Province must resume role in transit funding

For a province that claims to be serious about fighting climate change, reducing traffic congestion and building more livable communities, Manitoba’s approach to public transit makes very little sense.

The provincial government has found room in its budgets for broad-based tax cuts on gasoline and groceries — measures that disproportionately benefit higher-income households — yet it continues to leave Winnipeg Transit largely on its own financially.

That needs to change.

The Kinew government should restore the 50/50 transit funding agreement with the City of Winnipeg, a long-standing arrangement scrapped by the former Progressive Conservative government in 2016.

Under that model, transit operating costs were shared equally between the province and the city.

Its cancellation was penny-wise and pound-foolish. A decade later, the consequences are showing up every day at bus stops across Winnipeg.

Transit service has deteriorated. Riders routinely deal with buses that don’t show up, overcrowded buses that pass them by and unreliable schedules that make getting to work, school or appointments unnecessarily stressful.

Even the city’s much-publicized new transit network, implemented last year, failed to solve the core problem because it reshuffled routes and eliminated hundreds of bus stops without adding the resources needed to improve service.

You can redesign routes all you want, but if there aren’t enough buses, drivers and operating dollars behind the system, riders will still be stranded.

That frustration was on full display Saturday at the Manitoba legislature, where more than 100 demonstrators gathered to call for better transit funding.

Organized by Climate Action Team Manitoba and the Amalgamated Transit Union, the rally featured a simple but powerful message: more buses, more routes and more reliable service.

Public transit is not a luxury service, it is essential infrastructure. For many Winnipeggers — particularly students, seniors, low-income residents and people with disabilities — public transit is their primary connection to jobs, education, health care and daily life. When buses are unreliable, those residents pay the highest price.

The province often talks about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation is one of the largest contributors to emissions in Manitoba. If government genuinely wants fewer cars on the road, it must provide people with a realistic alternative.

Reliable public transit reduces congestion, lowers emissions and cuts wear and tear on roads and infrastructure.

But the City of Winnipeg cannot shoulder the burden alone.

Winnipeg will spend roughly $128.6 million on transit operations in 2026, increasing to $133.8 million in 2027, excluding fare revenue. Provincial operating support, meanwhile, has remained flat at about $42 million since 2017. Adjusted for inflation, that’s a funding cut.

The province deserves some credit for dedicating about $10 million in its 2026 budget to provide free transit for kindergarten to Grade 12 students in several Manitoba communities, including Winnipeg. That policy may help families with costs and encourage younger people to use transit.

But free fares are of limited value if buses are late, overcrowded or absent altogether.

Governments reveal their priorities through spending decisions, and right now Manitoba is prioritizing politically popular tax cuts over long-term investments in public infrastructure.

Broad-based tax reductions on gasoline and groceries may generate headlines, but they are poorly targeted tools for affordability. Higher-income households benefit the most because they spend more on fuel and consumer goods. Meanwhile, those tax cuts drain public revenues that could be used for more pressing needs.

Restoring 50/50 transit funding would not solve every challenge facing Winnipeg Transit overnight, but it would represent a serious commitment to building a transportation system that is reliable, accessible and capable of meeting the needs of a growing city.