OTTAWA – The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) is urging the federal government to accelerate the baseline stream of the Canada Public Transit Fund to the 2025 Budget, warning that waiting until 2026 will exacerbate a growing crisis in aging transit infrastructure across the country.

“Public transit is not a luxury – it’s a lifeline,” said Marco D’Angelo, CUTA’s President and CEO. “We are already seeing the consequences of deferred maintenance and chronic underfunding, with service interruptions and safety concerns threatening the reliability of systems Canadians rely on every day.”

CUTA points to Montreal’s metro as a stark example. The system, constructed in the 1960s, now faces a repair deficit of over $6 billion, requiring an investment of $560 million annually to prevent further deterioration. Recent emergency closures along the Blue Line underscore the urgent need for investment. In just ten years, service interruptions caused by infrastructure failures have increased by 133%, while equipment reported to be in critical condition has surged by 300% over the past five years.

In April 2023, structural issues had already forced the closure of Montreal’s Green Line tunnel, disrupting service for 90,000 riders. Since then, STM had warned that such events were likely to happen again due to insufficient capital investment for state of good repair.

The Toronto Transit Commission also faces a growing state of good repair backlog, with more than $900 million in unfunded needs each year. Without accelerated funding, these challenges could become more frequent and more severe across the country.

CUTA is calling on the federal government to include accelerated transit funding in the 2025 budget to help transit systems across Canada address their most critical infrastructure needs. Without action, service disruptions will become more common, leading to increased costs and safety risks for Canadians.

“Investing in transit infrastructure is not just about addressing maintenance needs – it’s about protecting the daily commutes of millions of Canadians and preparing for the population growth and climate challenges of the future,” said D’Angelo. “We can’t afford to wait for another emergency closure to force our hand. We need to act now to keep Canada moving.”

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Media contact:
Jon MacMull
Director, Communications and Public Affairs
Canadian Urban Transit Association
[email protected]