On Tuesday March 26th, The Honourable Minister Peter Bethenfalvy tabled the 2024 Budget for Ontario. The budget projects an additional $9.8 billion in spending in the coming fiscal year. Here are some highlights from the budget that are relevant to Brampton:
Public Transit and Highways
- Investing $67.5 billion over 10 years for public transit including extending Hazel McCallion Light Rail Transit (LRT) into downtown Brampton and planning Mississauga loop,
- Using measures introduced in the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020 to declare the Hazel McCallion Line extensions as priority transit projects,
- Supporting future all-day GO train service for Brampton through Bramalea GO enhancements,
- Investing $27.4 billion over 10 years to support the planning and construction of highway expansion and rehabilitation projects across the province, including Highway 413, a new 400‐series highway and transportation corridor across Halton, Peel and York Regions,
Workforce development and job creation
- Investing an additional $100M investment through the Skills Development Fund, and an additional $49.5M over three years for the Skilled Trades Strategy, to attract younger Ontarians into skilled trades,
- Magna International investing $471 million, creating over 1,000 jobs for the new EV battery enclosure facility in Brampton,
Housing
- Quadrupling the Housing‐Enabling Water Systems Fund to total $825 million (up from $200 million) to invest in municipal water infrastructure projects that would enable new housing,
Mental Health
- Investing an additional $152M over three years towards supportive housing, $396M in mental health supports through mobile health units, and $60M to Indigenous mental health,
- Expanding Youth Wellness Hub network to five additional hubs, one of which will be in Brampton.
Read the full press release here.
