GO Transit is getting a $500 million boost as part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's economic action plan.

Harper told reporters about the funding at a press conference held with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in Toronto Tuesday.

The money appears to be a reannouncement of funding previously committed in 2008 under the Building Canada Fund, which critics say the government has been slow to spend.

Ontario has been hit hard by the economic downturn and such investments will create jobs and prepare the province to maintain its place as the "bastion" of the national economy, Harper said on Tuesday.

The money will cover more than a dozen projects across the region and help the GO Transit system "handle the huge increases in ridership that are projected throughout the Golden Horseshoe during the next decade," Harper said.

Some of the money will go toward improving parking at 12 GO stations, from Mississauga to Markham and to Pickering, said McGuinty.

The Hamilton GO junction, which has been a major site of congestion, will get a $75 million upgrade, he added.

Improved transit means less gridlock, and less gridlock means a stronger economy in the long run, said McGuinty.

"With better service, people can pursue new job opportunities or training opportunities because they have a transit connection that gets them there," he said.

"When transit is more convenient, more people leave their car at home, and that means cleaner air and a healthier environment for all of us."

About 200,000 people in the Toronto area use GO Transit's network of buses and trains daily.

With files from the Canadian Press