The City of Saskatoon, like all municipalities, relies of federal and provincial funding to help with things like affordable housing and infrastructure projects, so any changes to the federal government could have ripple effects. However, Saskatoon’s Mayor Cynthia Block doesn’t believe there will be any changes to the current funding agreements, just because the Prime Minister will be stepping down.

She stresses that federal funding is extremely important. “We are absolutely counting on dollars from the federal government but it is my understanding that those commitments will be upheld regardless of who is the federal leader or who is the Prime Minister.” She realizes there could be some policy changes after an election if there is a new government, but she is hopeful all prior commitments will be honoured.

Some of those commitments include funding to help with the Bust Rapid Transit system, affordable housing, and the Rapid Housing Initiative. As an example of a funding commitment, the federal government announced last summer more than $36 million in contributions and low-cost loans through the Affordable Housing Fund to help build and repair 788 affordable homes in Saskatchewan.