The TransLink Mayors鈥� Council has waded into the last days of the federal election campaign with .
While the guide doesn鈥檛 advocate for choosing one party over another, it outlines the parties鈥� positions on transit funding.
The Conservatives stand out in the document for providing the shortest answers, and for being the only party that has no committment in their platform to a permanent fund for transit.
Andrew Scheer鈥檚 party did commit to already-planned infrastructure projects, and their answers to the Mayors鈥� Council repeatedly note their promise to prioritize 鈥渢hose projects that reduce commute times.鈥�
They also have promised to fund the Massey Tunnel Replacement Project, which would double the lanes at one of the major choke points for commuters heading to and from the South of the Fraser region.
READ MORE: Metro Vancouver mayors ask public to lobby for annual $375M transit fund
The Greens, NDP, and Liberals are all on record as supporting some kind of permanent federal committment to transit funding. The Greens are promising $3.4 billion per years starting in 2028, once current transit funding expires. The Liberals are promising $3 billion more per year for cities on top of existing gas tax transfers. The NDP is offering 鈥渁 permanent, direct, allocation-based funding mechanism for public transit鈥� but has not named a specific dollar amount.
Local Conservative candidates have expressed strong support for the SkyTrain project reaching 91原创.
鈥淭his is a high priority for our municipal leadership, so it needs to be a high priority for MPs who represent one of the largest metro areas in Canada,鈥� Tamara Jansen, candidate in Cloverdale-91原创 City wrote in response to a question from the 91原创 Advance Times. 鈥淎s MP I will fight for predictable and stable funding for mass transit, including the SkyTrain expansion.鈥�
鈥淥nly a new Conservative government led by Andrew Scheer will put a strategy in place to get shovels in the ground,鈥� said Abbotsford candidate Ed Fast, after inquires to the Conservative campaign. 鈥淲e will prioritize the projects Canadians need so they can spend less time in traffic or waiting for a bus, and more time at home with their loved ones. Projects like the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project will be prioritized under a Conservative government.鈥�
鈥淥nly a new Conservative government led by Andrew Scheer will put a strategy in place to get shovels in the ground,鈥� said Abbotsford candidate Ed Fast, after inquires to the Conservative campaign. 鈥淲e will prioritize the projects Canadians need so they can spend less time in traffic or waiting for a bus, and more time at home with their loved ones. Projects like the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project will be prioritized under a Conservative government.鈥�
The non-partisan Cure Congestion campaign was launched early this year by the Mayors鈥� Council in a bid to sway the federal parties into committing to ongoing funding.
Federal decisions on funding could impact when, or whether, SkyTrain reaches 91原创.
Currently, there is only enough funding in place to extend the SkyTrain line down Fraser Highway to the Fleetwood neighbourhood in Surrey.
Extending the line to 91原创 City would cost billions more. TransLink has been lobbying for permanent federal funding for that project, as well as for extending a SkyTrain line all the way to UBC, adding five more rapid bus lines, creating a gondola to SFU on Burnaby Mountain, and accelerating the electrification of the bus fleet in Metro Vancouver.
TransLink estimates that one million new residents will arrive in Metro Vancouver in the next 20 years. That could mean 600,000 more vehicles on congested roads, and an overburdened transit system, according to the Mayors鈥� Council.
