The Canadian Government has announced the creation of an infrastructure Framework Agreement worth more than C$33 billion under Building Canada, the Government's long-term infrastructure plan. The "Building Canada" Infrastructure Plan will include investments in roads, public transit, gateways, trade corridors and border crossings. It provides tools to modernize infrastructure right across the country while eliminating its weaknesses.The Plan will help address infrastructure needs and priorities until 2014. Individual agreements have been signed with each province.

$6.4 Billion will be Spent in Ontario

Ontario is targeted to spend C$6.4 billion under the Building Canada program. Under this Agreement, approximately C$3.09 billion from this Fund will go towards infrastructure initiatives in Ontario through two components: more than C$2.73 billion in funding will support larger-scale projects; while under the Communities Component; C$362 million in funding will be available for partnership investments in communities with populations less than 100,000. Ontario will match federal funding. This will include identified improvements on Highway 11/17 in northwestern Ontario, expanding rural broadband coverage in southern and eastern Ontario, and rapid transit in the Waterloo region as initial priorities that the two governments will work together on under Building Canada.

$5.0 Billion to be Spent in Province of Quebec

In Quebec, the completion of Highway 30 between Vaudreuil-Dorion and Candiac will total $1 billion. Moreover, the governments of Canada and Quebec will invest $75 million over five years to restore the infrastructure of shortline railways throughout the province. Under the Building Canada plan, Quebec will be provided with more than $5 billion. With regard to public transit, investments will amount to $1 billion per year. Projects such as the Windsor-Quebec high-speed rail studies recently launched with Quebec and Ontario governments are a step in this direction. In addition, the 2008 federal Budget included $500 million to support capital investments through the Public Transit Capital Trust.

Port of Quebec to be Expanded

Ross Gaudreault, the President and CEO of the Quebec Port Authority (QPA) is planning to launch more expansion for the Port of Quebec to make this the premier bulk transhipping location to the Great Lakes. Investments that range up to half a billion dollars over the next ten years are being considered.

Port of Montreal to Grow Significantly under Vision 2020 Plan

The Port of Montreal is the third largest container port in North America. The Port handles more box traffic than New York/New Jersey and has excellent connections to key markets such as Toronto, Chicago and New York. Thirty percent of containers moving through Montreal are United States traffic, and 75 percent of that connects with Chicago. In an interview, Patrice Pelletier, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority said. "Illinois is our No. 1 shipping region outside of Canada, and for traffic between Europe and Chicago we beat everyone else by three to four days." Pelletier sees Montreal-U.S. traffic increasing, however long the current economic slowdown may last, and wants rail freight carriage across the border to further improve. He urged governments and private companies to move ahead with a long-proposed tunnel expansion for Canadian Pacific Railway under the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

Pelletier also said Montreal has been "strengthened by diversity" since it is not dependent on markets in China and Asia, where freight flows have dropped markedly. Some 70 percent of Montreal's traffic is with Northern Europe, 20 percent with the Mediterranean, and the balance with the Caribbean.

Last April, the Port of Montreal unveiled an ambitious 12-year, four phase strategic development plan designed to triple its container-handling capacity and more than double its impact on Greater Montreal’s economy. Titled Vision 2020, Mr. Pelletier is also looking at spending C$2.5 billion. Today vessels with a capacity of up to 4200 TEU’s (twenty foot equivalent units) call on Montreal and there is talk of ships with a 6000 TEU capacity entering this St. Lawrence River port.

Now underway until 2011, the plan’s initial phase entails improvements in operating efficiency and removal of bottlenecks to allow container-handling capacity to increase from 1.5 to 2.0 million TEUs. The fourth phase will add, during the period 2018 to 2020, the final increment of container capacity to bring the total to 4.5 million units.

$300 Million to be Spent on Melford International Terminal in Nova Scotia

Other significant investments are being projected for Nova Scotia. A C$300 million investment is planned for Melford International Terminal on the Strait of Cansco in Nova Scotia to attract vessels expected to come to the East Coast via the Suez Canal. Proponents behind the container terminal and logistics park development on the mainland side of the Strait of Canso have forged a partnership with the world’s largest commercial real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis to find customers for the facility. Paul Moore, team leader on the project for CBRE, believes the Melford project will be a “significant economic influencer” both locally and worldwide, and will impact upon shipping patterns. MITI is developing a 315-acre deep-water container terminal, intermodal rail facility and 1500-acre logistics park. This could mean more water-borne commerce for Northeast Ohio in the years to come. The Melford port, which could open by early 2011, enhances the possibilities of Cleveland as a container distribution hub.

Federal Finance Minister Flaherty will be presenting a budget to Parliament within the next couple of weeks. While the government is projected to run a deficit, expectations are that infrastructure spending will remain a major component to boost the economy. We will soon learn if these planned investments will remain in place, be scaled back or expanded to create more jobs and enhance Canada's competitve position.