Edmonton’s mayor believes the city can count on provincial money for public transit, despite there being no clear replacement for the soon-expiring Municipal Sustainability Initiative.

At a year-end press conference, Don Iveson said one of the year’s successes has been securing consistent funding from the province in the form of a revenue-sharing program.

MSI, and the $11 billion it provides to Alberta municipalities to help pay for big projects, will expire in 2021. The annual provincial contribution has shrunk for a number of years, leaving Edmonton city council a couple hundred million dollars short on the budget.

According to Iveson, the province has an MSI replacement ready that will satisfy council—even if it provides fewer dollars.

The revenue-sharing program with the province would mean $200 million per year for transit projects like LRT or buses for each Edmonton and Calgary.

“It’s a lower amount. It’s still generous within the overall Canadian context, and it recognizes Alberta’s fiscal realities,” he said.

“We have enough to get by, without having to be overly reliant on property taxes.”

The proposed agreement between the cities and the province was announced Nov. 29. If passed, the City Charter Fiscal Framework Act, or Bill 32, would become legislation, and effectively tie the cities’ funding to provincial revenues.  

With files from Jeremy Thompson