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Mayor Naheed Nenshi is questioning a federal review that led the Trudeau government to choose Toronto over Calgary as home to its new infrastructure bank.

Federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi announced the location Monday as he launched a search for a chairperson, board members and chief executive of the bank, which is expected to be up and running by the end of the year.

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Calling it “a bad decision,” Nenshi was critical of the selection process, saying he doesn’t know of anyone in Calgary who was contacted by a private firm the Liberals hired to evaluate bidding cities.

“If the government was interested in an evidence-based decision, how can they get enough evidence without actually talking to people in Calgary?” the mayor said. “They certainly didn’t talk to Calgary Economic Development. They certainly didn’t talk to the City of Calgary.”

The bank’s objective is to attract private capital to build new projects. It would take $35 billion in government funding to entice investment in projects like public transit systems, highways and electrical grids that generate revenues through user fees or tolls. Approximately $15 billion of that will be cash, with the remaining $20 billion in the form of repayable loans or equity stakes.