Budget 2020 and the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program
AUMA members may have noticed that Budget 2020 contains about $750 million of anticipated funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). AUMA has reached out to Alberta Infrastructure to confirm details on the current status and the provincial government’s plans for ICIP in 2020.
Between program launch in April 3, 2018 and intake closure on July 31, 2019, the province received over 700 expressions of interest. Alberta Infrastructure screened all ICIP project applications for federal program eligibility, and eligible projects were shared with ministries to indicate their priorities. As municipal projects require a one-third provincial contribution, the province focused on projects that could leverage existing provincial grant programs.
Alberta Infrastructure has confirmed that municipalities and regional service commissions represented nearly three quarters of the 76 projects the province endorsed to move forward to the federal government for approval in areas such as:
- community infrastructure;
- clean water and wastewater;
- flood mitigation;
- road paving; and
- broadband.
The province is working with endorsed applicants to put together their federal applications by March 31, 2020. A commitment of federal funding is not guaranteed by provincial endorsement; Infrastructure Canada must approve projects and determine the ICIP contribution. The aim is to receive federal approval in time for spring/summer 2020 construction season.
Given the significant oversubscription of the program in the first intake and the focus on submitting federal applications, the province is not planning another intake for ICIP funding in 2020.
For more information related to ICIP, please visit Alberta.ca.
