On August 19, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, welcomed the latest release of data on the status of Canada’s water infrastructure through Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure (CCPI) survey, for reference year 2020.
The survey supports an evidence and results-based approach to public infrastructure policies, programs and investment decisions. The CCPI presents a statistically accurate and comprehensive landscape of public infrastructure in Canada. It provides communities across Canada with the tools and support they need to make evidence-based decisions for well-planned, modern public infrastructure that will help create healthier, safer and stronger communities.
This most recent data release is a snapshot of the stock, condition and performance of water infrastructure (potable water, wastewater and storm water) in Canada. The most recent survey for reference year 2020 builds on the previous data releases from reference years 2016 and 2018.
The CCPI survey is supported by Infrastructure Canada, which provides funding for data and research initiatives to better inform how federal infrastructure funding programs are designed, implemented, tracked and reported.
In this latest release, the average annual rate of construction of linear water infrastructure assets (i.e. pipes) increased in 2019 and 2020 by 47per cent compared to the average annual rate from 2000 to 2018. Similarly, non-linear assets increased significantly, particularly for stormwater management facilities (ponds, wetlands and infiltration basins), which had the largest share of total inventory built since 2010 (43 per cent). This growth reflects Infrastructure Canada’s investments of more than $4.5 billion in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects over the past six years, part of the over $46 billion invested by Infrastructure Canada to support world-class infrastructure projects across the country.
The CCPI gathers information through a survey on asset management practices in nine public infrastructure categories: roads; bridges and tunnels; potable water; wastewater; storm water; culture, recreation and sports facilities; social and affordable housing; public transit; and solid waste.
“Water infrastructure is critical to protecting the health of Canadians and of our environment. When our government came into office, we recognized many drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems were nearing the end of their useful life – that is why we have been partnering with provinces and municipalities across the country to boost our investments in that sector. Our approach will continue to be guided by the latest and best data available, all with the objective of improving quality of life in communities across Canada.” – The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities
The latest data is now available on the Statistics Canada website.
Quick facts
- Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure survey is an Infrastructure Canada initiative administered through Statistics Canada.
- Provincial, territorial, and municipal infrastructure owners completed the surveys and submitted them to Statistics Canada to be processed and analyzed.
- In all, the sample included approximately 2469 units, resulting in a response rate of 89 percent.
- The results of this survey build on the data released for reference years 2016 and 2018 and highlight changes over the two-year period between releases. However, given changes in methodology and scope, it is not always possible to directly compare results between reference years.
