Alberta's continued underinvestment in public transit is creating a growing crisis of mobility, equity, and environmental sustainability that the province can no longer afford to ignore. While cities like Calgary and Edmonton struggle to fund and expand their transit networks, the provincial government continues to prioritize highway expansion — a strategy that is increasingly out of step with the needs of a growing, urbanizing population.
Consider the numbers. Calgary Transit's operating budget has grown by just 8% over the past five years, while ridership demand has increased by 22%. Service frequency on many bus routes has actually declined, leaving transit-dependent residents — disproportionately low-income, elderly, and newcomer populations — waiting longer and travelling farther to access essential services like healthcare, education, and employment.
A Provincial Responsibility
Transit is often framed as a municipal issue, but the reality is that no major transit system in Canada operates without significant provincial support. In Ontario, the province funds approximately 30% of municipal transit operating costs. In British Columbia, the provincial government provides dedicated funding through a regional fuel tax. In Alberta, provincial operating support for transit is effectively zero.
A province that can invest billions in highway twinning can surely find the resources to ensure that its most vulnerable residents can get to work, to school, and to the doctor.
The Green Line LRT in Calgary is a case study in what happens when transit funding is treated as optional. What was originally envisioned as a $4.9-billion, 46-kilometre line has been repeatedly scaled back due to funding shortfalls, with the province contributing far less per capita than comparable investments in other Canadian cities. The result is a truncated line that will serve fewer communities and deliver fewer benefits than originally planned.
Alberta is projected to add 1.5 million residents over the next two decades, with the vast majority settling in Calgary and Edmonton. If the province fails to invest in transit infrastructure now, it will face far greater costs in the future — not just in dollars, but in congestion, pollution, and the social costs of leaving entire communities without reliable transportation. The time for action is not tomorrow. It is today.