In the midst of a construction boom, Canada's federal and provincial governments are spending billions of dollars on transit, sewers and other infrastructure. However, persistent labour shortages, higher borrowing costs, and construction inflation are pushing the price tags for these projects upwards.
Read on to discover 12 of the biggest megaprojects currently under construction across Canada, ranked from least to most expensive, and find out when they’ll be ready.
All dollar amounts in Canadian dollars unless indicated
The 9km-long Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will expand the line into Etobicoke and Mississauga, with discussions underway to extend it another 5km to Pearson International Airport.
Most of the 9km route is in tunnels, with one elevated section to avoid potential flooding. The underground work is divided into two sections with tunnel excavation completed on the western side and the second tunnelling contract awarded in February 2024. With parts of the project still in procurement, the final cost is not yet known.
The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension is one of four priority subway projects in the Toronto area worth $28.5 billion, the province announced in 2019. At that time, the estimates put the extension at $4.7 billion.
Ottawa’s $2 billion Confederation Line LRT faced numerous issues, including massive sinkholes (pictured), delays during construction and train derailments. And that was only phase 1; phase 2 is now under construction.
Approved in 2019, it was announced that the 44km-long rail extension would add 24 stations to the line by the end of 2025 at a total cost of $4.6 billion.
Contractors have argued that government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays which, combined with supply chain issues, have meant the project’s fund for contingencies quickly became exhausted and needed to be replenished.
According to the latest estimates, the price is now nearly $5 billion, and the completion date has been pushed back to 2027.
Centre Block and selected sections of Parliament Hill in Ottawa are undergoing an incredibly complex rehabilitation. The landmark building has endured extensive damage to its historical interiors, from crumbling mortar to damaged sculptures, frescoes and stained glass.
Along with restoring these features, the project will install hundreds of piles to make the facilities earthquake-proof and upgrade the original electrical system, which can’t safely handle modern technology. There’s also a massive excavation to construct a new welcome centre that will bring visitors underneath the building to enter, effectively adding another storey.
There isn’t a definite price tag for this combination of heavy civil construction and detailed artefact restoration, but current estimates range between $4.5 and $5 billion.
Likewise, the deadline has not yet been finalized. The project is expected to reach completion between 2030 and 2031, with the Centre Block reopening about a year later. However, two major work stoppages have already occurred due to the convoy demonstrations and labour strikes in 2022, so watch this space.
A $5.6 billion contract awarded in October 2019 signalled the launch of the 18km Hurontario rapid transit project connecting Mississauga and Brampton, now named the Hazel McCallion LRT to honour Mississauga's fifth mayor, who passed away in 2023.
The total bill will cover the cost of design, construction, finance, operation and maintenance for 30 years. The transit project will include 19 stops as well as a maintenance and storage facility for the light rail vehicles, with the LRT line along Hurontario Street initially expected to be completed in the fall of 2024.
Construction started in 2020 but, as yet, no opening date has been announced. The COVID-19 pandemic caused delays to the project pipeline but is not solely to blame. Additional problems have arisen as the consortium building the line faces legal disputes with subcontractors and issues with track tolerances. These delays have caught the attention of credit rating agency S&P Global, which has warned the project may not be able to pay its creditors.
Meanwhile, Ontario officials agreed in 2024 to extend the LRT by building the previously cut Mississauga loop and bringing the line into downtown Brampton.
Vancouver’s SkyTrain rapid transit system first opened in December 1985 in time for the city to host the World Expo in 1986. Its first line was aptly named the Expo Line. It’s seen numerous extensions since, and now the province is extending it to Langley City Centre.
Initial estimates suggested that the 16km-long Surrey Langley SkyTrain Project, which will run entirely on an elevated guideway along Fraser Highway, would cost $4 billion and open for service in 2028.
In March and April 2024, the project managers awarded contracts to design and build the elevated guideway and the line’s eight stations.
However, the Ministry of Transportation has since announced the megaproject will cost $6 billion and won't open until 2029. It attributed the delay and price increase to rising inflation, supply chain pressures and labour market challenges.
Construction is starting on a 5.8km-long extension to Montréal’s existing Blue Line, most of which will be in tunnels to avoid disruption through dense neighbourhoods above ground.
The project also includes five new metro stations, two bus terminals and a pedestrian tunnel, among other infrastructure. Transit agency Société de transport de Montréal (STM) had hoped to finish the extension by 2026.
However, the project has been hit with numerous delays since the planning phase in 2013, pushing back the opening date to 2031.
This will come at a cost. Initially, the price had been set at $6.4 billion, but it’s now expected to be $7.6 billion. STM awarded a major construction contract in August 2024, and demolition work has cleared the way for tunnel and other heavy civil construction to begin.
The metro extension isn't the only major project underway in the city. Montréal’s Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is an entirely new light rail network and was originally expected to cost $6.3 billion when it was announced in 2016 by the group that owns and operates it, CDPQ Infra.
The project includes building 26 stations and 67km of track across Greater Montréal, including a tunnelled connection to the Montréal-Trudeau Airport.
The final cost has been revised several times, hitting $6.5 billion in December 2019 and $6.9 billion in June 2021.
Another significant component of the megaproject has been converting the 100-year-old Mount Royal Tunnel to accommodate two light rail tracks and an underground station. Delays occurred when explosive material from the original construction that was still in the rock accidentally detonated in 2020. Thankfully, nobody was injured in the surprise blast.
Large sections of the REM are now open, and the rest of the system is expected to be in service by 2027, including the airport branch. The total cost is now up to $8 billion.
Opened in 1959 as a vehicle-only crossing under the Fraser River, the four-lane George Massey Tunnel doesn’t meet modern seismic standards or the region's traffic demand. A replacement was announced in 2012, with designs for a 10-lane bridge costing $3.5 billion revealed four years later.
But the project soon hit a bump in the road. Amid opposition, the province cancelled procurement of the bridge in 2017 and launched an independent review. The results showed a smaller bridge would be sufficient and that a new eight-lane tunnel could be less expensive.
The province announced it would build a toll-free, eight-lane tunnel to replace the George Massey Tunnel in 2021, saying the project would cost $4.15 billion and be completed by 2030. In the summer of 2024, it selected the design and build contractor, and early work on the project is now under way.
Built as an immersed tube tunnel, the replacement crossing will have three traffic lanes, a dedicated public transit lane in each direction, and a separate path for walking and biking.
However, the $4.15 billion price tag no longer appears feasible, with estimates closer to the $9 billion mark and a 2031 completion date.
Another project related to the $28 billion of subway investment in Ontario, the Scarborough Subway Extension will add nearly 8km to Line 2, extending further north into Scarborough with three new stations.
Most of this new line will be underground, and tunnelling construction is already underway.
The project has been in development for over 10 years, with officials initially studying a three-stop option. However, in 2013, they instead developed a $3.87 billion 'one-stop' subway concept that was supposed to be in service by 2027.
In 2019, officials reverted to the current three-stop configuration, with an updated price tag estimated at $5.5 billion and a target delivery date of 2029–2030. However, costs have skyrocketed, with a current estimated total of $10.2 billion and a completion date of 2033.
Along with increasing subway capacity, the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is completely overhauling its commuter rail network and converting it into an all-day rapid transit system. This includes extensive and complex engineering work like widening corridors, building new bridges and tunnels, and electrifying lines.
New stations will be added, and others upgraded, while new electric trains will be procured and integrated into the system.
The sheer size of the expansion means the 200 interconnected projects have been divided into two different packages, Early and Complementary Works and On-Corridor Works, all of which have been tendered.
In 2014, the government pledged the system would be fully electrified by 2024. However, this milestone has yet to be realized on the $13.5 billion project, with the latest estimates suggesting it won't happen until 2032.
Construction on the third dam and hydroelectric generating station on the Peace River in northeast B.C. started nearly 10 years ago with a cost estimate of $10.7 billion. Located in a remote area, the project also requires new roads and highways, transmission lines, shoreline protection work and all the heavy civil infrastructure needed to build a hydroelectric dam.
Hit by rocketing project costs after the pandemic, the province considered cancelling the project in 2021, but that would have incurred sunk costs of at least $10 billion.
The price is forecast to be around $16 billion, making Site C one of the most expensive megaprojects underway in Canada. Most of the construction work is complete, and BC Hydro finished filling the reservoir in November 2024.
The project has entered commissioning and power-generation phases. Once in operation, it will boost BC Hydro’s electricity supply by 8%.
Part of the province's massive investment in transit, the Ontario Line will be an entirely new subway line, nearly 16km long, connecting the Ontario Science Centre to Exhibition/Ontario Place in Toronto. More than half the route will run underground through new tunnels, while the rest will run along elevated and street-level sections of the track.
There will be 15 stations with numerous connections to the broader transit network. Construction officially started in 2021.
Officials estimated in 2019 that building a new transit line would cost $10.9 billion. This has since ballooned in price, with estimates scaled up to $19 billion in 2023 and later $27.2 billion in June 2024.
This new price includes the costs of building, maintaining and operating the trains for 30 years. However, this still makes the Ontario Line the most expensive megaproject underway in Canada. Tunnelling began earlier this year, and the project now has an estimated completion date of 2031.
Now discover the delayed megaprojects blowing budgets around the world