Prime Minister Mark Carney says Ottawa probably can’t undertake a thorough overhaul of how municipalities are funded in the near future, with the federal government now focused on major projects.
Carney spoke this morning to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which represents cities and towns that have lobbied Ottawa to give them more independent means of financing their operations.
Cities generally fall under provincial oversight and have limited tools to gather tax revenues or plan for long-term projects. A federation representative asked Carney whether his government will change those mechanisms to give municipalities more room to work.
The prime minister says that while funding models for municipalities should not be “arbitrary and unpredictable,” remaking them would require a thorough discussion with provinces.
Carney says he doubts Ottawa can wait for those discussions to play out at a time where Canadians need to build housing and trade infrastructure, such as ports and energy corridors.
The prime minister says that while he wants to collaborate with municipalities, that likely would involve Ottawa helping municipalities pay for specific projects.
