Ottawa, Ontario – The Government of Canada announced $250 million to help rural communities with transit issues.
Today, the minister of infrastructure, Catherine McKenna and the minister of rural economic development, Maryam Monsef announced $250 million dollars over five years in order to develop more transit options for Canadians living in remote areas.
This fund will be the first federal fund dedicated to rural transit.
“Canadians need public transit to help them get to and from work and school, to medical appointments and shopping, and to soccer and hockey practices.” Said McKenna.
“The first-ever Rural Transit Fund recognizes that Canadians living in rural and remote areas and in small communities have unique transportation challenges that require flexible, tailored solutions.”
This $250 million fund is a part of the nearly $15 billion public transit investment that was announced last February by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“The pandemic has reminded us how vital our connections are. Our internet connections, our roads, bridges, waterways and community centres keep us connected and the government has invested $10.6 billion in funding for 5,349 projects since 2015 in small communities across Canada to strengthen them all,” said Monsef.
“Strengthening and building rural transportation networks is the government’s next step in creating jobs and improving health and safety of Canadians.”
Rural communities have been using solutions like electric vehicle ride shares and volunteer community car-pooling in order to overcome this issue and the Canadian government aims to work with these communities in order to find flexible solutions.
