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NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. — The CEO of Metro Vancouver’s transit operator says he’s grateful for the federal government kicking in tens of millions in annual capital funding over the next decade — but the money doesn’t solve TransLink’s looming operational financial woes.
The federal government and TransLink on Monday announced more than $663 million in federal funding for TransLink infrastructure from next year until 2036.
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said at the announcement at North Vancouver’s SeaBus terminal that the infrastructure funding would help keep the current system in “good condition,” but other funding woes remain.
“While the capital funding announced today is crucial and needed, I also want to make it clear that it supports already committed projects and it does not solve our operating funding shortfall,” Quinn said.
He said the regional transit operator is still facing an annual operational shortfall of $600 million starting next year, and an agreement to address it is still in the works. TransLink said last July that without the funding gap being addressed, all transit services would face “significant cuts.”
“I remain hopeful that we can find a way forward to create a sustainable funding solution,” Quinn said Monday.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the funding was coming from the federal government’s Canada Public Transit Fund, which was announced in 2024.
Also at the announcement were members of the TransLink Mayor’s Council including City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan.
Buchanan said she felt people’s frustration over traffic troubles that have long dogged the city.
“Not only are they frustrated, employers are frustrated because many of the people who come to the North Shore are coming for their jobs, and there’s no competitive way to get here right now, other than the car,” she said.
A statement from TransLink and the federal government says the federal money will target “key improvements” to public transit in the face of “rapid population growth.”
It says the funding will allow TransLink to improve existing transit infrastructure, and Quinn says in the statement that the funding will go toward a “much-needed transit expansion in Metro Vancouver.”
The Canada Public Transit Fund, announced by the Trudeau government last year, is set to start doling out $3 billion a year beginning in 2026, aimed at both public transit and so-called active transportation infrastructure.
The federal government touts the fund as “the largest public transit investment in Canadian history.”
Last March, the B.C. government had given TransLink an injection of $479 million in provincial funding to maintain services and fares.
Wilkinson was representing Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Nathaniel Erskine-Smith at Monday’s announcement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2025.
The Canadian Press
