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In practice, however, not all of the federal government’s infrastructure projects fit this bill. Of Ottawa’s nearly $100 billion in planned infrastructure spending, a mere 10.6 per cent is earmarked for transportation and trade projects. Put differently, only 11 cents of every dollar of new federal infrastructure spending will be spent on improving the country’s core public infrastructure.

So where’s the rest of the money going?

So-called “green” and “social” infrastructure including pet projects such as parks, cultural institutions and recreational centres. Although these initiatives may be appreciated by the communities in which they are built, there’s no evidence such spending will improve economic growth.

In fact, the federal government may end up hurting the economy by focusing on such projects, especially if the productivity gains of the infrastructure projects are less than the economic costs caused by the taxes required to fund them.

Simply calling a project “infrastructure” does not automatically make it economically worthwhile.

Only 11% of new federal infrastructure spending is actually being spent on the real thing

Nonetheless, the federal government has stated that its infrastructure plan will not only generate long-term economic gains but will have a stimulus effect on the economy in the short term. Even this argument fails in practice, primarily due to the considerable delays — from when the infrastructure spending is announced to when the spending actually takes place and shovels hit the ground.