Ottawa announces infrastructure funding for B.C. communities, including the Tri-Cities
But Coquitlam city staff say it’s not enough
The Tri-Cities are receiving nearly $1 million in funding from the federal government to support infrastructure projects needed for their growing populations.
In the 2025-26 fiscal year, Coquitlam will receive $543,971, Port Coquitlam $262,257 and Port Moody $171,842.
This is part of the federal government’s $326 million in infrastructure funding to B.C. through the Canada Community-Building Fund, which is administered by the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM).
Local news that matters to you
No one covers the Tri-Cities like we do. But we need your help to keep our community journalism sustainable.
“This funding is helping local governments across B.C. respond to growth by investing in infrastructure that supports housing and makes communities more livable for people and families,” said Christine Boyle, B.C.’s minister of housing and municipal affairs, in a press release.
This funding is provided annually to support communities across Canada, which can decide who to best use it across 19 different project categories, including things like public transit, wastewater infrastructure and drinking water.
In B.C., UBCM delivers the funding through three streams: an application-based strategic priorities fund, the Metro Vancouver regional fund (for transportation investments) and the community works fund — which is distributed to local governments based on population and growth.
Since 2015, the federal government has granted $29.1 billion nationally, with $3.1 billion of that in B.C.
Funding gap remains
Gorana Cabral, Coquitlam’s director finance, told the Dispatch in a statement that these funds would be used for asset renewal for things like parks, transportation and information technology.
“That said, the scale of investment needed to maintain and renew core infrastructure in Coquitlam is far greater than what can be achieved with this amount alone,” Cabral wrote. “Coquitlam is facing a significant and growing infrastructure funding gap.”
According to a recent financial standing committee report, the city’s asset and infrastructure gap is $33 million.
After Coquitlam was recently assigned a housing target by the province, Mayor Richard Stewart published an op-ed outlining the provincial infrastructure funding the city requires.
He wrote that this includes $1.1 billion in school investments, $1.2 billion in transit projects, over $600 million in transportation upgrades, $228 million for childcare, and about $1.2 billion for below market homes.
The province’s housing policy passed in 2023 has made it more challenging for the city to build amenities and infrastructure since they lost access to finance tools, according to Stewart.
