Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has promised funding support for a Broadway transit line connecting to the SkyTrain, seen here.Jimmy Jeong/The Globe and Mail
Newly elected Liberal MP John Aldag sent a letter to the Surrey mayor's office last week, even before he was elected in Cloverdale-Langley City, reassuring Linda Hepner that he'd be advocating to get transit money to the underserved suburb.
So Ms. Hepner knows the new Liberal government, which will have four Surrey MPs in it, is on her side as she fights to get money for a $2.1-billion light-rail line.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson also believes his city's four Liberal MPs will lobby for transit.
It won't be much of a fight, because Liberal prime-minister-designate Justin Trudeau made a point of announcing funding for a Broadway line during the campaign from the deck of a Vancouver building. The Broadway line "certainly got a boost," said Mr. Robertson.
For the mayors of Surrey and Vancouver, the problem now is that the region and the province are deadlocked on how to pay for the local share.
"It's a stumbling block," said Ms. Hepner.
Mr. Robertson also emphasized that "what's missing now is the local contribution."
The province has committed to providing one-third of the money for any big transit projects if the federal government does.
But it hasn't agreed to giving any new revenue streams to TransLink to pay for the last, local one-third of such projects. Local mayors have refused to commit to paying for them through increased property taxes. A plebiscite to add half a percentage point to the provincial sales tax failed and the province has insisted any alternative proposals for new taxes would require another citizens' vote.
B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone avoided the question Tuesday of how to solve that problem.
Instead, he said the province would be working with the new federal government on ensuring it fulfills campaign promises.
"The commitments were there," said Mr. Stone. "Now it's up to the government of British Columbia to make sure those commitments are realized with actual investments on the ground in British Columbia."
Both Surrey and Vancouver have already applied to the federal government for their projects through the Conservatives' process. That required them to direct their request through the government's P3 Canada Fund, where projects were screened to see whether they were suitable for a public-private partnership.
Mr. Robertson said it would be helpful if the Liberals got rid of that process, since it would give cities more flexibility in figuring out how to finance their projects.
The Broadway line isn't considered a good candidate for a P3, because it connects to the SkyTrain, which is run by TransLink. It would be hard for a private operator to be in charge of one part of a line.
Frances Bula