This week in Ottawa, the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) united the country’s transit and urban mobility leaders for two days of powerful advocacy, dialogue, and collaboration — showing how transit is not just a service, but nation-building infrastructure. 

A Strong Start on Parliament Hill 

On September 16, CUTA launched its annual Lobby Day with a compelling press conference on Parliament Hill, where President & CEO Marco D’Angelo and Board Chair Dave Reage called on the federal government to strengthen and stabilize public transit funding through the upcoming Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF). 

They emphasized that reliable transit is vital to: 

• Building affordable housing communities 

• Supporting a dynamic labour market 

• Strengthening Canada’s economic competitiveness 

• Meeting national climate goals 

You can read the full press release from Lobby Day here. 

That message resonated in the halls of Parliament: over the course of the day, CUTA delegates held an unprecedented 47 meetings with MPs and staff from across all major parties. Discussions focused on the CPTF, fleet renewal, and safety-related Criminal Code amendments, and generated encouraging feedback from decision-makers across the political spectrum. 

Policy Forum: Conversations That Shape the Future 

Building on that momentum, CUTA hosted its Policy Forum on September 17 at the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa, bringing together senior leaders, policy experts, and transit innovators from across North America. 

The forum’s theme was clear: transit is nation-building infrastructure — essential to housing supply, economic resilience, and climate leadership. 

Highlights included: 

• Opening remarks from CUTA Chair Dave Reage, Executive Director of Strategic Infrastructure and Transportation Planning at the Halifax Regional Municipality, on transit’s role in affordability, economic stability, and connecting communities. 

• A keynote address from Mayor Linda Buchanan, City of North Vancouver and member of the TransLink Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, on the urgency of sustainable transit funding. 

• A panel on funding the future of Canadian transit featuring Mayor Nathan Pachal, City of Langley and member of the TransLink Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, Eric Alan Caldwell, Chair of the Board at Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and City Councillor for Hochelaga, Montréal, Maureen Cosyn-Heath, Director of Transit at the City of Mississauga (MiWay) and CUTA Vice Chair, Joe Mihevc, Vice-Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), longtime Toronto city leader and public health advocate, Moderated by Karl Bélanger, of Traxxion Strategies 

• A fireside chat with Andrew Hope, Chief Capital Officer (Rapid Transit) at Metrolinx, and Marco D’Angelo on delivering one of North America’s largest transit capital programs. 

• A keynote presentation by Dr. Eric J. Miller, Professor at the University of Toronto, on the economic benefits of investing in transit. 

• A panel on driving the economy through transit investment featuring Michael McDaniel, President & GM of Coast Mountain Bus Company (TransLink enterprise) and First Vice Chair of the CUTA Board, Kirsten Watson, VP Government Relations & Transit Market Sector Leader at AECOM, and former Deputy CEO at the TTC, Nicolas Letendre, CEO and Founder of Letenda Bus Company, Ian Hodkinson, Technical & Business Development Director for Transit Systems at Alstom, Moderated by Dr. Steven Farber, Professor of Human Geography at University of Toronto Scarborough and Director of the Mobility Network at the School of Cities. 

• Remarks from MPs 

• • Xavier Barsalou-Duval (Bloc Québécois, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères) — Bloc transport critic and Vice-Chair of the House Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. 

• • Alexandre Boulerice (NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie) — NDP Quebec Lieutenant, House Leader and Deputy Leader 

• Housing and transit presentations from Francis Garnier, Public Affairs Advisor, Vivre en Ville, David Cooper, Principal & Founder, Leading Mobility Consulting and adjunct faculty at multiple Canadian universities, Kathryn Exon Smith, Senior Research Officer at the School of Cities, University of Toronto. 

Throughout the day, speakers stressed that the CPTF must be designed to serve communities of all sizes, urban and rural, and must provide predictable operational support alongside capital investment. 

Thank You 

This week showed what’s possible when Canada’s transit leaders speak with a unified voice. Thank you to all the speakers, delegates, MPs, and attendees who made the 2025 Lobby Day and Policy Forum such a success. 

Together, we are building the future of public transit in Canada – more connected, more sustainable, and ready for growing communities.