The federal Liberals would spend the bulk of Canada's budget surplus on the country's crumbling infrastructure if elected, Leader Stéphane Dion promised on Friday.

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, seen Thursday in the House of Commons, said the Liberals would direct surplus money toward infrastructure.
(Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

In an election campaign-style speech in Ottawa, Dion said if the Liberals were in power, they would spend the first $3 billion of the surplus on paying off Canada's debt and all the rest on bridges, public transit, waste management and other infrastructure.

The infrastructure money could end up being worth billions of dollars, Dion said, noting that this year alone, the total estimated surplus is $10 billion.

"We need to guard against the possibility that our children will inherit a crippling infrastructure deficit that includes crumbling bridges, leaky water pipes and insufficient public transit," Dion said in a speech at a Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference.

He cited a Statistics Canada study that found that bridges and overpasses are aging. In 2007, the average age of most of them was 24.5 years. Meanwhile in Quebec alone, well over half of bridges have exceeded their useful lifespan, he said.

As for Dion's plan for the first $3 billion in surplus, he noted that the money would first be tucked away as a contingency fund, to be used in times of economic hardship or during disasters, such as ice storms or floods. At the end of the fiscal year, if the $3 billion hadn't been used, it would go toward debt reduction.

But in the House of Commons on Friday, the Conservatives attacked the plan, noting that they have already dedicated $33 billion to infrastructure.

"There is no question that the Liberal plan would put us into a deficit situation," MP Brian Jean, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of transport, said.

'It is bold and it is visionary'

Dion's message was welcomed by Federation of Canadian Municipalities president Gord Steeves. The federation in November issued a report stating that Canada's three levels of government must spend $123 billion to fix the country's infrastructure.

"The message from Mr. Dion to Canadians today is as simple as it is powerful. Our cities and communities matter, and we applaud him," said Steeves, who is a Winnipeg city councillor.

"This may be one of the most significant federal policy announcements of the last decade. It is bold, and it is visionary, with the potential to change the face of our country."

Other municipal leaders disagreed. Robert Grossi, a mayor of the Ontario town of Georgina, said his community, which is north of Toronto, needs money urgently. He said he doesn't want to wait to see whether the government has a surplus, something that might not always materialize as the economy hits hard times.

"I need real dollars to deal with real problems, and I need them now," Grossi said. "We need more dedicated funding, not 'if' funding."

With files from the Canadian Press