Canada Infrastructure Bank

Government and its critics agree infrastructure needs to be built for a changing climate, but how it's financed will be pivotal to the type of infrastructure Canadians get.

The head of a federal infrastructure financing agency says he has seen a shift in the types of transit projects cities want to build as they opt for zero-emission buses in lieu of large-scale subways.

Columnist Seth Klein takes a look at what it means to occupy a pivotal cabinet post in a time of emergency.

The grant is supposed to cover the upfront costs of buying 5,000 buses over the next five years. The Canada Infrastructure Bank has also committed $1.5 billion as part of its three-year, $10-billion growth plan specifically for zero-emission buses and related infrastructure.

The Trudeau government officially launched a previously announced fund on Monday, November 9, 2020, that promises to provide $1.75 billion for rural and remote parts of Canada that currently don't have fast, reliable internet service.

The pitched political debate about the future of Canada's nascent infrastructure financing agency doesn't reflect the ongoing behind-the-scenes talks on projects with provincial governments of various partisan stripes, says the Crown corporation's chief executive.

Before its controversial tax proposals triggered a bitter war of words this summer, Finance Minister Bill Morneau's department was waging a similar communications battle over infrastructure bank.