Tuesday April 7, 2026 | BRAMPTON, ON
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The first delivery under the federal Build Communities Strong Fund (BCSF) was announced today by Prime Minister Mark Carney in Brampton, Ontario.
Thirteen projects were announced, one in each province or territory.
He was accompanied by the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, and federal housing minister Gregor Robertson, as well as Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu (MP for Brampton East) and local MP Sonia Sidhu (MP for Brampton South).
Community centres:
Carney’s announcement today focussed on the role of community centres in building out the broader aspects of people’s lives, careers and economies of the region.
Working with municipalities and private sector:
Municipal governments and private capital are part of the picture.
Public infrastructure enables the needed housing in communities across the country.
“Moving fast and hitting this construction season” is a key part of the timing of this announcement, said Carney. He said that was emphasized at recent meetings of the big city mayors, that Minister Robertson attended four of.
Canada’s new Buy Canadian Policy will apply to the Build Communities Strong Fund, ensuring that more public dollars are reinvested into our economy – creating Canadian careers and boosting Canadian industries.
Vancouver project:
The first project for BC as funded under the federal Communities Strong Fund is in Vancouver, where Robertson was mayor for 10 years (2008-2018) where he worked in ideas for changing how housing and communities are developed.
In Vancouver, the investment will be in the new Marpole Community Centre, a fully electric, zero‑carbon, and highly energy‑efficient facility that will include childcare, after‑school care, a gym, a sensory room, and multipurpose spaces.
10-year program:
The new federal program will deliver $51 billion over 10 years, starting in 2026-27, and $3 billion per year ongoing.
Building out the announced projects will boost local construction sectors and create jobs, especially in the trades, which Carney again pushed today as the way for people to get trained and have good jobs and careers over the next 10 years.
The BCSF will invest in infrastructure priorities that strengthen housing, sport, education, health, transit, and climate adaptation.
$17.2 billion will be invested over 10 years to plan, build, and deliver critical public infrastructure projects across provinces and territories through bilateral agreements. Federal funding is conditional on the signing of funding agreements with total funding, including the housing, education, and health sub-streams, to be distributed as follows:
- $6 billion for Ontario
- $3.6 billion for Québec
- $2.2 billion for British Columbia
- $1.9 billion for Alberta
- $698 million for Manitoba
- $610 million for Saskatchewan
- $542 million for Nova Scotia
- $461 million for New Brunswick
- $352 million for Newfoundland and Labrador
- $204 million for Prince Edward Island
- $156 million for the Northwest Territories
- $156 million for the Yukon
- $155 million for Nunavut
13 projects to start:
The first set of projects will see an investment of $300 million this year.
The full list of BCSF’s first tranche of projects are as follows (with more to come soon — an online application portal is available):
- Cornwall, Prince Edward Island: Launching Phase 1 of the Cornwall Road Extension of Water and Wastewater project, extending water and wastewater mains to support growing residential and commercial development.
- Bridgewater, Nova Scotia: Upgrading sewer lines to improve wastewater service and unlock future residential housing construction in the community.
- Halifax, Nova Scotia: Extending water and wastewater infrastructure on Windsor Street to support residential growth.
- Iqaluit, Nunavut: Enhancing trucked and utilidor infrastructure to support the development of 2,000 to 2,500 new housing units by 2031, addressing the city’s housing shortage and accommodating population growth.
- Quispamsis, New Brunswick: Expanding the Hampton Road water distribution system to enable the development of up to 1,055 housing units by extending the watermain network by 1.5 kilometres.
- Hay River, Northwest Territories: Building a new water treatment facility to replace the aging system currently serving the town of Hay River and its surrounding communities, including the Hamlet of Enterprise, K’atl’odeeche First Nation, and Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation.
- Laval, Québec: Redesigning Labelle, d’Orly, and St-Hubert streets, and developing Labelle East Street in preparation for the redevelopment of the Cartier sector.
- Brampton, Ontario: Funding towards the Embleton Community Centre, a state-of-the-art, multi-use facility. The centre will become southwest Brampton’s hub for recreation programs and lessons, with an 8-lane competitive lap pool, a gymnasium, a fitness centre, and outdoor, seasonal recreational amenities.
- Headingley, Manitoba: Building a water reservoir and pumping station in the municipality of Headingley, adding 3,600 cubic metres of water storage and 65 litres per second of pumping capacity, while supporting the development of 1,771 additional housing units.
- Regina, Saskatchewan: Upgrading the South Trunk sewer to address existing capacity limitations, reduce the risk of basement flooding and untreated discharges into Wascana Creek, and support future growth in the city’s southeast and southwest areas.
- St. Albert, Alberta: Expanding wastewater, stormwater, and water systems in northeast St. Albert.
- Vancouver, British Columbia: Investing in the new Marpole Community Centre, a fully electric, zero‑carbon, and highly energy‑efficient facility that will include childcare, after‑school care, a gym, a sensory room, and multipurpose spaces.
- Whitehorse, Yukon: Constructing the Whistle Bend Active Transportation Corridor, connecting Whistle Bend to downtown Whitehorse to improve active transportation infrastructure in the community.
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