The province has announced it’s topping up the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) by $1 billion over the next five years to help small, rural and Northern communities pay for road, bridge, water and wastewater projects.
That will bring its investment into the fund to $2 billion over five years.
In a Dec. 8 news release, Premier Doug Ford said the move would help kickstart economic recovery, growth and job creation.
“Our small, rural and northern communities will be at the forefront of our efforts to build Ontario for the future,” Ford said in the release.
“With this investment, we are saying ‘yes’ to helping these communities build and repair the vital infrastructure they need to keep their communities working for decades to come.”
Starting in 2022, the amount available in the OCIF will go up by a minimum of $100,000, which is an increase of $50,000 from previous years, according to the province.
The province first announced this investment in early November with the release of 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario.
It outlines the government’s approach to recovery and future prosperity following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The OCIF supports communities with populations under 100,000, in addition to rural and northern communities. In 2021, $200 million in funding was allocated to 424 communities through the fund.
