Over the past decade, the federal government has implemented a number of policies in the infrastructure domain. Chief among them is the roughly $12 billion in total set aside in a string of infrastructure programs, the bulk of which was directed at municipal capital projects. And, while some observers have voiced disappointment over the fact that the amount of federal infrastructure funding has slipped in annual average terms over the past two federal budgets, the Prime Minister promised last month that a share of the federal gasoline excise tax or "equivalent" would be forthcoming to municipalities by year-end as a further downpayment toward "A New Deal for Communities." This latest announcement has kept hopes alive that infrastructure will soon make it back on the government's list of top priorities.
We argue that given the enormity of this nation-wide challenge, infrastructure needs to become a centrepiece in the federal government's agenda. The good news is that such a focus would not require much of a strategic shift for the federal government. Consider the major priorities laid out in the federal government's 2004 budget - health, learning (i.e., post-secondary education and innovation), communities, and Canada's relationship with the United States and position in the world. The need to upgrade infrastructure - from health facilities, to sewers to educational institutions and border crossings - spans all of these areas.