Skip to main content

Canada pumps Can$400m into bike lanes

Money will support rural communities and places without active transportation
March 26, 2021 Read time: 2 mins
Bike lane in Victoria, BC: more of these, please (© David Arminas/World Highways)

The Canadian government is investing Can$400 million over five years to help build new and expand networks of pathways, bike lanes, trails and pedestrian bridges. 

The fund is part of an eight-year Can$14.9 billion public transit investment outlined by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and minister of infrastructure and communities Catherine McKenna.

The new fund is expected to support people living in rural communities and places without active transportation. 

Additionally, McKenna and parliamentary secretary Andy Fillmore have launched engagement for a strategy to help the federal government make smarter investment decisions to support the active transportation networks, promote walkable communities and support better data collection. 

Canada's Active Transportation Strategy will be informed by input from members of the public, provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous communities and businesses. 

Since 2015, the Government of Canada has invested in almost 650 km of active transportation trails, bike and pedestrian lanes and recreational paths. 

Projects include the Grouse Mountain Regional Park trails in North Vancouver, the Flora Foot Bridge in Ottawa, a bikeway extension in Corner Brook and a new cycling path along the Mine, Notch and Kingsmere corridor in Chelsea, Quebec. 

Last month, the Canadian government confirmed plans to invest $can15bn for public transit projects over the next eight years.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Boston begins free transit pilot
    April 7, 2021
    Massachusetts Bay Area Transportation Authority and Bluebikes passes on offer
  • Major improvements planned for Canada’s rail service
    August 3, 2015
    The Government of Canada has announced a US$77.6 million investment over a two-year period to increase the safety and efficiency of VIA Rail's Ottawa-Montreal rail corridor. The investment will support several infrastructure projects which aim to increase the reliability of the service by reducing delays for users while at the same time improving the safety and accessibility of VIA Rail's Ottawa-Montreal corridor service.
  • Peter Norton: ‘We can reintroduce freedom of choice in transportation’
    April 22, 2022
    Funding for transit, cycling and walkability can be politically divisive – so why not bypass politics by letting toll payers themselves choose how a fraction of their toll is spent, asks Peter Norton
  • Latest round of TIGER funding announced
    August 1, 2016
    Nearly US$500 million will be made available for transportation projects across the US in the eighth round of the highly successful and competitive Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. Announcing the funding, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx highlight how this will improve safety and economic opportunity in two US territories, 32 states and 40 communities across the country. This year’s TIGER awards include US$19 million to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania fo