Status: Bill 43 was introduced on November 3, 2020
Ministry responsible: Transportation

Overview

Bill 43, the Financing Alberta’s Strategic Transportation Act, would allow government to collect tolls to finance the construction of new or expanded highway infrastructure projects.

If passed, Bill 43 will provide a way to build infrastructure faster without increasing the Capital Budget and could accelerate capital spending in areas that support economic growth and trade.

Alberta has an extensive highway network that requires significant investment to maintain and rehabilitate, approximately 64,000 lane kilometres of roads and nearly 4,600 bridges and interchanges. Tolls have been used successfully in other provinces, including British Columbia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

Key changes

If passed, Bill 43 will:

  • allow government to collect tolls to build or maintain infrastructure projects if:
    • government engages with stakeholders for each project
    • a non-toll alternative route is available, or stakeholder engagement supports proceeding without a non-toll alternative route
  • remove tolls after a project has been paid for

Next steps

If passed, Bill 43 will take effect upon proclamation.

Once proclaimed, planning and design work can begin on construction of the new bridge on Highway 697 over the Peace River at Tompkins Landing.

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