When building big, Canada must maintain existing infrastructure

This country’s aging infrastructure is increasingly brittle, and the bill for years of differed maintenance is now coming due.

A worker sets up scaffolding in downtown Ottawa in September 2022. As attention focuses squarely on building new big things, it is imperative that the critical task of funding and maintaining existing infrastructure does not fall off the table, writes Matti Siemiatycki. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY MATTI SIEMIATYCKI

October 7, 2026

A cruel paradox at the core of Canada’s infrastructure is that at a time when so much is riding on building new big things, the country’s existing assets are falling apart before our very eyes.

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