Although London's plans for rapid transit did not get a specific mention in the federal budget, Mayor Matt Brown still liked what he saw.
The federal government announced in Wednesday's budget that it plans to spend $20.1-billion on transit over the next 11 years. Cities such as Vancouver, Ottawa, and Calgary were specifically mentioned in the budget, but London was not.
That doesn't phase Mayor Brown, who remains confident the government will be at the table when the time comes.
"I saw what I was looking for," Brown said. "The commitment to direct over $20-billion toward transit programs across the country was reaffirmed in this budget document. We have a business case and a very solid argument for London to get its fair share of that $20-billion funding and that's what we're focused on now."
Brown said he has no doubt that the Liberal government is committed to providing the federal funding necessary for the city's rapid transit plans, even if none of the money announced in the budget was specifically earmarked for London. He adds supporters of rapid transit in London should not be worried that the city wasn't mentioned on Wednesday.
"We saw some of the largest cities in Canada mentioned. London is the 11th largest city. We're right in the middle of the pack when it comes to the 22 largest cities in Canada. We can't all expect a mention in a budget document," he said. "But, what I can tell you is, the conversation is going very well. When then-candidate Trudeau was in London during the campaign he expressed his support for a rapid transit system and since that time, our conversations have gone very well. We have applications in right now for Phase 1 funding. The bulk of the funding for our program will come in Phase 2. That was reaffirmed as a part of the overall budget and that should be seen as a positive sign that the dollars are there."
Brown also weighed in on the government's promise to spend $11.2-billion on affordable housing over the next 11 years. He said the Big City Mayors group has been hoping the federal government would come through with much-needed funding, both in the short term and the long term.
Much of the funding is back-loaded, something critics say fails to address immediate affordable housing needs. Brown acknowledges those immediate needs exist in London, but said he appreciates there is a long-term commitment in the budget.
"Our stock in London is in very desperate shape in many cases," he said. "There's a need for re-investment there, but there's also a need for more housing. We have a wait list of about 2,500. People are waiting between one year and two years to get into affordable housing. We were looking for a long-term commitment like this. This is over $11-billion over 11 years. As a group, we had identified a $12-billion figure as being the appropriate number, so I think it's very close. That long term commitment was really what we were looking for so that our housing authorities can plan, not just for the short term in stop gap ways, but for the long term as well."
As a former teacher, Brown said "the comments are more important than the grade" when asked to give an overall assessment of the budget. He did say it is an excellent "city building budget" that has priorities that align with those of the Big City Mayors.