each territory receives a base amount of $150 million. The remainder is allocated on a per capita basis based on populations of communities under 30,000. Alberta’s share of this funding will be $159,650,831.
A key aspect of the bilateral negotiations will be to determine how eligibility and distribution criteria are determined in each province and territory. According to the letter, a community size threshold will be jointly determined in each province and territory, up to a maximum size of 100,000.
The AAMDC has reached out the Government of Alberta for an opportunity to provide input into the determination of eligibility criteria for the Rural and Northern Communities component. To this point, the AAMDC has not received a response but will continue to advocate for this opportunity, highlighting their role as the voice of rural Alberta and their strong relationship with the Government of Alberta.
Enquiries may be directed to:
Wyatt Skovron
Policy Analyst
780.955.4096
Kim Heyman
Director, Advocacy & Communications
780.955.4079