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The infrastructure plan was part of a Trudeau campaign promise in 2015 to boost the faltering Canadian economy by expanding roads, bridges, rail lines, social housing facilities and other projects, funded in part by running budget deficits. In all, the Liberals promised nearly $100 billion in new infrastructure spending as part of their 2016 budget, adding to the $92 billion already set aside by the previous Harper government.

Since the plan was introduced, Ottawa has spent roughly $19 billion and approved over 4,700 projects, according to Infrastructure Canada data.

The PBO report raises doubts about the efficiency of a program that has already been hurt by delays, reporting gaps, and questionable economic payoffs. Rather than incentivize provinces to spend on infrastructure, the higher federal spending may have instead provided room for provincial leaders to put their money elsewhere.

The intention was not to displace funding but to leverage it

“The intention was not to displace funding but to leverage it,” said Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux.

Overall, the report found that provincial spending on infrastructure has been on a gradual rise, but at a slower pace than what provinces had planned before Ottawa rolled out the program. Provincial spending in fiscal 2016 and 2017 was expected to reach $100 billion, but came in closer to $85 billion after Ottawa’s plan was introduced.

“This reduced the stimulus that the government was expecting — or at least it reduced it from what it could have been had provinces kept up with their initial capital plans,” Giroux said.