Building the Future: Strategic Infrastructure for Long-Term Growth (Interim Report)

Canadian governments at all levels will spend as much as $750-billion over the next 10 years on infrastructure. Spending it smartly will be key to a more competitive Canadian economy. To ensure funds are spent well, an interim Public Policy Forum report advocates substantial reform, including creation of a national infrastructure agency to prioritize this spending based on better long-term planning and a greater focus nationally on innovative infrastructure investment.

The release of the report,”Building the Future: Strategic Infrastructure for Long-Term Growth,” on Wednesday, Oct. 12, coincides with the PPF’s Growth Summit in Ottawa. Key public and private sector leaders — including Finance Minister Bill Morneau — will gather at the Growth Summit to discuss how to raise Canada’s economic growth rate.

The PPF’s interim report compares Canada’s infrastructure performance to other countries, especially Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain, and finds that Canada falls short. The reforms set out in the draft report reflect many steps already taken in other countries.

The infrastructure project is led by PPF Fellow Drew Fagan, a former Ontario deputy minister of infrastructure. The PPF has held three roundtable discussions involving infrastructure experts recently and plans two more roundtables before a final report is issued.

Download the report