Queen’s Park Lobby Day Message: Right-Size Gas Tax for Transit Program 

Each year since 2018, the OPTA Board leads a Queen’s Park Lobby Day as part of our annual budget submission process. On December 2nd, OPTA and CUTA members and staff will participate in over 20 meetings with key Ministers, staff and MPPs to deliver our focused message which is aligned with the government’s priorities of affordability and transit safety and security – right-size the Gas Tax For Transit Program. 

Members will recall that this year’s Gas Tax allocations were a photocopy of the previous year, largely to avoid the negative impact on smaller and rural municipalities if the funding formula was applied. 

The Gas Tax for Transit Program is highly valued by transit agencies because it provides flexible and reliable funding that supports operating and capital needs. However, program funding has not kept pace with growth or inflation and has remained at roughly $380 million per year since 2019.

In addition to preparing for our provincial meetings, OPTA has been monitoring the work of our friends and colleagues at CUTA and CUTRIC who have been seeking to understand the impacts of the federal budget on transit funding. It now appears obvious that much of the dedicated $30 Billion Canada Public Transit Fund is being rolled into the new Building Communities Strong Fund. While the Baseline funding 

Click HERE for details of the CUTA federal budget response.

Click HERE for a summary of the CUTRIC Lobby day asks.