{"id":836271,"date":"2026-07-30T16:47:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/836271\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T16:47:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:47:22","slug":"federal-provincial-infrastructure-investment-is-key-but-big-calgary-deficit-remains-says-mayor-farkas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/836271\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal, provincial infrastructure investment is key, but big Calgary deficit remains, says Mayor Farkas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary\u2019s mayor said that the $510 million in federal municipal infrastructure cash announced Wednesday will be \u2018game-changing\u2019 for cities, especially those who are seeing significant population growth.<\/p>\n

The Government of Canada and the Alberta government signed an agreement on July 29 that will allow Alberta municipalities to access more than half a billion in funding over the next eight years for housing-enabling water and wastewater infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The province will contribute a minimum of one-third to the eligible projects, making another $428 million available in provincial funding for these projects. All told, there\u2019s $938 million available for Alberta communities. <\/p>\n

\u201cStrong communities start with the infrastructure to support them,\u201d said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy investing in the water and wastewater systems communities rely on, we\u2019re doing what it takes to build more housing, attract new investment and keep pace with Alberta\u2019s growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was in Red Deer on Wednesday for the announcement, said that they are ready to back Alberta\u2019s ambitious plan to scale up homebuilding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re partners in this mission, working in the true spirit of cooperative federalism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom transformative energy projects to the water infrastructure in your communities, we are building bigger, faster, and better because we\u2019re building together. We\u2019re building a stronger Alberta and a stronger Canada for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The funding will be administered through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, and the province will play a lead role in prioritizing projects that best reflect regional infrastructure needs, according to a provincial news release.<\/p>\n

Under the agreement, 20 per cent of the funding will go to rural or Indigenous communities in the province.<\/p>\n

Eligible funding recipients including municipalities, public sector entities, Indigenous communities and other private sector partners who are working with public agencies.<\/p>\n

Mayor made the ask at the Big City Mayors\u2019 Caucus<\/p>\n

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas told reporters on Wednesday that the announcement from the federal and provincial governments was a big step towards funding critical infrastructure needed for growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe (one) third cost sharing from the feds is going to be able to help get a lot of projects across the line that otherwise wouldn\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mayor Farkas said that at least $25 million in proposals will come from the City of Calgary in the short term, largely for the construction of the Bearspaw feeder main replacement project.<\/p>\n

Still, he noted the $50 billion infrastructure deficit over the next 10 years that Calgary city council must address.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a critical part of playing catch up to where we know we need to be,\u201d Mayor Farkas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then the other question remains: How we address some of the other deficiencies in infrastructure, not just those that are connected with housing development.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that end, Mayor Farkas said that federal and provincial infrastructure cash can\u2019t just be related to housing development. He said there are needs for transportation networks, recreation and other critical amenities in a growing city.<\/p>\n

He said that as the city moves into the so-called nodes-and-corridors approach to transit-oriented development, it\u2019s going to require front-ending the public infrastructure to \u201cmake the pro forma for the housing development close to LRT stations make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a game changing investment. We\u2019re certainly pleased to see the Premier Smith getting Alberta\u2019s fair share of that investment,\u201d Farkas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, now it\u2019s incumbent on us here in Calgary to get Calgary\u2019s fair share of Alberta\u2019s investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liked it? Take a second to support Darren Krause on Patreon!<\/p>\n

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