Dear Mr. Champagne:

I am honoured that you have agreed to serve Canadians as Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.

We are now in the third year of implementing our plan to grow our economy, strengthen the middle class, and help those people working hard to join it. We are providing more direct help to those people who need it by giving less to those who do not. We are making strong public investments to spur economic growth, job creation, and broad-based prosperity. We implemented a responsible, transparent fiscal plan for challenging economic times.

Canadians will hold us accountable for delivering these commitments, and I expect all ministers to do their part — individually and collectively — to improve economic opportunity and security for Canadians.

It is my expectation that we will deliver real results and professional government to Canadians. To ensure that we have a strong focus on results, I will expect Cabinet committees and individual ministers to: track and report on the progress of our commitments; assess the effectiveness of our work; and align our resources with priorities, in order to get the results we want and Canadians deserve.

If we are to tackle the real challenges we face as a country — from a struggling middle class to the threat of climate change — Canadians need to have faith in their government’s honesty and willingness to listen. I expect that our work will be informed by performance measurement, evidence, and feedback from Canadians. We will direct our resources to those initiatives that are having the greatest, positive impact on the lives of Canadians, and that will allow us to meet our commitments to them. I expect you to report regularly on your progress toward fulfilling our commitments and to help develop effective measures that assess the impact of the organizations for which you are answerable.

I made a personal commitment to bring new leadership and a new tone to Ottawa. We made a commitment to Canadians to pursue our goals with a renewed sense of collaboration. Improved partnerships with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments are essential to deliver the real, positive change that we promised Canadians. No relationship is more important to me and to Canada than the one with Indigenous Peoples. It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.

We have also committed to set a higher bar for openness and transparency in government. It is time to shine more light on government to ensure it remains focused on the people it serves. Government and its information should be open by default. If we want Canadians to trust their government, we need a government that trusts Canadians. It is important that we acknowledge mistakes when we make them. Canadians do not expect us to be perfect – they expect us to be honest, open, and sincere in our efforts to serve the public interest.

Our platform guides our government. I expect us to deliver on all of our commitments. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we fulfill our promises, while living within our fiscal plan. Other issues will arise or will be brought to our attention by Canadians, stakeholders, and the public service. It is my expectation that you will engage constructively and thoughtfully and add priorities to your agenda when appropriate.

As Minister, you will be held accountable for our commitment to bring a different style of leadership to government. This will include: close collaboration with your colleagues; meaningful engagement with Opposition Members of Parliament, Parliamentary Committees and the public service; constructive dialogue with Canadians, civil society, and stakeholders, including business, organized labour, the broader public sector, and the not-for-profit and charitable sectors; and identifying ways to find solutions and avoid escalating conflicts unnecessarily. As well, members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, indeed all journalists in Canada and abroad, are professionals who, by asking necessary questions, contribute in an important way to the democratic process. Your professionalism and engagement with them is essential.

Canadians expect us, in our work, to reflect the values we all embrace: inclusion, honesty, hard work, fiscal prudence, and generosity of spirit. We will be a government that governs for all Canadians, and I expect you, in your work, to bring Canadians together.

You are expected to do your part to fulfill our government’s commitment to transparent, merit-based appointments, to help ensure gender parity and that Indigenous Canadians and minority groups are better reflected in positions of leadership.

As Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, your goal is to continue implementing our historic Investing in Canada Plan. You should work collaboratively, appreciating that provincial, territorial, municipal governments and Indigenous communities are partners in successful infrastructure projects. I expect you to engage municipal governments as key partners in the implementation and execution of our plans and to ensure that across our government we collaborate with municipalities on issues that affect them. I also expect you to align our efforts with existing provincial, territorial and municipal priorities, so long as these are in the long-term public interest.

In particular, I will expect you to work with your colleagues and through established legislative, regulatory, and Cabinet processes, to deliver on your top priorities:

• Continue to work with other Ministers to implement the Investing in Canada Plan. Your focus must be on the successful, timely delivery of our growth-generating investments in public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, as well as key strategic infrastructure that will increase trade. The key objectives of this plan are increasing economic growth and creating good middle class jobs.
• In partnership with the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade, work to conclude any outstanding negotiations with provinces that have yet to sign integrated bilateral agreements.
• Ensure that Canadians have access to accurate and timely information about infrastructure investments in their communities, and work with your Ministerial colleagues to improve financial reporting to Canadians and the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
• Engage with provinces and territories to identify priorities that achieve a fair balance of provincial, territorial, and municipal projects to benefit communities of all sizes, from rural and remote to our largest cities. This includes implementing an environmentally-friendly lens and community employment benefits in accordance with the integrated bilateral agreements.
• Work with the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government to ensure that we account for and flow infrastructure investment as construction work takes place. Appropriations for infrastructure each year are the government’s and Parliament’s expectation for investment flow. Funding should not lapse, and it should only be re-profiled to ensure funding committed to projects continues to be available until completion. If annual investment levels are not met, I expect bilateral agreements to be honoured and transparent reporting to Canadians on why funding floors have shifted and short-term plans to deliver promised investments without drawing down future funding levels. If no investments are identified for use from allocated infrastructure funds, work with the Minister of Finance to ensure those funds are automatically transferred to municipalities through a temporary top-up of the Gas Tax Fund.
• Collaborate with provincial and territorial partners to explore possible alternatives to the current infrastructure funding terms and conditions to address the timeliness of the flow of funds while maintaining appropriate oversight and accountability for federal investments.
• With the support of the Minister of Finance, you are the responsible Minister for the arm’s-length Canada Infrastructure Bank, now fully operational. Ensure the Bank has the support it needs for its core purpose – attracting private sector and institutional investment to expand the scope of public infrastructure investment in Canada. This should include working with the Minister of Finance for the launch of a new Canadian Green Bond that can enable additional investments when a lack of capital represents a barrier to green projects.
• Continue progress on priority bridges: completing the toll-free replacement for the Champlain Bridge; working with the Minister of Transport, the Canadian National Railway Company, and the Government of Québec on a contribution towards repainting the Pont de Québec; and supporting the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority as it advances the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
• Continue to support the Minister of Indigenous Services to improve essential physical infrastructure for Indigenous communities including improving housing outcomes for Indigenous Peoples.
• Continue to work with the Ministers of Status of Women, Indigenous Services, and Families, Children and Social Development to ensure that no one fleeing domestic violence is left without a place to turn to by growing and maintaining Canada’s network of shelters and transition houses.
• Utilize the innovative ideas generated by the finalists of the Smart Cities Challenge to select winners from communities of all sizes, and collaborate with the Minister of Indigenous Services to test new, Indigenous-led projects through the Indigenous Homes Innovation Challenge.
• Support the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness in a review of existing measures to protect Canadians and our critical infrastructure from cyber-threats.

These priorities draw heavily from our election platform commitments.

I expect you to work closely with your Deputy Minister and his or her senior officials to ensure that the ongoing work of your department is undertaken in a professional manner and that decisions are made in the public interest. Your Deputy Minister will brief you on issues your department may be facing that may require decisions to be made quickly. It is my expectation that you will apply our values and principles to these decisions, so that issues facing your department are dealt with in a timely and responsible manner, and in a way that is consistent with the overall direction of our government.

Our ability, as a government, to successfully implement our platform depends on our ability to thoughtfully consider the professional, non-partisan advice of public servants. Each and every time a government employee comes to work, they do so in service to Canada, with a goal of improving our country and the lives of all Canadians. I expect you to establish a collaborative working relationship with your Deputy Minister, whose role, and the role of public servants under his or her direction, is to support you in the performance of your responsibilities.

We have committed to an open, honest government that is accountable to Canadians, lives up to the highest ethical standards, and applies the utmost care and prudence in the handling of public funds. I expect you to embody these values in your work and observe the highest ethical standards in everything you do. When dealing with our Cabinet colleagues, Parliament, stakeholders, or the public, it is important that your behaviour and decisions meet Canadians’ well-founded expectations of our government. I want Canadians to look on their own government with pride and trust.

As Minister, you must ensure that you are aware of and fully compliant with the Conflict of Interest Act and Treasury Board policies and guidelines. You will be provided with a copy of Open and Accountable Government to assist you as you undertake your responsibilities. I ask that you carefully read it and ensure that your staff does so as well. I draw your attention in particular to the Ethical Guidelines set out in Annex A of that document, which apply to you and your staff. As noted in the Guidelines, you must uphold the highest standards of honesty and impartiality, and both the performance of your official duties and the arrangement of your private affairs should bear the closest public scrutiny. This is an obligation that is not fully discharged by simply acting within the law. Please also review the areas of Open and Accountable Government that we have expanded or strengthened, including the guidance on non-partisan use of departmental communications resources and the new code of conduct for exempt staff.

I know I can count on you to fulfill the important responsibilities entrusted in you. In turn, please know that you can count on me to support you every day in your role as Minister.

I am deeply grateful to have this opportunity to serve with you as we build an even greater country. Together, we will work tirelessly to honour the trust Canadians have given us.

Yours sincerely,

Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada

*This Ministerial Mandate Letter was signed by the Prime Minister in the Minister’s first official language.