On Monday, hours before the 2024 Fall Economic Statement (FES) was set to be revealed, federal Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced her resignation, upending the day’s plans and surprising her fellow Cabinet members.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has been calling on the federal government to make significant investments in the City’s public transit system, so much so that the 2025 City of Ottawa Budget includes a $36-million gap for federal and provincial funding.
But there wasn’t any sign of this funding in the FES, and Sutcliffe told Ottawa Compass that Freeland’s resignation is a sign that Ottawa must seek firm commitment for these investments from the feds as soon as possible.
“We don’t know how much longer this parliament is going to last,” he said. “Things can change very rapidly, so I’m hoping that we don’t end up in a situation where we’re not able to get the support we need because of the events on Parliament Hill, because there seems to be a willingness to help us.
“But time is moving along, and I just want to make sure that they’re able to actually deliver on that before time runs out.”
The resignation put into place a series of events that led to an hours-long cabinet meeting, Dominic LeBlanc replacing Freeland as finance minister, the Liberals quietly tabling the fall economic statement in the House without a speech and renewed calls for Trudeau to step aside.
It culminated with a hastily called special caucus meeting on Monday, which, as iPolitics first reported, started off as an Ontario caucus meeting.
During the City budget process, Sutcliffe had said Ottawa has not received the same investment in public transit as other major cities and is relying on both the province and the feds to come through with some substantial investments — while they can.
“This is an important reminder of how fast things move and how quickly things can change…I hope there can be a sense of urgency around delivering a response to Ottawa so that local MPs in Ottawa are not suddenly thrown into an election campaign and knocking on doors and haven’t been able to bring our priorities across the finish line before an election happens,” he said Tuesday. “So I hope they’re able to move quickly and we can get this resolved as soon as possible. “
The FES promises investment in the National Capital Region, specifically in improving public transit, with $31.6 million to conduct feasibility studies for the two-kilometre federal and Ontario portions of the Gatineau-Ottawa tramway project.
The project will connect Gatineau’s west end to the Gatineau and Ottawa downtowns with a 26-kilometre light rail. Sutcliffe said he welcomes the funding, but that it is a solution for the City of Gatineau that “doesn’t have a big impact” on Ottawa and is separate from Ottawa’s transit plan.
“I’ve spoken with the mayor of Gatineau many times, and we’re on the same page about this,” said Sutcliffe. “I have no objection to them seeing their project move forward, as long as it doesn’t preclude us getting the support we need for our priorities.”
