In an effort to stimulate the Canadian economy and modernize Canada's infrastructure Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a plan to spend $120 billion CAD on infrastructure over the next decade.
The Wall Street Journal's Alice Mackrael reports, "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government unveiled a plan last spring to spend heavily on tax benefits and infrastructure, with $120 billion Canadian dollars (US $91.39 billion) going into infrastructure over the next decade."
This spending, a tenth of which will be on short-term projects, which can be put into motion quickly, isn't just about fixing a few potholes. Mackrael calls it "a bold bet to inject life into an economy struggling with a rout in commodity prices, especially crude oil, which was once Canada’s top export."
This plan doesn't come as a surprise, as many anticipated a liberal government would spend more aggressively on infrastructure, some of which will certainly benefit Canada's cities and should add to Canada's bikeways. Some see this change from former president, Stephen Harper's, more conservative spending plan as jarring, pointing out that it will largely be funded through deficit spending. But, others point out Canada's relatively low debt to GDP ratio and see this is an opportunity for one of the many places hurt by low oil prices to keep its economy humming.
[Updated 10/6/2016 with the correct job title for Prime Minister Trudeau.]
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