(1)  Growth of cities places big strain on infrastructure

Apart from brief periods of recession in the early 1980s and early 1990s, the Canadian economy has grown steadily, placing added strain on the nation's infrastructure. And, this has been no more apparent than in Canada's largest cities, which have accounted for the bulk of the gains in economic activity and population. In fact, between 1971 and 2001, the share of the total population residing in Canada's census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surged from 56 per cent to 63 per cent. What's more, this trend is unlikely to cool off in the years ahead. Notably, with the new immigrants likely to make up 100 per cent of Canada's population growth by the end of the next decade - and with almost 80 per cent of annual immigrants historically flocking to the three largest CMA's - urbanization is poised to continue apace.