Local municipalities receive provincial infrastructure funds

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The county and its member municipalities are collectively getting more than $10 million from the province to fund things like roads, bridges and water and wastewater infrastructure.

“We are supporting our municipal partners to help build necessary infrastructure, while reducing the impact on their budgets,” Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae stated in a news release.

The funding, provided through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF), is part of the Ontario government’s $190-billion capital plan to build and expand more homes, highways, hospitals, transit, and high-speed internet across the province, the release stated.

In 2025, the province will allocate $400 million in OCIF funding to help 423 small, rural and northern communities build roads, bridges, water and wastewater infrastructure.

The fund provides money for projects in municipalities with populations of under 100,000, rural and northern municipalities, as well as local service boards that own water and wastewater systems.

Communities may accumulate funding for up to five years to address larger infrastructure projects.

“Small, rural and northern communities are essential to the growth and prosperity of Ontario,” stated infrastructure minister of Kinga Surma in the release.

“By providing direct and stable funding to these communities, our government is helping create local jobs, drive economic growth and build stronger, more resilient communities for generations to come.”

Funding allocations through OCIF are based on a formula that accounts for the different needs and economic conditions of each community, the release stated.

The following were the allocations for Wellington County and its municipalities:

Wellington County,  $2,350,140;

Centre Wellington,  $2,157,013;

Minto, $1,512,130;

Wellington North,  $1,429,951;

Mapleton, $1,311,355;

Guelph/Eramosa, $564,377;

Puslinch, $372,380; and

Erin, $336,875.