Manitoba receives $82M for community infrastructure projects

Ottawa is spending just over $82.3 million to help fund infrastructure projects in multiple Manitoba communities.

The federal government has announced just over $82.3 million to be distributed among Manitoba communities for infrastructure projects as part of its annual allocation.

The funding comes as part of the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF), which offers support to over a dozen project categories such as public transit, highways and tourism.

“We’re building communities strong, and we’re building Canada strong,” said Canada’s Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, who made the announcement Friday in Winnipeg.

Altogether, 137 recipients in the province — ranging from cities, municipalities and towns — will be able to choose how they would like to spend the funds.

“The flexible funding for local governments ensures that it can meet a wide range of priorities,” Robertson said at a fire station in Waverley West.

“These improvements are about enhancing safety, accessibility, traffic flow for residents and commuters today when we’re investing in roads, and also supporting future growth.”

The City of Winnipeg was the largest recipient in the province, receiving a total of over $50.49 million. Of that amount, over $7 million has been earmarked for transit.

Other allocations include $2.97 million to the City of Brandon, $1.03 million to the City of Steinbach and approximately $997,000 to the Rural Municipality of Hanover.

The CCBF, a predictable and indexed funding source, delivers over $2.4 billion annually to thousands of communities nationwide, according to the federal government.

Funding is allocated on a per-capita basis with adjustments made every five years based on census data. Provinces and territories are then in charge of distributing funds to their communities.

“This fund is proven to be an integral tool as leaders across our various levels of government build this beautiful province together,” said Manitoba’s Municipal Minister Glen Simmard.

Manitoba received just over $79 million through last year’s allocation.

A full list of the Manitoba communities receiving funding can be found online.