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Other cities build rapid transit, while we wait
KEN KLASSEN
WINNIPEG’S civic election campaign has produced no shortage of promises to improve transit safety and fix problems with the new network. Those issues are real and urgent. But they should not distract from a larger failure — while other Canadian urban regions secure billions in federal support to transform their transit systems, Winnipeg is falling further behind.
The Winnipeg Transit Master Plan, approved in 2021, sets the right vision — frequent, reliable service anchored by an expanded bus rapid transit (BRT) network. Yet not a single additional BRT corridor has been approved for construction. The modest network proposed in the plan is not projected to be completed until 2045 or beyond. Despite that, city council voted this summer to delay updating the master plan by two years.
The full BRT network was estimated at $588 million to $1.1 billion in 2020 — or roughly $720 million to $1.34 billion today, after accounting for construction inflation. That is substantial, but modest compared with what other cities are spending. Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Ottawa and Quebec City have rapid transit projects under way or recently completed, totalling about $26 billion and backed by $7.3 billion in federal commitments. Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are spending billions more with federal support.
Other cities build. Winnipeg waits. Since the mayor and council were elected in October 2022, Winnipeg has had one of the weakest records among major Canadian cities for advancing rapid transit and securing federal cost-sharing.
That record deserves scrutiny in this campaign.
Timing is critical. The federal Canada Public Transit Fund will provide $25 billion over 10 years beginning in 2026-27. Based on population and ridership, Manitoba should target at least $900 million of that, chiefly for Winnipeg Transit. The $51-billion Build Communities Strong fund offers further funding opportunities for transit improvements.
But federal money rewards cities with up-to-date transit plans and projects ready to advance. Applicants must submit a 10-year regional transit investment program for review. Delaying the Transit Master Plan update weakens Winnipeg’s hand precisely as national competition for those infrastructure dollars intensifies.
For years, city hall has said Winnipeg cannot solve its infrastructure deficits without more senior-government help. Now that record transit funding is on the table, the city has put off the planning required to maximize it. You cannot plead for funding and then hesitate when it is offered.
While other Canadian cities recognize they cannot pave their way out of congestion simply by expanding roads, Winnipeg’s leadership wants to take an opposite path. The city continues to chase senior-government funding for the Chief Peguis Trail extension and Route 90 widening — over $1 billion combined, with highly contested economic benefits — while only $5.8 million has been budgeted for preliminary design of the next phase of rapid transit.
Roads matter. But Winnipeg already struggles to maintain the infrastructure it has. New road capacity tends to invite more driving through induced demand and with it more congestion, maintenance costs, taxes and pollution. Transportation produces nearly half of Winnipeg’s greenhouse gas emissions and swapping gasoline and diesel vehicles for electric ones will not fix congestion or the high cost of building and maintaining more roads for car-dependent suburban and exurban development.
Expanding transit service, especially rapid transit, is not a luxury for a growing city. It connects people to jobs, schools, health care and essential services. For many newcomers, students, seniors and lower-income households, it is the only practical alternative to the high cost of owning and operating a car. Good transit also supports downtown renewal, affordable housing and the province’s new Path to Net Zero climate strategy.
Few cities have a more compelling economic case for bus rapid transit than Winnipeg. We are home to New Flyer Industries, North America’s leading transit bus manufacturer. Investing in BRT keeps capital circulating locally, supports advanced manufacturing jobs and showcases Winnipeg-built zero-emission buses, powered by clean Manitoba electricity.
Current transit safety and service problems must be fixed. But Winnipeg also needs leaders who will refuse to let the city’s rapid transit network fall even further behind the cities across Canada we compete with. This election, voters should ask every candidate a simple question: Will you make funding and building rapid transit a priority or keep Winnipeggers waiting?
Ken Klassen is a Winnipeg engineering technologist and consultant specializing in sustainable homes, buildings, communities and energy policy.