Canada's Infrastructure Projects: Cost Overruns and Delays

Canada’s public infrastructure projects have been plagued by significant cost overruns, delays, and management inefficiencies. From transit lines to redevelopment initiatives, many projects have far exceeded their initial budgets and extended well beyond their proposed timelines. This article highlights a selection of key infrastructure projects, detailing their original budgets, the extent of cost overruns, and how they reflect broader systemic issues such as mismanagement, lack of transparency, and 'soft corruption.'

Table of Infrastructure Projects

Project Name

Initial Cost

Cost Overrun

Start Date

End Date

Issue

West Toronto Railpath

$149 million

N/A

Ongoing

Ongoing

High cost for a simple bike path; $71 million per kilometre.

Eglinton Crosstown LRT

$5.3 billion

$7.2 billion (now $12.5B)

2011

TBD

Over budget by billions, years overdue.

Ontario Line

$10.9 billion

$9.1 billion (now $20B)

2020

2030 (est.)

Costs doubled, $1 billion per kilometre.

Calgary Green Line LRT

$4.5 billion

$1 billion (now $5.5B)

2017

TBD

Project scope reduced by more than half while costs increased.

Montreal REM de l’Est

$10 billion

$26 billion (now $36B)

2021 (planned)

Canceled

Canceled due to extreme cost inflation.

Surrey-Langley SkyTrain Extension

$4 billion

$2 billion (now $6B)

2021

2028 (est.)

50% cost increase, delayed by a year.

Ontario Place Redevelopment

N/A

Est. high costs

2023 (planned)

TBD

Lack of transparency, large projected costs like $800M parking.

Ontario Science Centre Relocation

N/A

N/A

2023

TBD

Unnecessary move despite repair options, high costs expected.

Greenbelt Land Development

$8.3 billion

N/A

2021 (planned)

TBD

Controversial land reallocation to developers.

Staples Service Centre Deal

N/A

N/A

2023

TBD

Non-competitive bidding process, raising concerns of favoritism.