The federal government is a strong supporter of the CABR project. While different from the conventional federal grant funding of municipal transit, federal support provides a very significant portion of the project funding and financing.
1) The 50 year low interest project risk loan from Canada Infrastructure Bank significantly reduces costs and risks to Government of Alberta and as part of a P3 offers new sources of funding and financing which do not crowd out funding available for other public transit or transportation infrastructure.
This represents cost saving of $29 million per year compared to GoA financing (differential to GoA cost of borrowing); overall P3 solution saves 75% compared to government delivery (difference between CPCS government base case and Liricon/Plenary proposal).
This financing technique results in a significantly lower cost to Government of Alberta and to City of Calgary than the traditional transit funding model.
2) Consistent with other airport rail projects, CABR anticipates receiving grant funding of approximately $200 million in capital contributions from Transport Canada for airport specific costs.
3) Parks Canada can reduce or eliminate Government of Alberta contributions through gate fee/parking initiatives to discourage personal vehicle use, consistent with Banff National Park Net Zero 2035 initiative and Banff Management Plan 2022 – Key Strategy 8: Moving People Sustainably.