Premier Kathleen Wynne wants all levels of government to invest about $100 billion a year to close Canada’s infrastructure gap.

With a federal election later this year, Wynne was in Ottawa on Tuesday to urge voters to opt for the party that will invest the money needed to build up the country.

“This isn’t about politics or who gets credit,” the premier told a Canada 2020 luncheon audience.

“I would be happy to put up as many ‘Economic Action Plan’ signs as it takes to help advance the economic strength of this province,” she said, referring to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s familiar blue billboards that spring up wherever Ottawa is spending money on a new project.

“As we enter an election year, I issue a challenge to all the federal parties and their leaders.”

Wynne urged Harper, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to “tell Canadians how you will help to build a stronger economic union across our country.”

“Tell us what you will do to help Canada catch up and ultimately take the lead when it comes to the kind of infrastructure that is essential for our economic competitiveness,” she said.

While Wynne often campaigns with Trudeau, she emphasized she is burying the hatchet with the Harper after more than a year of frosty relations with the Conservative prime minister.

“Two weeks ago, I had a positive and constructive meeting with Prime Minister Harper. We discussed a range of pressing issues, including the progress that is being made under existing infrastructure agreements,” she said.

“But in many ways the key point is that these existing programs, while they’re effective in their own limited way, they are not sufficient to meet the scope of the investments that are required to truly move us forward. We need to make a transformative change.”

That change would be a pledge from all levels of government in Canada to invest 5 per cent of the country’s $2 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) in infrastructure renewal each year — up from the current 3 to 3.5 per cent.

“All provincial governments are stretching just to make the current levels of investment, so are our municipal partners, but the federal government, which gets a great return on our infrastructure investments, can do more,” the premier said.

“I believe it should take the form of a Canadian infrastructure partnership — a collaboration that has an explicit objective of investing 5 per cent of our GDP in infrastructure renewal,” she said.

“We are not asking the federal government to do it all. We are asking the federal government to do more.”

Indeed, Ontario has earmarked $130 billion over the next decade on new transit, highways, roads, bridges, waterworks, and other construction.

Pointing out that Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders will be gathering in Ottawa on Jan. 30 to further discuss the matter, Wynne suggested creating “a new and dedicated infrastructure transfer — like the transfers for health, education and social services.”

That would be instead of the ad hoc programs federal governments routinely announce to bankroll new public building projects.

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But federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver said Ottawa has already “delivered unprecedented investment in Ontario’s infrastructure — from new subway expansion, to renovated roads to improved public transit.”

“In 2013 we created the longest and largest infrastructure fund in Canadian history, dedicating over $70 billion over 10 years for public projects,” Oliver said in a statement.

“Ontario has received over $12 billion in infrastructure funding while transfers for health and social programs have increased by 88 per cent under our government.”

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