In a bid to kick-start its own slowing economy and reverse growing unemployment, the Canadian government will spend $9.5 billion on road, bridge, public transit, water and other infrastructure over the next two years. The move is part of an overall $32-billion stimulus budget announced on Jan. 27.
Spending will include a $170-million rehabilitation of Canada’s busiest bridge, the steel-truss cantilever Champlain Bridge, in Montreal, and $11.7 million for two of the busiest U.S.-Canada crossings, including the Peace Bridge in Ontario. But allocation of project funds still awaits final details on provincial cost-sharing agreements not yet finalized.