Last Thursday, Justin Trudeau visited Mississauga to announce that the federal government would give the city $80 million from the Federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF). The Gas Tax Fund is a permanent federal transfer that provides municipalities long-term funding to build and revitalize public infrastructure.
“This year, with the municipal top-up for infrastructure in Budget 2019, we’re doubling the amount of money cities get through the Gas Tax Fund transfer,” said the prime minister. “Your city now has more funding to invest in things like transit, transportation, road repairs and new buses.”
The GTF is provided bi-yearly to provinces and territories. The recent transfer of funds from the federal government was twice as much as previous years.
“Mississauga will be receiving approximately $80 million in funding, said Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie. “We’ve been calling on more funding to be directly transferred to cities.”
Usually, the funds go through the province, however Trudeau commented that the Ontario government “has not wanted to partner on investing in infrastructure across the province, particularly in our cities.”
According to the Federal party’s budget, announced Tuesday, it is proposed that the GTF be increased by $2.2 billion.
